Friday 20th February 2015 – On to Adelaide.

Friday 20th February 2015.

Another driving day today. It is the last of our long driving days and should be slightly shorter than yesterday. We got up at the usual time and breakfasted on Weetbix and coffee again before getting on the road before the 10am check out – it is a simple road to Adelaide, following the Southern Ports Highway that we spent a lot of yesterday on, then the A1 / M1. The speed limit in South Australia is 110kmh for a lot of the time – compared to a maximum of 100kmh in Victoria.

Firstly we had to back track a bit to pick up the main road, then it was north following the line of the coast. We made very good progress on very quiet, fast, straight and even a little boring roads. Hitting the 1 and going along very rural countryside. First stop was a place called Kingston, where Sue went in and chatted to the Tourist Info guide again and got maps etc. I stayed outside in the hot sun topping my tan up and taking photos.

Before we left Kingston we called into a BP garage and I put another $20 worth of petrol in to prevent problems later. There isn’t too much to see on this road, but we did make a detour to see The Granites – a series of granite rocks in the sea- what was remarkable here was the fantastic beach they were on and there wasn’t a soul in sight for miles around.

Sue took over the driving and continued north until we got to a one horse town called Salt Creek, where we stopped at the all in one restaurant / camp ground / petrol station for a coffee – Sue was chatting to the girl behind the counter who had only just arrived from Germany and was doing work in Australia – she had got this job in the middle of nowhere via the internet!

I was kept amused while Sue was inside by a couple of Aussie ladies in their sixties who were getting wound up about a ‘snake’ that was crawling around the radiator of a pick up parked outside the cafe – they were shouting that it was moving until a local Crocodile Dundee hero came to have a look and grabbed it – then snapped it, as it was a twig not a snake!!

My turn to drive again and I piloted us north, stopping briefly at Policeman’s Point for a photo op. Next stop proper was Tailem Bend, where we parked up outside a bakery and had a nice lunch of cobs. I had cheese salad and Sue had chicken salad, we got chatting to some locals about the weather and the UK once again. Back on the road, we hit the A1 again and quickly got to Murray Bridge and joined the M1 where we had to get used to the concept of other vehicles sharing the road again.

The M1 took us right into Adelaide, down a very long and steep hill that seems to have safety overkill with run off tracks and lorry only lanes – it’s not THAT steep! Our destination for two nights is the Welcome Inn 277 on Glen Osmond Road (named after one of the lesser known of the brothers presumably !)

Check in was easy into a ground floor unit number 4 – listening to the radio has not been easy en route – it is open season for ridiculing the poms on the radio, as we have been thrashed by the Black Caps in Wellington – we were all out for 123, with Tim Southee taking 7-33, and then the Kiwis knocked them off in 12.2 overs with Brendan McCullum hitting 77 off 25 balls! Steven Finn went for 29 off two overs! The radio Deejays are loving it!

Once we were sorted, Sue navigated us through the busy rush hour traffic out to Sir Donald Bradman Way and out to the airport to iron out a potential problem for Sunday – we fly out at 6am but the car hire place doesn’t open until later, and we were told when we picked it up that we would have to take it back Saturday night – Sue spoke to a very nice chap who said it wasn’t a problem – we could take it back before they open on Sunday and leave the keys in a special box – sorted!

Rather than battle back through town, we decided to go out to the beaches – First stop was Henley Beach – great place packed with people enjoying the sun, the beautiful soft white sand and the sea. We walked out to the end of a jetty, just as two cops were walking out to sort out a complaint about kids jumping off the end of the pier / jetty into the water – all the kids looked totally innocent as the cops made sure the knew it was illegal, then as soon as they had gone they were diving and back flipping off the end with no problem whatsoever 😉

We also watched some crab fishermen for a while, then went to a supermarket for a drink and then back to the car. Henley Beach is a great place, but it is one of many little beach side communities along the coast – all wonderful places to live. As we drove north, we saw a huge stadium, so thinking it may be the Adelaide Oval. We went to investigate – it was the AAMI stadium, right next to a huge Westfield shopping mall with Target, Kmart and many other huge shops. We managed to park up and watched some of the Aussie Rules boys practicing. I got talking to an old boy who is a groundsman.

He explained that this isn’t the Adelaide Oval – that is in town – this is the traditional home of two Adelaide AFL teams, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power, but it is soon to be knocked down as they have moved to the Oval and this is going to be a housing development. He took us inside to show it off – it is a really nice modern stadium with two huge video screens and a capacity of 51,240. last night it was home to a One Direction Concert and there is still quite a bit of evidence of that about, but the stage has been dismantled and has moved on. We took photos and thanked him for his hospitality.

Back in the car we went to the shopping centre, which is shut apart from the anchor stores, we got some cash from a cash machine in the food court – I got my text from Lloyds a few minutes later – excellent! We decided to eat at the bistro at the stadium – it is called the Checkside Tavern. We got a table straight away and I had Deconstructed chicken cordon bleu and Sue had a fish off the specials board called Basa, which is a white river fish. There was also a help your self salad and hot veg bar, the whole set up including the gambling is very similar to last night in fact the bill was identical too. Sue had asked if she could have the Basa with mash and veg rather than chips, but that wasn’t possible – she could help herself to potato and veg from the self serve bar, but had to have the chips and then leave them!

After we had eaten we nipped over to Coles for cookies and beer, then had a drive back to the motel, where I put another $18 worth of fuel in at United garage, Henley Beach (15litres) Trip 1364, to take it back to half full and prevent any issues – we know there is a 24 hour garage at the airport for Sunday morning.

Back at the hotel for sweet, diary, and sorting.

Trip 1379km – 412 today.