Day 4

Miraculously, I managed to sleep through last night and woke up a little before 8.00 am for a shower, shave and shampoo followed by a coffee sandwich for breakfast.

Chris and his wife Rose arrived with Paula and Lesley at 10.30 am, and we made our way down south through the suburbs. Photo 001 is of Norfolk Island pines - normally a pine tree is regarded in Oz as a giant weed but we Croweaters have a special place for NI pines and they can be seen up and down the coast, originally planted by the British as a future source of replacement masts for their ships.

We stopped at Mt. Compass bakery, just as a rain squall hit. Not a promising start to the adventure! So we had pies, pasties, sausage rolls and the unadventurous Paula settled for a sandwich. Then on to Victor Harbor (note US spelling) and Encounter Bay, where French, British and American sailors/explorers/sealers kept running into each other in the days before the formation (1836) of South Australia.

Off of Victor Harbor is a mile causeway to Granite Island, and due to my limitations the plan was that the rest would walk across and back while I recharged my system with a coffee or two. Photo 003 should show the search party about to head off. Soon after, a heavy rain squall hit, which had them scurrying back to the mainland while I was unaware of their travails, blissfully soaking in the tourist centre nearby. Then I saw it was raining very heavily, which had me shuddering on behalf of Lesley, our hydrophobe.  Concerned at the prospect that she would be very upset at getting her feet or hair wet (instances of which have become famous) I edged out in the rain to look down the causeway - only to be hailed by the party who had taken refuge in the coffee shop. Apparently they had run back at the first sign of rain, and I was the fool getting the inundation.

A coffee later, all was well, though Lesley tried to do a Mary Poppins and blew her umbrella after the gals had retired to the loo and were trying to get back.

We drove along the shore to the bluff, past the remains of the ancient whaling station, then headed down to Goolwa, where the River Murray meets salt water. We drove over to Hindmarsh Island and discussed the "women's business" that had long-delayed the bridge (when conservationists allied with aboriginal women to try and stop construction of the bridge) and saw the riot of architectural styles of the McMansions now in place. Maybe the protesters had a point...

Next stop was the wharf where the working paddle steamer PS Oscar was tied up (photo 18). Like almost all the river steamers, this was a side-wheeler. (I only know of one stern-wheeler on the Murray River. Our great uncle was master of the PS Marion, and it is still plying its way up and down after over a century.) Our stay was interrupted by another squall, and howls of laughter as we sought refuge back in the car. Despite historical forebodings to the contrary, Lesley was a good sport about it.

We drove back to Victor Harbor via a stop at Middleton to check if any southern right whales were along the coast - if they were, we missed them! - and then back to Adelaide driving through a hailstorm to where we visited Mum and Dad's grave, then had an evening meal with brother Phillip at her favourite noshery in the Avoca Hotel. After that, the drive back to Semaphore to drop me off, and I split a superb Bleasedale sparkling Shiraz with Brian for a nightcap.

A brief moment of panic came when I couldn't find my passports. A quick call to Chris and Rose resolved the matter when I learned that Paula still had them from the day before. Phew!

In the morning, we are off at 10.45 am, flying to Alice Springs and then to Uluru, the red heart of Australia and wot used to be known as Ayers Rock, a massive sandstone monolith. We have two nights there, then on to Cairns.

All the best to you!

Brendan

Day 3

Here at last in Adelaide! The colours of the red bottlebrush are in bloom everywhere! Such a riot of green and red in the trees...

Getting here was another matter. After leaving our day hotel, we made our way to LAX and then through security to the departure lounge 23A (Air NZ). Paula went shopping for one of our hosts in Duty Free. Fortunately I remembered that there would be a second security barrier to pass in Auckland, and she was able to get a refund.

We had our boarding passes reissued so our frequent flyer miles would be noted, and then lined up for pre-boarding. I thought that I could walk to the jetway, but a look at the long corridor said otherwise, and called for a wheelchair. So I was wheeled down in style where I then staggered to the Premium Economy seating. Got to say that Air NZ gives great meals, but their new seats are less than intuitive. I managed to get some sleep but both Paula and Lesley reported none. The evidence of my eyes as I went to the loo a couple of times suggested otherwise, but they remain adamant. Speaking of loos, the one on my side was the usual compressed job where you have to insert oneself in carefully, but apparently on Lesleys side there was enough space to hold a party there. Love their Boeing 777s.

The flight was delayed by 45 minutes leaving LAX due to runway repair (not Obama's AF1), so it was a hectic connection to the Adelaide flight in Auckland, with assistance from the extra security checkpoint. I was in a wheelchair and tried to stand up to walk through the scanner, and got a dose of the wobbles and had to be hand wanded in the chair. But we were at the gate and with another wheelie first on the plane, and takeoff for the Airbus 320 was on time at 8.00 am.
Consider this the morning of 4 breakfasts. Just too much! But we arrived early despite headwinds, and I got to see Glenelg from the air, as well at the Adelaide Oval under renovations. More wheelchairs, luggage retrieval, then we met Vincent, the beagle sniffer. The three of us were placed in an area on our ownsomes while Vincent (resplendent in his red jacket) gave us the once and twice-over. He accomplished this with great aplomb and dignity.

Then outside to where we were greeted by Christopher, my brother. Off to Semaphore where I am staying, and we had fish (gar) and chips - A Friday staple in the old days, washed down with Coopers Pale Ale (a new addition). I was fading by then, so was dropped off at the presbytery where I gathered some 2 hours of wool before Brian arrived. We had a chinwag, then out for supper and an evening of chewing through where we have been all these years.

It is now 11.00 pm, a time when my bod belongs in bed.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go down to Victor Harbor with Chris , Paula and Lesley, then join brother Phillip for an evening meal at the Avoca hotel, where many repasts were shared with Mum and the family.

All the best to you for now.

Brendan

Day 1

Well, had a good preparation for this trip. Was holding Jamie, one of Lesley's cats, while she clipped his claws and then his matted fur. Thank God she did it in that order, because he slashed me from the mouth down, and made me the "Scarface" for Homeland Security today. Joy!

We (Paula, Lesley and self) headed out at 6.00 am in the morning for Logan airport. In hindsight we were just a twee late, and they were calling our flight as we passed through Security. Thanks, Jamie! I ended up front, at the bulkhead behind 1st class, while the gals were in steerage. The plane was a new 737 but one of the steerage heads was broken, and the hosties would not let peasants at the more noble long drop. All was not joy up front, while rejoicing in the extra legroom, the fellow alongside me stood up a little too briskly and cracked his head loudly on the overhead furniture.

Apart from that, it was a relatively uneventful ride to LAX, where I was greeted with a wheelchair to get me out of the terminal. A short discussion with the hostesses saw us headed for the Marriott Courtyard, where we took a room for the day and rejoiced to watch Brady vs Manning just after we checked in.

A quick supper/lunch, and we are tidying up before heading to the airport. We are boarding at 8.45 pm and I look forward to the "premium economy" seats that Air NZ has successfully touted to us.

All the best to you all for now. We land in Auckland at 6.15 am their time, and then through security again to catch the 8.00 am flight to Adelaide.

There will be no Day 2 blog as we pass through the dateline soon after midnight, and I hope to be sound asleep then! Next blog will be from Oz...

Brendan