Wine Country

The Wineries
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Day 6:

This day was devoted to covering territory – we booted it from Warrnambool to Adelaide (600km). Before we left War..., we went to the whale nursery, where right whales come to calf every winter. We arrived in time to witness an extended show of tail lobbing and we glimpsed one of the babies. Another mother and baby were in the shallow waters close to shore, but they only made fleeting appearances. Then we aimed for Adelaide and just drove. I finally took a turn at driving with no mishaps, although I did startle Gary just a bit when, just as he was drifting into nap mode, I slammed on the brakes – finally spotted kangaroos in the wild. Now I know I’m in Australia! The terrain today was full of contrasts: rugged coastline, hilly hinterlands, logged and reforested acreage, miles of grazing land for cattle and sheep and horses, acres and acres of vineyards, and then dropping down off the plateau back to sea level and the city of Adelaide. Not the arid empty Outback wasteland that we often picture Australia being. 

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An observation: These Aussies are a hardy bunch. It hasn’t been really cold (except for that evening we waited for the penguins); it’s surprisingly moderate for the middle of winter so close to the South Pole. But believe me, it’s not warm enough for open doors, al fresco dining, sleeveless dresses… Apparently, not one’s told the Aussies!

Another observation: McDonalds Down Unda has McCafes, an addition to the regular MickeyD’s fare. It’s a coffee bar a la Starbucks where I got an actual pot of tea with an actual china tea cup. American McD’s take note.

I know they're out there somewhere.
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Day 7:

Today was devoted to the grape – a driving [shlurping] tour of the Barossa Valley. Australia has wine regions in every state. Each area has different climates and specializes in certain grapes and wine. The Barossa is the most famous and is home to over 75 wineries. Most have cellars for tasting. Let’s see, 30 minutes a winery times 75 wineries equals – way too long for our abbreviated schedule! That and Cathy was feeling light-headed after only three! [I  did only sip; whadaya think, I ain’t got no couth?] The grape arbors went on as far as you could see in every direction – would’ve been pretty come Spring or Fall. It was kind of a grey day, but bursts of sunlight brought out the beauty of the area. We sampled many and would’ve liked to take home quite a sampling. Unfortunately we are at our baggage weight limit for domestic flights as it is, so we bought a couple bottles that we have to finish in the next 24 hours. Bottoms up! We did buy an excellent Port to take back with us. Anyone who’d like to sample it with us come on over when we get home!

Where are the samples?
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On the way home we told our faithful Steve that we wanted to go back to the hotel a different way than we came out earlier. We learned we have to watch what we ask for, as he took us on a meandering journey through the scenic countryside – at night. It probably really looked good! Poor Steve is going to have a brain hemorrage; every time we deviate from his path he goes into “recalculate” mode. I swear he sounds increasingly po’d each time. Anyway, we couldn’t see anything, but we started listening to a recording of Bill Bryson’s Sunburned Country, a hilarious view of Australia and the Aussies from an American point of view.

Okay Carol, what is this?
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Observation: Gas prices here are about $1.35/liter, which works out to about $4.50 US a gallon. Not tremendously greater than the $3.50 we saw at home before we left. At about AUS $0.75 to the US dollar, prices are pretty reasonable – lower than at home in many cases. Better even than Canada!

Day 8:

One week down, three to go! It doesn’t seem like a week, but we’ve covered a lot of ground and seen a lot of great stuff. To finish up our tour of the south, we spent the day touring near Adelaide. We spent some time in the morning walking around the city, but decided not to spend much time there. It’s a city, it has some lovely parks, but nothing to make it a priority destination. If (when) we come again, I would go to Kangaroo Island and spend more time in the Barossa, not the city. I did spend some time shopping for opals, to find out that they’re waaaaaaaay too expensive. (Any of you hoping for opals for Christmas, put it out of your minds.) We did see a fake opal mine, which was cheesy, but the guy in charge talked to us about Aboriginal art/culture/assimilation, and he was very interesting.

Part of a very large windmill farm
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We had hoped to get to see a bit of the Outback, up close and personal. Why would Cathy want to do this, I ask, since Australia hosts 10 of the most deadly snakes in the world and she is loathe to step outside even in Tolland? Because it’s there I guess. Well, we find out, from Adelaide the Outback is a good 8 hour drive each way, more than we can handle in our limited time here. Seeing it from the air may just have to do for now. Maybe up north we’ll have a chance. We didn’t see any of the Outback, but we did see new terrain – rocky and sparse with a wide river flowing through. We again listened to Bill Bryson who regaled us with tales of all of the ways in which Australia is lethal, most of them having to do with crawling things with no legs or with eight. And that’s just  on land. Imagine how excited I am to be going north to rainforest and warm temps where nothing will be hibernating like here in the chilly south. 

Sunset over the Barossa
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Australian cuisine: In a town known for its international cuisine, I’m still looking for a local delicacy called The Floater. It’s a meat pie bathed in tomato sauce and floating in a lake of pea soup. Richard would be all over this one! Fortunately, in addition, they boast a wide selection world cuisine. We have yet to experience what I would think of as Oz cuisine, which is said to have both Asian and European influences. I’m hoping for that tonight. Post note: The Barramundi was very good, although they tend to add chips as a side with every meal. No lack of carbs here!

No reason we can think of
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How is it possible that a week has passed already?!