Arrive at the airport at 3.30pm and it was a balmy 25 Deg C however felt cool after the 40 plus degrees at Ayres Rock. Taxi into town and when we got to the hotel nice surprise they upgraded us to a river suite on the 18th floor. Unpacked and then out for some supplies, pop,crisps and tonic for the Gin ;-)plans for the next three days are explore the city tomorrow out to dinner with an old mate tomorrow night, Wildlife Park on Tuesday and the Barossa Valley on Wednesday, then pack and off again Thursday

Monday 15th. Getting to know Adelaide

Had a wander around Adelaide today and discovered the city, Parliament House, University of Adelaide, see OB Bear picture, State Library, Goverment House, The Botanical Gardens which are well worth the visit , Ayres House the oldest colonial regency architecture, The National Wine Centre of Australia not sure why we went there ;-), and St Francis Xavier Cathedral.

off out to Hallet Cove Beach tonight for Dinner with Stewart & Tammy Matthews, old friend form Eltek UK. Dinner with Stewart , Tammy and the Girls was great, catching up on old times, a few naval dits and then the Adelaide Metro Journey to and from Hallet Cove was fun. Got to love the availability of Public Transport to get about in the bigger Australian Cities. A three day pass, covering, Bus, Metro, Tram was 25 AUD. used it twice already and off to the Cleland Widelife Park tomorrow on the bus.

Tuesday 16th Feb, Cleland Wildlife Park.

Bus from Curry St, Central Adelaide out to Crater, change to another bus which takes you over the top of Mount Lofty to the park. Walked into the park to find a myriad of birds and animals that you could feed by hand. Then OB Bear met his cousin? See the photo for a greater explanation. Fed Kangaroo's, Wallabies, Cape Barron Geese, Potoroos by hand and then saw Koala's ( Marsupials not bears) Wombats, Dingoes,Tasmanian Devils and lots more. Really great day out. See pictures of the animals we saw and fed. Back onto the bus and back to the hotel and lunch for about 3pm having set off at 9am. Great Day, off out to a Fish Restaurant "Louca" tonight

Louca was perfect. We had Oysters to start, Lesley had Blue Crab Linguini and I had Scallops, it was brilliant. Have to say the Pinot Grigio really went well with the Oysters and Scallops. Talking of wine off to the Barossa Valley tomorrow, looking forward to that

Wednesday 17th

started out on a brief coach transfer and then picked up our coach and guide for the day, Peter. He took us through North Adelaide and out on the roads towards the Adelaide Hills, Eden and Barossa Vallies. Out first stop was Williamstown at a small winery called Te Aro Estate. We tried Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blance, GSM and a Shiraz. Then we tried a fortified wine (Port) called Pruners Reward. They were all very good especially the Port. Back on the coach to the next stop which was in Lyndoch at Kellermeister. Here we tried Pinot Gris, Riesling, a Rose Alicante Bouschet and the another GSM, two different Shiraz and then a Chocolate Liquer. That was beautiful. Back on the coach to Maggie Beer's, she is a famous Australia famous for her cooking and her preserves. We had been told to try some and did but to be honest not too much stood out. Back on the coach to The Southern Australian Company for lunch, we had a small selection of canapés with a Sav Blanc and then a Shiraz, after that we had Kangaroo Pie made with lovely puff pastry and mash. Back on the coach and off to the famous Wolf's Blass Vineyard. There we drank a Gold Label, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, plus a Spakling Muscato. After that we had two Shiraz a Grey Label and a Brown Label and their Flagship the Black Label Shiraz. Off back onto the coach for the final stop at Gomersal and Pindarie, a very small Boutique Vineyard. This was by far the best, we drank Eden Valley Riesling and Savagnin then a TSS based on Tempranillo and Sangiovese and then the pure Tempranillo. A Cab Sav and a Shiraz. Every single one was beautiful. They are also looking at Montepulciano for next year. Keep an eye out for this vineyard as it is special.