Monday 6 May 2013

A few days in South Australia

We spent 3 days in the Fleurieu Peninsula and stayed in a B+B which was 8 km away from Yankalilla in the Inman Valley. Here are some of the views form our B+B(called Rattleys Cottage at Pear Tree Hollow).
View from B+B
 
Beautiful early morning sky
 
Quilt hanging on the wall of the hosts'cottage
 
Each day we drove around to different places, doing short walks along the beach and in the National parks.
 
Yaccas and stringybark trees in Deep Creek Conservation park
 
These are there to clean our shoes before going into and after leaving the conservation park ( to stop spread of a fungus)
 
 
The start of the Heysen Trail ( the trail goes for 1200km) at Cape Jervis
 
We walked a short distance along the Heysen trail
 
Ferry going to Kangaroo Island (seen in the background) at Cape Jervis
 
Horse drawn tram along the causeway between Victor Harbor and Granite Island
 
An old stone cottage in the Inman Valley
 
Maslin Beach
 
Jetty at Normanville
 
We left the Fleurieu Peninsula and made our way north through the Adelaide Hills to the Barossa.
 
Church at Strathalbyn
 
An old watering can outside The Cedars--- Hans Heysen's home near Hahndorf
 
 
Flowers outside a shop in Woodend in the Adelaide Hills
 
 
A Penny farthing outside a pub at Mt. Pleasant
 
 
Our B+B at Greenock in the Barossa. It was the Old Telegraph Station.
 
 
A plaque on a Lutheran church on the Kidman trail in the Barossa. It is in German as many Germans settled in this area years ago.
 
 
 We were going to the Barossa Farmers Markets on the Saturday and nearby was the Barossa Quilt Shop which was also on the agenda. However, it was not to be as we had to head home earlier than planned. We were going to stay on a sheep property in the Clare Valley--- there is always a next time.
 
The weather was very pleasant and both B+Bs had a slow combustion heater which we lit at night, and it kept us snug and warm in the old stone cottages.
 
Take care.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Sunday 5 May 2013

A Shortened Holiday

Each year, my husband and I have a 2 week holiday at this time of year. We have been looking forward to our holiday and planned a lovely trip to South Australia.
Last Monday, we flew to Adelaide and hired a car and went to our first B+B in the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is called Rattley's at Pear Tree Hollow and it was just gorgeous. It is in the countryside amongst farmland where you can hear the cattle bellowing and the birds chirping non stop and the most glorious view. I love little birds and this place is a haven for little birds.
Our B+B
 
View of the Inman Valley from our cottage
 
A family of birds enjoying a bath
 
 
We stayed for 3 nights and travelled around the peninsula during the 2 days there.We went on bush walks and walked along the beach etc. An idyllic place to be.
 
On Thursday, we said goodbye to this peaceful place and made our way through the Adelaide Hills to a place called Greenocks in the Barossa. We stopped in some lovely quaint towns along the way and took the day to get there. We explored the Barossa area on the Friday and went into a town called Angaston for lunch. I found a Patchwork shop there called Jenny's Sewing Centre. I walked in and thought that there was hardly any patchwork fabric, when the lady told me to go down the stairs, which was hidden from view, and I may never emerge again! Sure enough it was like entering Alladin's cave. After going through the bolts of fabrics there, I ended up buying some white and red fabric ( I have just started a red and white collection as I would like to make a red and white quilt--- mind you, it may be many red and white quilts the way the collection is growing!) and some blue fabric. After paying the bill I received a phone call-- and that was when our holiday ended.
 
The phone call was to say that the person covering for my husband at his work had had a fall at home that morning and broken her arm. It was an accident and no one wants an accident to happen-- it was just one of those things that is out of everyones' control. Looking at my husband's face I knew the only option was to cut short the holiday and go home-- which is what we did.
We had lots of phone calls to make-- ie bought new tickets to fly home earlier and to cancel our stay at the present place and at the next place which was in the Clare Valley etc.
On Saturday, we drove through the countryside toward Adelaide airport. We did not have printed tickets as our new booking was made over the phone. We got there in time, returned our car to the rental place and made our way to the check in counter. Another shock was waiting for us--- we had got the time of our flight wrong  by 1/2 hour and they were already boarding and they would not let us board the plane! I did not know whether to cry or scream! To cut a long story short, we managed to get tickets for another flight 5 hours later-- so we had 5 hours to kill at the airport. I was glad to finally get home.
 
My husband has gone back to work today and I still have this week off work. I did toss up about going back to work this week, but decided against it in the end. Might get some sewing done , if I can get my head around it all!
 
Of course,  the one worst affected by all this is the person with the broken arm! She has sustained a fracture which is difficult to immobilise and it would be quite uncomfortabel too to cope with-- to put it mildly! My thoughts go to her and wish her a speedy recovery.
 
Will do another post later in the week showing the lovely places we did visit.
 
Take care.