Mt Gambier to Geelong - Days 8 to 10

From dipping country valleys, past the seaside and through the rainforests. The Great Ocean Road Drive proved to be quite a delightful mix. With the sun accompanying us, we drove through beautiful gold and green plains, dotted with vineyards that were creatively named to spark the imagination. Craig nominated our first stop at Mt Gambier and while I was a bit dubious at first, it turned out to be a terrific pick. I found this gorgeous stay called The Barn, which was like staying at an elegant wine villa for less than the price of an average city stay. It was really cold! As usual, Craig barely felt the chill while my teeth were chattering away!

A rose in the garden at The Barn

The garden at The Barn

 

Mt Gambier Countryside

 
The next morning, we drove out to look at The Blue Lake, which is Mt Gambier's water supply. I've found that with vast landscapes like these, it's best not to try and describe it with words so here are some pictures instead. You can see why they call it The Blue Lake.

My favorite thing at Mt Gambier was without a doubt, the Umpherston Sinkhole. It used to be an underground limestone cave, but once the roof collapsed, it became a sunken garden. It really is a unique Australian Secret Garden and even though it is located in a park, there were only a few visitors while Craig and I were there, so we really enjoyed the tranquility and the butterflies. Check out these pictures:

Our next stop was Port Fairy and talk about a sea change! It was a little surreal going from open farm fields to the salt-breeze of the surf. We found this little Bed & Breakfast and it reminded me of weekends by the sea up at Second Beach in Cairns. While Craig and I didn't do much, the leisure was priceless. Downtime is what we both so desperately needed after the chaos of the past few months.

We woke up the next day and to our dismay, it was a touch cloudy. And just when we were approaching the highlight of the trip, The Great Ocean Road Drive! We soldiered on none the less and saw some breath-taking views of the Victorian coast. I won't bore you with adjectives. I will upload the photos when we get back! When we finally got to the 12 Apostles, it was spitting with rain. It was a real shame but that just means we will have to go back some time! We finished up in Apollo Bay, a nice summary to our coastal drive.

That's it for now. Will fill in with more details soon.

Xoxo Demi & Craig.

Adelaide Days 5-7

Our initial days were spent beneath gloomy overcast skies. However by Friday, Adelaide realised that the weekend was just around the corner and reflected the city's anticipation with clear, blue heavens. We walked to the Adelaide Central markets, which was like a Cheese, Fruit & Salami Lover's version of heaven. I love walking through all those different stalls, each with their own particular brand of homemade tasty goodness, nibbling a little of this and a little of that. It reminded me so much of growing up, when Mum would take us kids to the market and teach us how to spot a ripe fruit or a healthy vegie.

Adelaide Central Markets

The main reason we'd come to Adelaide, was because I'd won entry into the radiography conference ASMMIRT. Typical of radiography conferences, there were lots of technological goodies and freebies, as all the various companies tried to market their new toys.

I got an insightful peek into the world of liver transplantation and afterwards, it was time to chill out at the National Wine Centre. Dominick, the head of MRI at Queensland X-ray, was also attending the talk to give talks about MRI imaging. It was at the wine centre that we met up with Dom and his wife, who had a good ole chat with Craig about the plight of being the other half of a radiographer. For some reason, I'd imagined that there would be a lot of wine varieties from various sellers but I was a little disappointed to find only 6 kinds of wine and all seeming from the same company. Not that I'm much of a wine buff. I can only really enjoy Moscatos or dessert wines (yes, I know, the sweetest kind of wine) and Craig was a beer man. It wasn't a complete disappointment though. There were some awesome cheese & salad dressings store, thus restoring our faith in the tastiness of South Australian fare. After saying goodbye to Dom and Michelle, we made a quick escape and soon found ourselves a decent pub for some real food.

Adelaide by Night

The River Torrens. Can you see the sleeping black swans?

I spent most of Saturday at the conference, reviewing breast imaging, neuro topics and stroke pathways. Since starting MRI a few weeks ago, it had opened up a whole new world of imaging, now that the MRI talks had become more relevant to me. All in all, it was a pretty educational day.

It didn't take long for Sunday morning to come along, marking the first day of our road trip on the great ocean road drive. Our first stop was the lovely town of Hahndorf. It was originally a German settlement so naturally, Craig and I headed straight for some German food for lunch. And boy were those Kranksies delicious! Hahndorf is like this great place you would take family and friends. The street is lined with beautiful maple trees whose leaves had turned red in the Autumn weather. And the quaint shops were a mixture of fudge, boiled American lollies & mini cinnamon donuts. It was like a sugary, German town for all ages. Craig and I stocked up on goodies for our trip, with enough sugar & water to last us till the end of our holiday! And with that, we were on our way. Until the next post, take care!

Adelaide - Days 2 & 3

I was determined to begin my mornings in Adelaide with 30mins of mindfulness meditation. Usually at work, the up & down of my work scheduled, combined with various other social commitments make carving out meditation time a bit of a challenge.With the precious availability of leisure (yes, free time that was all my own!), I wasted no time devoting some attention to the health and well being of my mind.

