and so to Adelaide...

Saturday 21st March
Had a look around the attractions of Mt Gambia today: the town is known for its sink holes. The City Garden was the smallest, but an interesting one to visit, whilst the larger one on the edge of town was quite lovely. “What is a sink hole?” I hear you asking... well it's basically a limestone cave, which has lost it's roof due to erosion. After the collapse of the roof the space is developed into a garden area. The larger one was originally bought by a local businessman in Victorian times and converted into a small lake with its own little row boat. A sort of folly. After this we got back in the car and headed off to Robe. Linda by this time was feeling unwell so we headed onwards and found a campsite just outside the little town of Robe. The reception and YHA building attached to it were historical buildings with lovely old stone quarry tiles. We set up the tent and while I (Linda here) had a rest in the tent, Brent walked into the town for a stroll before dinner and bed.

Sunday 22nd March
After packing the tent we ventured around the coast and saw the red and white pyramid type lighthouse and a sculpture nearby before heading inland to Murray Bridge. As I hadn't had a lot of sleep we decided to treat ourselves to a night in a motel. We had a good look at everything that was available and chose a nice motel, where we had a nice room and where there was a barbeque area, where we had our dinner. It was great to just chill and watch TV.

Monday 23rd March
Had a good walk around Murray Bridge then headed towards Adelaide, stopping off at Mount Lofty Botanical garden for a walk, which was lovely, with great views of the Adelaide Hills. We then followed my cousin, Pete's directions and easily found their lovely home in Brighton. What a lovely spot! They are just a short walk from Brighton Jetty and the ocean. We were quickly made very welcome by Pete and his wife Chris, who cooked us a lovely meal. It was great to relax, especially as I still wasn't feeling 100%. It was also a treat to have a comfy double bed for a few nights!

Tuesday 24th – Saturday28th
A welome respite from camping! We've really enjoyed our time with the Jones' and feel that we've got to know Adelaide and their district quite well. On Tuesday we did our own thing... I saw a doctor in Marion, a nearby town. The surgery was close to a nice library, gallery, cafe and also a huge shopping centre, so I had plenty to see. Mind you I waited 3 hours to see the doctor...sounds awful, but I had a really good book on the go, which I just finished before I was called...so it wasn't so bad. Brent had a first look around Adelaide and got his bearings, so that in the following days we easily found our way around. We really liked the North Terrace area, with favourite places being: the City and State Library building, the Adelaide University area, where we enjoyed our lunches! The festival hall and riverside areas. The pedestrian area of Rundle street was also very nice to walk around, with buskers of all sorts. One day we decided to get the bus to Glenelg and walked back along the beach. The esplanade is lined with gorgeous homes..how the other half live or what? Glenelg had an interesting museum, called Bay Discovery Museum with a gallery where we enjoyed the postcard exhibition. On Friday night Pete and Chris drove us up to the summit of Mount Lofty, where there's a posh restaurant and a fantastic viewpoint of the city...splendid! In the evenings we relaxed and enjoyed Chris' cooking, Brent and Pete had a game of backgammon and we all played Rummikin. Tonight we are going to eat out. Brighton is fabulous with lots of little cafes / restaurants. We can't thank Pete and Chris enough for their hospitality – it's been lovely. We enjoyed meeting Caroline too and look forward to meeting Michael when we get to Alice Springs. Hopefully we'll be able to repay the hospitality some time in England.