Hi

Day 3: Up even earlier, we had a 5hr drive ahead of us to get to Adelaide. So, at 6am, we set off along the long dead straight road (they all seem to be out here - much easier to drive!) towards our destination. At around 7.30am, we stopped off and had our breaky in a garage car park and then continued on our way. We passed the Wolf Blass vineyard but as it was still only 8am, it wasn't open.

By 11am, we'd reached Adelaide and managed to get parked right next to the Adelaide Oval (Quality - as planned!?!?). It's become somewhat of a challenge for me to get a picture of every major cricket ground in Oz. Although we saw the Gabba in Brisbane, we didn't get a piccy, but we now have a good collection of all the others - Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide - unfortunately, Perth won't be included...shame! It would of been all the cricket grounds used in the Ashes!!

Anyhow, we jumped back in Brucy and made our way towards the Barossa Valley - the best wine region in Oz! Oh yes! First stop was the Whispering Wall, the Barossa Reservoir/ Damn wall that you're able to whisper at one side of and be able to hear it like normal level conversation on the other. We had lunch at a picnic table there and then played around a bit whispering from one end to the other. There was even a monk there having a go!!

Then, it was off to find the Jacob's Creek vineyard. Sure enough, the next field we passed had a huge 'Jacob's Creek Riesling' sign in the middle of it. Opposite was the Cabernet Sauvignon one - Becki was happy. We were both totally amazed when we drove over the next creek, only to see a signpost with 'Jacobs Creek' written on. Jacobs Creek, was actually a real creek!! Makes sense now I suppose, but to me, it's always just been a wine name. We parked up and entered the visitors centre. After listening to the story of how the creek has been restored after many years of overgrowth, we headed straight for the bar and were greeted by a young lad asking us 'which wine would we like to start with?!'. Before us was a menu of all their wines - not only Jacobs Creek, but also all the 'Orlando Wines' which is the trading name of the Jacobs Creek company. Where did we start?! Well....of course, I went with what I know - Cab Sav! But, I wasn't offered the standard Cab Sav - it was the 'Reserve' Cab Sav. (Which means that only the best grapes are used!!). Mmmm! Following that, we had the St.Hugo Cab Sav which is a $60 bottle of vino. The difference in quality was immense.

We continued tasting other wines, Rose, White and Riesling.... Becki was driving (for once), so she only had a tiny bit but I had a line-up going - as you can see from the photos. Becki, not wanting to be rude, made a purchase....

On the way out, I spotted an Emu! We soon realised that actually, it was a reserve and there were a couple of emu's along with about 6 kangaroos. There was one lying in the shade with a little joey in its pouch...ahhh!! Becki then vowed that she wouldn't be eating kangaroo mince ever again - no matter how cheap it is - women!!

After prancing around the Jacobs Creek sign for photo's, we drove back towards the city. Adelaide is a really pretty city. The main centre is fairly small, but surrounded by green parks all around. People were out exercising and the whole place had a good feel to it. It's certainly the most 'British' city that I've visited.

Having seen Adelaide (there's not a great deal to do there) we decided to make tracks that same evening, back towards Melbourne. On the way back, we were taking a shorter route and so we figured we could be back by the end of Day 4. Nearly two hours later, we pulled in at the garage we'd had breaky in that morning - although at night, it was shut and the place was very remote. We parked up in the forecourt, facing the road (deciding that it was better to be seen in a place like this, than out of sight. Flashes of the film 'Wolf Creek' sprang to mind!) and clambered into the back of Bruce. Becki was petrified as we were basically in the middle of nowhere....the only thing making a noise was the large juggernauts trucking their way across the state on the road next to us. We were safe in Brucy though, so we tucked down and were glad to finally get some sleep - it had been a long day.

Whether we'd survive the night or not, we didn't know.....

Miffy x x x