I set aside some floor space in our tiny hotel room, facing west, which happens to be the window. Yes, that's the same window that when opened, confronts you with a bland grey brick wall. Thankfully, meditation doesn't require a view, just a cushion. I've always found it hard to practice when I'm away from my meditation room. Setting up a routine and getting to the cushion is always the hardest part but once I'm there, sitting has a momentum of its own. Meditating on holidays has always required a bit of research and thoughtful organization.  Over the years, I've gently taught my family that meditation does for my mind what yoga/exercise does for my body. And if they just give me that 30-45mins to myself, the rest of the time we spent together will hopefully be more pleasant, because I won't be as easily overwhelmed by my bad habits. After four years, Craig still seems a little skeptical at times but respects my practice enough not to intrude.

An Adelaide War Monument

By the time I finished my meditation, Craig is well and truly ready for a coffee. We decide to wander the city by foot. We seem a little out of place, strolling leisurely about in typical tourist fashion while everyone else rushes about, either heading to work or school. On this unusual tuesday morning, we are oddities amongst the native Adelaide folk.

An education centre at Botanical Gardens

Adelaide Botanical Gardens

Did someone say Meerkat?

Craig's favourite, Monkeys (Gibbons)!

Panda!

Getting friendly with a native.

Our wanderings take us past historical monuments, war memorials and into the botanical gardens. We even walk along the river Torrens. We seem to be mixing a lot with school children, young families or retirees. At the zoo, Craig is really enjoying getting behind the camera. He's a great photographer and I love his intensity and focus, qualities that I've failed to cultivate. I've tried learning the manual techniques of using a DSLR but I don't use them enough to feel comfortable yet. I'm more of a "spontaneous" photographer, but I know that I need to learn more about DSLR, if I'm to bring out the best in my pictures.

Craig went along easily with my craziness. I took us on what would seem like a lovely and gentle stroll to the Old Adelaide Gaol, but I'd underestimated the walking distance. It had seem far closer on the map but we persevered and finished the walk. At least we were helping to burn off some of the rich food we'd been having. Craig had been reluctant to visit a museum so I compromised, figuring that a building would still trigger our interest, without hopefully, the boredom of just walking past glass exhibitions. It was a little eerie, walking through stone rooms and barred windows where you knew so many other people had suffered.

Old Adelaide Gaol

Craig gets in touch with his convict roots

Needing something lighter, I took Craig to the Jam Factory, which is actually an arts & crafts gallery. There, we could overlook a glass-blowing workshop and as cool as it was, the heat from the furnaces easily made you forget about the Adelaide chill. Eating is always fabulous, an adventure of its own. The hardest part is working out what to try next, sometimes earmarking interesting restaurants/cafes for following days. We celebrated our 1st year anniversary at a Greek restaurant. It's good to spend time just chatting together. Sometimes, I get so caught up in commitments and work that I don't always give as much time as I should to Craig. I've long accepted that finding balance is part and parcel of all my relationships. And being in Adelaide has made it a little easier.

We are really enjoying ourselves. :) More to come, Demi & Craig

Adelaide - Day One

Adelaide, City of Churches

Traveling, part and parcel of any decent holiday, can be sometimes tedious or inconvenient. Despite having to wake up bright and early on a monday morning (and we're talking 5am here. Yes, so much for sleep-ins....) we were happy to do it, knowing Adelaide was ahead. By the time we got into the City of Churches, it was 8:30am. As the taxi took us the brief car trip from the airport to the Mercure Grosvenor, I indulged myself in the scenery flashing past my window.

There's something about houses of other cities that get me wondering about how many how generations of people have lived within those walls and what their lives are like. Adelaide was lovely and cool. It was brisk but not uncomfortable. 

We checked into the Mercure Grosvenor and despite being a typical city hotel, there were a few surprises in stall for us. The cleaner had gone a little bit trigger-happy with the Mould Removal and the room kinda stank of bleach. We opened the window to air out the chlorine but no sooner had we managed to lift the heavy frame up, we came face to face with a cement wall. Guess our $160 a night didn't quite include river-side views...

Between the room and our grumbling stomachs, we escaped out into Adelaide in search of a bite to eat. We had great brunch and did some wandering around Rundle Mall. The best part was going to the Palace Cinemas to watch Suckerpunch. We got two adult tickets, a large box of popcorn, Peroni and glass of wine for just $35! You'd never find a bargain like that in Brissy. I was kinda uncoordinated however and nearly spilled all my glass of wine. Just goes to show that no matter how classy you try to be, your mundane self insists on making an appearance.

We spoiled ourselves with dessert; coffee and a mug of hot chocolate. Delish! Tomorrow we are going to walk across the river to the and see more of Adelaide. 

Xoxo Demi & Craig