We left Adelaide on Saturday.  We spent our last day visiting the Art Gallery and the Botanic Gardens, which are smaller than Melbourne’s, but just as lovely.  We were lucky enough to get tickets for the footy on Friday night (at least we thought we were lucky!).  Geoff was keen to see the refurbished Oval, and it is magnificent, but it was a terrible match – Port Adelaide

Same lovely walk along the foreshore

Cockie’s Tongue

Lots of beautiful wattle blooming in SA

A few boats $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Stumpy-Tailed Lizards seem to be everywhere here.

v Carlton – and Port supporters are FERAL!  It was a record crowd of 52,000 and the roar from the crowd when their team came onto the ground sounded like a Grand Final.  Carlton played incredibly badly and the chorus of boos when they went for goal probably didn’t help.  It can,t feel good to know that 51,500 of the 52,000 strong crowd hates you!  We left at half- time and had a long walk to the bus top.  Buses for footy-goers are free in Adelaide, which I think is a great idea.

We spent Sat night in Port Augusta, very much a stop-over town, although there is a great place called the Wadlater Outback Centre which we visited.  You could spend a whole day there without any effort.  Marvellou

My favourite bird

s displays, films etc. focussing on the history, geological and otherwise, of the Flinders Ranges area.  I especially enjoyed the dreamtime stories which offer explanations for all the natural features of the are.

We are now in Port Lincoln for 3 nights although we may stay forever.  The weather is lovely and we are looking out over Boston Bay.  We had delicious, fresh fish for dinner at Del Giorno’s and intend to eat as much seafood as we can over the next few weeks.  This is a terrific caravan park with lots of birds, including a New Holland Honeyeater with a screwed- up body clock which sang all night.  I can’t believe he didn’t drop from exhaustion (unless he was a part of a team, working shifts).  There is also, extraordinarily, a Masked Lapwing sitting on one mottled, pale-green egg in a shallow depression in the gravel about 2 metres from the base of our nearest rotary clothesline and surrounded by activity.  She is unfazed by company as long as you don’t go any closer than about a metre, when she starts posturing and protesting.  I hope there are no cats around.  In Adelaide there was a Rainbow Lorikeet nesting in the burnt-out shell of a 400 yr-old river red gum, just behind

Early morning walk

our van.  Doing well in the bird department, which makes me happy.

Off to Coffin Bay tomorrow.  Geoff is looking forward to eating fresh oysters.

Greetings from Adelaide.

We left Melbourne a couple of days later than planned because Jenny was laid up with a nasty flu- like virus, but she is now well and looking forward to our 3-month exploration of The West.

We spent our first night in Nhill, with the obligatory stop at Lowan Crafts ( not to be missed).  The lovely ladies of Nhill, and possibly the lovely gentlemen as well, bake beautiful sponges, biscuits and slices to sell fresh in the shop each day and they are delicious.  You can also take the opportunity to stock up on covered coat hangars and crocheted knee rugs.

In Adelaide we are staying at the Brownhill Creek Caravan Park which is located in a beautiful little valley not far from the city.  Today we took a picnic lunch to McLaren Vale, which is looking gorgeous with all the almond trees in blossom.  There is an elegant piazza in the middle of McLaren Vale, established by the Italian Heritage community, celebrating their unique contribution to the area.  There are many lovely sentiments engraved in the stone steps about leaving home for a new land.  Imagine Australia without Italians and their lovely food!

Things I wish I hadn’t missed?  Geoff, about to turn the shower on and realising he had forgotten his soap, doing a naked dash to the basins to collect some liquid soap in each hand!