Adelaide Hills

Blue woke me early. The temperature was at its lowest at Willunga when I took him outside at 6.40am when it was 5.4°. He peed and pooped in record time.

We decided to change back to our winter doonas so had to lift up the bed, which is not so simple with the new mattresses as they are heavy. We have to remove most of the bedding and there isn't much room to put it so it was a major exercise. The overnight rain eased to occasional light showers while we packed up.

I had carefully planned a route to the caravan park at Ironbark, but we missed the first turn so had a scenic drive through the hills around Mclaren Vale with lots of Sunday traffic. Eventually we got to the Mount Barker showground where we topped up with potable water and used the dump site. We went looking for a decent cafe but parking a caravan in this region is a challenge. Purely by chance we found parallel parking near a major shopping centre. There wasn't a decent cafe so we got coffees and toasted cheese sandwiches that were very dry with no butter on the outside. We left the shopping centre by the exit next to Kmart and the van was only 150m away. Try that in Sydney!

It was then time to head to the caravan park. Soon we were on a narrow winding road with sections with no crash barrier . We drove slowly in low gears! The turn off to the park was on the crest of a hill and the long driveway in was a dirt road. There are some difficult sites but we are on green grass with power and can get water when we need it. One of the motorhomes had to reverse down the hill as it didn't have enough traction to hold the road which was blocked by vans waiting to park.

One of the Kelpies was chasing her ball and Blue wanted to join in. I checked with the owners who assured me Caddie would tolerate Blue chasing her. I hadn't anticipated Blue stealing the ball to get Caddie to chase him! Caddie has a lovely temperament and wasn't bothered by his antics. He had a good run and came to me when I called him. Later I played with him on his lead trying to get him to give the ball back, but he keeps it. I tried two balls but so far he is not playing fetch by my rules.

The facilities here are old but clean. Beccy put on lamb chops, pork steaks and sausages. I volunteered to wash the dishes which got me out of the very cold wind. There were plenty of others willing to help when Beccy told them they would be warm in the kitchen!

At least our concert was inside out of the cold. Beccy was joined by her mum Carole Sturtzel, her son Ricky Albeck, and Libby's daughter Boots. It was family night and a lot of fun. 

The blogger app is not allowing me to insert any photos. Hopefully this is resolved soon. The problem disappeared overnight so I can put in another couple of photos, including Blue claiming our pillows while Tilly slept in the crate.




Popular posts from this blog

Mclaren Vale

Image
This morning we spent time signing up online for the Winton Way Out West Fest in April 2021 - of course Beccy is performing. We drove to Mclaren Vale to walk along the main street and have coffee. Lunch was at the Vasarelli Italian restaurant - crab pasta and pear, rocket and walnut salad. I spotted this sign but can't see Blue liking this style - imagine keeping him clean. This large cat wanders around the caravan park. His name is Charlie. He came right up to Blue but I didn't trust Charlie not to attack so pulled Blue away. Tilly still hasn't seen Charlie and I think I will keep it that way. Anita and friends wanted to visit a winery so I dropped them at Coriole, while I drove to Supercheap Auto for some heavy duty wheel chocks which happened to be on sale. I wasn't surprised to see a couple of cartons of wine being carried out when I collected the wine tasters. The views over the vineyard were impressive and the wine must be too.
Read more

Aussie Road Crew - Finished

Image
After our final dinner and concert some Roadies were continuing their celebrations near our Bushtracker. We could hear the noise even though all windows were shut and the van is normally soundproof. As it was after 10pm I ventured out to negotiate with them. While one person accused me of being the fun police, other Roadies supported my suggestion they turn off the amplified music and keep the noise down. The general expectation in caravan parks is noise stops after 10pm. There were non Roadies trying to sleep in tents, and I suggested their activities would reflect badly on Aussie Road Crew and Beccy who might not be able to return to this park on future tours. Fortunately there was very little noise after my visit. We drove out of the Crows Nest Tourist Park just after 7am looking for a MacDonald's in Toowoomba for coffee and brekkie. Instead we spotted Valetta Cafe in time to park the van across the road. I bought a take away brioche egg and bacon roll and coffees. The cafe is i
Read more

Adelaide - Day With Friends

Image
I took Blue for a walk in search of coffee, for me not him. The first two cafes were closed as it is a public holiday. I kept walking until two people coming from the opposite direction told me nothing was open. We turned back and I remembered another cafe near the vehicle entrance to the caravan park. I phoned and was assured the Orange Cafe was open so that's where we went. A friend from the Gold Coast is in town for a couple of nights to see Robyn Archer's caberet show. We explored the showground buildings near the caravan park. Six of us went to the Goodwood Hotel for lunch. Hardly any venues were open in the city so this was our best option. While the others each had a main meal, my lunch choice was the rhubarb and apple crumble - it was good. After lunch I took Bluey to chase balls. He is not good at catching so I videoed his efforts. He surprised me by catching the first ball. Anita didn&
Read more