Well, that's bizarre! Somehow, in my flurry of catch-up posting of our adventures, I neglected to write about our trip to Adelaide to meet up with Ross and Ainsley...that'll teach me to neglect my posting to the point where everything is turned around and discombobulated, and things are written months after the event!
In between our Middle Eastern extravaganza and my solo venture to Taipei we dashed across to Adelaide to meet up with our dear friends, Ross and Ainsley. We'd been lamenting the fact that Covid (mainly), and other factors had conspired to keep us apart for the longest period since 2006. They were coming over to Adelaide to attend Ains's brother-in-law's 50th birthday bash and wondered whether we'd make the trip down south. We jumped at the chance!
Newcastle has direct flights to Adelaide these days so we took advantage of that and timed our visit around the flights. Ross, as usual, had done all the leg work booking hotels and accommodation as well as a car for the duration. They surprised us by waiting for hours at the airport to greet us and pick us up: it was so wonderful to see them: it always feels so comfortable to be in their company and we fell straight back into our cosy friendship zone and chat mode! The first night was spent in a great hotel by the river and coast in Adelaide itself and we had a dinner downstairs and a few drinks to boot.
The next day, we embarked on our journey into the Adelaide Hills, Ross driving the car and we three doing the sightseeing. They'd booked a quirky and unusual option for our few days in the hills and we eventually drifted into rolling countryside and dirt roads before arriving at the Rabbiter's Hut and were greeted by the hut's owner and host from Tinline Park. Supplies had been sourced in the supermarket in Adelaide, so we loaded the fridge and kitchen, got settled in our rooms, got the fire sparked and firing before cracking open some fine South Australian red. Ross and Ains and Cass prepared a delicious meal for us and we ate, drank, chatted and were merry before hitting the sack in preparation for our tour of the Barossa Valley the next day.
Ross is still pounding out a healthy run most mornings and managed to get a good 10km done before breakfast before reporting, upon his return, no end in sight for the dirt roads and only inquisitive kangaroos for company. It was bucolic and blissfully quiet and peaceful. We drove a lazy loop through the Barossa that day, the start of the loop just 10 km away and we dropped in and out of tiny, pretty towns along the way, stopping at many of them to wander the streets admiring the architecture, getting a cup of coffee or a snack or stopping for a glass of wine or two and some lunch. All along the way we chatted about family and mutual friends and generally revelled in the company and the countryside, before heading back to the hut for another home-cooked feast, wine, fire and sleep.
The following day was the big party but we managed to get in yet another looping drive, this time in the Adelaide Hills wine trail and the German influenced towns within, including the very popular and impossibly cute Hahndorf. We spent some time sampling wines at vineyards, wandering the grounds of the Seppeltsfield complex and strolling the streets of Hahndorf proper when Ross the magician somehow conjured a parking spot right in the middle of town amongst grid-locked traffic! We ate at a German inspired pub (of course) and I enjoyed the best German food I'd had since Munich (Or "Uli's" in Taiwan!). We were invited to the big party, but Cass and I decided to hunker down in the hut on our last night and Ross and Ains partied into the partly rain soaked evening.
Somehow, and very, very kindly, they managed to rise scandalously early after a big night out to drive us the not inconsiderable distance back to the airport for our flight home, despite them staying a couple more days in the hills and necessitating a drive back the way that they had come. What a few days we had and how wonderful to catch up with our buddies. We vowed not to let it be so long before our next catch-up: we're looking forward to it already!