Adelaide and the Barossa Valley 🍷

We had a chill morning about an hour away from Adelaide looking into how we wanted to spend our time in the city, before heading into the Adelaide Hills and up to Mount Lofty which looks down over the city. We didn't want to get into the city too late as we needed to scout out our sleeping options. We found a spot just to the west of the city where we could park and sleep overnight but would have to move the van in the day. We walked into the centre as we had a bit of shopping to do and then back to the van for the night. 

We headed out to Henley beach for a morning swim first thing, the water was lovely and still, it was a great beginning to the day, after our dip we ate our overnight oats on the beach. We got back into Adelaide and manged to park on the west side of the city, perfect for the Botanic Garden. They currently have a exhibition of glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. They're beautiful amongst all the plants. We spent a while in the gardens, enjoying the sunshine, then walked along North Terrace to the Art Gallery of South Australia. There is a wonderful selection of art to see, we ran out of time as we had to go move the van. 

With the van parked in the spot for the night we headed back into the city heading for a cheap (but delicious) curry before our first fringe show. We went to the Rhino Room to see a show called Lost in Translation. The performers read through a script of a famous film, in character and dressed up, but the script has been translated through a load of different languages, then back into english. Luckily for us the film was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, so we had a great time, it was very silly so right up our street! We then spent the evening exploring the outdoors venues of the fringe seeing some street performer-like acts and impulsively seeing Ross Noble, a comedian from the North East of England. 

The next morning we went to the central market for a mooch about and grabbed a drink, before going back to the Art Gallery to pick up where we'd left off the day before. We then spent a lot of time in the migration museum and then the South Australian museum. Australia is a very interesting place for many of reasons but the museums of the city are great for talking through the countries history and not just that since the British arrived! After another search for cheap eats in the city we had some lovely Vietnamese food at a place called Sit Lo. 

We had another fringe show booked but not until 9pm so followed a bit of an art trail which covers the whole city, some were easy to find, like the photo below  others less so. Afterwards we went for a drink back at the outdoor venues where we were spoilt by hundreds of flying foxes that appeared at dusk. We then saw Guy Williams, a New Zealand comedian who we've seen on the NZ version of taskmaster. All the shows we saw were good, but Guy was my favourite. It was hard to only pick a few to go to but I think we did alright. 

We started the next day with another swim and then relaxed on the beach for a while. Matt and his family visited Australia back 2008, spending time with distant relatives Steph and Graham. Back then they lived in Semaphore so we visited the beach there to see if Matt remembered it. Steph and Graham now live about an hour away from Adelaide in the Barossa Valley. Our next stop! 

Steph and Graham were so welcoming, having a room made up ready for us and giving us free reign in their beautiful home. We had a day doing a lot of washing and Matt and Graham serviced the van, making sure it was ready for the outback. We got out for a walk up a nearby hill called Mt Crawford, spotting kangeroos and emus. Steph and Graham were telling us how South Australia's had extremely low rainfall recently so we'd visited at an extremely dry time. We explored the small bit of land they own, both having a go on the swing Graham had put up and picking fruit from the trees, I'm suddenly a big fan of figs. It really is a wonderful place. 

The next day we all went out so they could show us the local area. Firstly to the Whistling Wall, a dam near Williamstown, where you can stand at either end and hear each other as the sound bounces around the wall. We visited a very fancy winery called Chateau Yaldara which looked very European, and another winery called Seppeltsfield Wines which had lots of small workshops where you could watch people make things like beautiful jewellery. We even visited the Seppeltsfield Mausoleum where the Seppelts family are buried and continue to be. 

After lunch at a lovely Malaysian place in Tanunda we visited Kellermeister, a winery where we finally thought we should try some wines. Me and Matt do not know about wines and only occasionally drink them but if you're in the Barossa Valley you should probably have a taste of some. We tried 5 different wines and then a chocolate liquor. I bought a bottle of the chocolate liquor, that probably shows where my tastes lie. On the way back we stopped at a view point near the house which really showed how dry the area is at the moment.

We were sad to leave Steph and Graham's lovely home the next day, but so much of Australia still waits for us. We're extremely grateful for the wonderful hospitality, delicious meals, and all the advice for the long drive through the outback. 

Lots of love, 

Lisa and Matt 💕 

I have no selfie from this stretch but here's a photo of us on Val's (Matts Grandma's) bench. She visited last March and enjoyed the spot, and we did too!