March 6
Adelaide
I made some sandwiches, had breakfast, packed a waterproof as the TV said there was a chance of showers, and walked along the road to the bus stop, about five minutes away. The bus was there so I climbed aboard. The driver, David, welcomed me and said we were off round the corner to collect the other couple on the trip. Danni and Ray were from Perth, although he was originally from Auckland.
We were driven round the city and given a lengthy discourse on the beauties of the city by a very enthusiastic fifth generation local. I have forgotten most of it but Adelaide was at the centre of political rights for women, free education etc etc.
We stopped at the cricket ground and marched in as if we owned the place. There was a country team 20/20 competition in progress but what took the eye was the change that had occurred since my last visit a few years ago.From being an old fashioned and unique ground it has become a typical modern stadium, albeit with state of the art grandstands offering perfect views. The old scoreboard is just about all that remains. |
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There was a plastic case containing a cross section of the turf, including all of the sub-layers and drainage. I doubt the photo will work but I have never seen anything like it at another cricket ground, so it was worth the effort.
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We left the city and followed the route over the hill that I drove a couple of years ago. At Mount Lofty we stopped at a very busy tourist spot with panoramic views across the city. The obelisk was erected to commemorate the naming of Mt Lofty by Flinders in 1802.
There were numerous very posh houses up there, including one belonging to the Hardy family, who's vineyard I would be visiting in the afternoon. Hahndorf, where I stayed a couple of years ago, was very busy. What do you expect on a sunny Sunday morning. The other two decided to stay in Hahndorf for the rest of the day so I wandered off on my own. |
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I looked at the lovely buildings, had a coffee followed by a beer (German, of course) and then waited at the bus stop for David to pick me up.
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We drove back into Adelaide, chatting most of the way. I liked David and he was definitely good at his job. I learned a huge amount about the city from him.
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One interesting story was how the international burger chain, Burger King tried to trademark their name in Australia. A local burger maker had long used the name and refused to sell it to the international chain for a huge amount of money. They decided to call themselves Hungry Jack's, in honour of their then Chairman, Jack something or other. When the elderly Australian died, they bought up his trademark but, by then, the Hungry Jack's name was well established in Australia so they decided to stick with it.
We returned to the bus stop outside the Hilton and collected 18 new passengers. They were a mix from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the USA. Pleasant enough but not a memorable bunch. We drove out of the city and then along reasonably minor roads until we reached McLaren Vale. It was a pretty route and we stopped for photographs at one particularly good view point. |
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The first stop was Rosemount, a very large establishment in the country. We tasted lots of wines, most of which were very ordinary.
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Hardy's was in the centre of the town and had some beautiful old buildings. I decided to try (and pay for) a top level Chardonnay, rather than mediocre stuff that was on the official tasting list. It was excellent but not available in the UK.
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Last, but by no means least, was Lloyds, a small place with some very drinkable wine and some nibbles to accompany it. David told his friends there that I was a wine buff so they gave me some of their eight year old red. It was very good.
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The plan was to drive to Glenelg for a walk around but we could see rain over the city. We drove into Brighton, a very pretty beach resort, and were shown the ordinary suburban street where Julia Gillard lived. At this stage, the sun was shining brightly.
By the time we reached Glenelg, a few miles away, there were flashes of lightning and the rain was starting. All thoughts of a walk on the beach were abandoned and we drove back into the city in thunder, lightning and heavy rain.I was dropped off immediately outside the hotel so didn't get too wet. |
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After half an hour, I re-emerged. The streets were still wet but it wasn't actually raining. After ten minutes, it was, so I donned my waterproof.I hid beneath an awning by the pigs and waited until Jan and Ian arrived. We decided to head back towards their hotel and look for somewhere to eat near there.The rain got heavier as we walked and we dived into a pub, which turned out to be quite pleasant and offered us reasonable steaks and fish. |
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We had a long chat, exchanged addresses and departed into the drizzle.
This became much heavier as I neared my hotel so, when I arrived, I dripped on the floor.