Great Ocean Road Tour: Day Sixty-Two (20 December)

Our first stop today was Mount Gambier and the Blue Lake. Apparently it only looks blue in the summertime so it's just as well December is summer in Australia.

Not long afterwards we crossed the border between South Australia and the state of Victoria. and officially joined the Great Ocean Road.

We stopped at the Bay of Islands, the Bay of Martyrs and London Bridge - a rock formation which looked like a double-span bridge until part of it fell down just like the song says.

We had lunch in Loch Ard, which is named after a famous shipwreck, and then saw the famous Twelve Apostles (except there are only eleven now because one has collapsed due to erosion).

Our final stop was Apollo Bay where we spent the night and went on a glow worm walk.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Sixty-One (19 December)

There were only four of us on our next tour: a lovely Malaysian couple from Perth, the driver (originally from Sweden) and us.

We were going all the way to Melbourne (in the state of Victoria) via the Great Ocean Road but our first stop was Hahndorf, a "German" village about 30 miles outside Adelaide.

We stopped at Robe for lunch and then visited the caves at Naracoorte. They are a World Heritage Site due to the fossils found in the area.

There was an opportunity for yet more wine tasting at The Poplars in Coonawarra and then we stayed overnight in Chardonnay Lodge.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Sixty (18 December)

Our last day in Adelaide. We visited an opal mine inside a shop where there were also lots of aboriginal artefacts and we heard the didgeroo played again. (I still don't think it's very tuneful).

Afterwards we went to St Peter's Cathedral to admire the new stained glass window and then bought some goodies from Haigh's famous chocolate shop :-).

Barnaby

Barossa Valley: Day Fifty-Nine (17 December)

Today we went on a tour of the Barossa Valley, one of Australia's largest wine producing areas.

As well as visiting a couple of wineries, we went to Angas Park Dried Fruits,had a very nice lunch at the Nuriootpa Vine Inn and admired the fabulous views from Menglers Hill Lookout. We also visited the Whispering Wall and tried it out.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Fifty-Eight (16 December)

It was a Sunday so we went to the morning service at Holy Trinity Church (the oldest church in South Australia) and then explored the Rundle Street markets.

In the evening we went to our first carol service of the year in Adelaide's Town Hall. For the first time we felt Christmassy.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Fifty-Seven (15 December)

We had a transfer to the airport this morning for our flight to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was quite a shock being in such a big airport after the smaller ones we’ve been used to but it all went smoothly.

We had to change our watches again because the time in South Australia is half an hour behind the time in New South Wales and then we explored Adelaide on foot. It is considered to be the most English of Australian cities.

Barnaby