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► 2010 (6)

▼ 2009 (39)

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Adelaide and the Fleurieu peninsula

Adelaide is a decently sized city, but nothing special (unfortunately for me, I didn't know this and had 9 days to spend here, and at times I really wished I'd decided to spend them somewhere WARM, but at this time last year it was actually 37 degrees in Adelaide - now it's between 11 and 17 most of the time).

I did meet up with a few couchsurfers and spent some nights surfing their couches, which was very nice! Always great to meet the locals and get some insider tips. The museum is interesting (and free!!), as is the central market, where I found refuge when it rained sideways for the better half of the day. I also had to do some shopping; warm long pants and a sweater at the salvation army ("salvo" - the ozzies love to shorten words!) second hand shop and a big woolen shawl and two pairs of woolen socks in the city. I did not regret this, and I will probably need these warm clothes in Tasmania and New Zealand as well!

Just south of Adelaide, the Fleurieu peninsula (on the way to the Kangaroo Island ferry on Cape Jervis) is a lush green, hilly landscape with stunning sea cliffs, wineries and farms. We decided to spend the two half days before and after Kangaroo Island exploring this area, and we were not disappointed!

Purple flowers covered the hills.

Endless wineries!

The first stop was the German settlement of Hahndorf (which we didn't really find German-looking at all), where we stopped for supplies and second breakfast. Never go shopping on an empty stomach, I ended up with a very unhealthy combo consisting of muffins, coke and chocolate which fueled my sugar rush for the next 2 hours! We continued south to the small towns of Meadows and Kangarilla (!), then the wine district of McLaren Vale before turning onto the main road along the western coast of the peninsula, the Fleurieu Way. The wind was strong and the rains came every time we went out of the car, but the sceneries and views were simply breathtaking, so we soon forgot to complain about the weather.

Strange pine trees.

For lunch we found the secluded beach of Rapid Bay with a large cave, strange tall pine trees and a large picnic area. The sun did appear just long enough for us to lie in the grass and smell the fresh air and feel totally relaxed. This was very close to the ferry terminal at Cape Jervis. I had a nap in the car (and in the ferry although the sea was pretty rough), all this fresh air cannot be good!

We were the only people on this beach in Rapid Bay.

After returning from Kangaroo Island we drove east to Victor Harbor. This is a nice, but touristy seaside town where you can spot whales in the whale season (I believe it is roughly May-September), and there was a sighting one hour before we got there, but unfortunately we waited for nearly 45 minutes at a lookout without seeing any. Then we went back to Adelaide to return the car, and the car owner even invited us for dinner!