The last two days have been extremely hot. The temperature hit 43 degrees C. in Adelaide today. The air conditioning in the car could barely handle it. We left Kangaroo Island yesterday morning and toured the McLaren Vale wine region ending the day in Hahndorf, a historic German settlement about 45 minutes east of Adelaide. The town is well preserved with plenty of German restaurants and heritage. This morning we toured the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide. ...

We caught a ferry to Kangaroo Island this morning. We complain about BC Ferries fares; the Sealink 45 minute trip here is $184 for a car with two passengers -- one way. Kangaroo Island is a heavily promoted tourist destination in South Australia. Frankly, with the exceotion of Admirals Arch and Remarkable Rocks, the tourist attraction is mostly hype. Yes there are a few wineries, some seals and some farm products, but the scenery is not that great. Nothing t...

We continued through the wine regions north of the Coonawarra in South Australia, soon reaching grain lands. For several hours we travelled through a landscape not dissimilar to the prairies (although there are still plenty of pasture lands (i.e. sheep). South of Murray Bridge we returned to more rolling topography as we entered the Fleurieu Peninsula. At Goolwa, on the coast, we stopped for a picnic lunch and a view of the start of the Coorong National Park, ...

Continued on the Great Ocean Drive west of Port Campbell. The dramatic scenery continues. The Great Ocean Drive officially ends at Warnambool but there are more great viewpoints further along, particularly at Cape Bridgewater near Portland. Crossing over the border into South Australia, we stopped at Mt. Gambier to view Blue Lake, situated in a volcanic crater. The name is quite appropriate. In the summer it is cobalt blue. In winter, it turns gray. We co...

We spent the day travelling along the Great Ocean Drive east of Melbourne. The Drive is about 250 km. in total from Torquay to Warrnambool in Victoria. It is truly spectacular. We have travelled along many great drives (California Coast, Dalmatian Coast, etc.). This one beats them all. We probably only drove about 200 km. today, with many stops at lookout points along the way. The two most well-known are the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge (with many tou...