Adelaide to Flinders Ranges

So much for the mighty Rabbitoh's. I listened to the last five minutes of the game online DOH!!! I won't jinx them again as they have managed to win 5 of the 6 games I haven't listened too. SORRY

Anyway Tuesday was a day of touring through the Adelaide hills. Firstly we went past the Big Scotsman, apparently a contender for the first ever "Big Thing" as it was built the year before the Big Banana. (Thanks to the McSweeney's "Big things" book for that little titbit).

We saw the Biggest Rocking Horse in Gumeracha at the wooden toy factory that sold a lot of stuff that was made in China????

 

 

Then onto Lobethal for lunch and a coffee in a lovely little park. The kids got a pic taken on a motor scooter much to their delight.

Then off to the park for lunch.

From there we headed to Hahndorf which is the oldest German settlement in Australia (I think).

The we stopped in at Mt Lofty lookout on the way home. Great day out.

 

Wednesday was a school day. We were still having trouble with the bike rack so I contacted another engineer to get something done and we arranged to take the van up the next afternoon.

The kids did lots of work while we supervised and TJ managed to fit in some shopping.

The kids did get some time out and played on these trikes from the office and Patch played and played with his new caravan and car that he bought with some of his birthday money.
I also took the kids over to the oval next door to throw and kick a ball and play a bit of basketball...I think that is PDPH or what I used to call PE.

Thursday we took the van to the engineers and headed up to the Barossa. Firstly we stopped in at the Whispering Wall which is actually the dam wall from the Barossa Dam. This place was amazing. 140m long wall and you can stand on one side, whisper something into the was and it can be heard clearly on the other side. Incredible.

We even dropped into the Jacobs Creek winery as we drink some of their wine from time to time. Lovely place to visit. Nice play area for the kids and we did a little tasting before picking up a couple of bottles.

Then we went back to get the van...it was definitely a bit shonky as he had not done what he said he would and had decided to do a couple of other things.

Anyway it was back to the park without unhooking as we would be heading off in the morning for the Flinders. So we went next door to the surf club for dinner. They open Thursday and Friday nights for dinner with Thursdays being Schnitzel night. Yummy, cheap and massive...just the way I like it.

Friday we planned on going early but were delayed a bit and then needed to stop and buy another jockey wheel as our existing one is not sounding too healthy.

Decided to take the main road north as the scenic route through the mountains wouldn't be much fun in the rain that was bucketing down.

Stopped at Port Pirie for a coffee and somewhere out of the rain to eat. Checked the bikes and found that one of the bolts had sheared off completely so somehow the bikes rack had stayed on with just one bolt. Great job done by the engineer...thanks we wanted to flush $100 down the drain...NOT.

So decided to stay locally for the night and then sort out where to put the bikes etc in the morning when the rain had cleared a bit.

The park was right near the highway and I spent the night holding onto the wall in case the passing trucks rocked me out of bed.

Decided over night that we would put the three kids bikes into the back of the car and just leave TJ's on the bike rack at the back of the van.

Managed to score a bolt from the park owner the next morning then took our time up to Port Germein to try and buy a new one.

Found out that Port G has the longest wooden jetty in Australia, just under 1 km. We walked to the end although we soon found out we may have under dressed as the wind was cutting through us.

Couldn't get the bolt here but enjoyed our walk. Also ran into a family who are travelling around from QLD. The kids had spent three days playing with them in Adelaide before they headed out on Monday.

Then went to Port Augusta which I have heard being referred to as Port Agutter...we felt this was appropriate. Anyway got new bolts, topped up on groceries and then filled up with fuel and coffee before heading out.

It was getting a bit late and we weren't keen on arriving in the national park in the dark so have stopped in at Hawker which is about 50kms south of Wilpena and the entrance to the NP. great little caravan park where we ran into a guy who we met in Adelaide. Small world out here.

Really looking forward to Wilpena Pound and the Flinders Ranges NP and the next few nights in the park.

Loving it!!