Those of you that know me well will know I plan the bejesus out of all my trips away. It started of as a requirement for some of my family, needing to know exactly how a trip was to pan out, and I included maps, rest stops and play lists. In more recent times my need for frequent rest breaks means I plan to ensure I can properly cope with the amount of driving each day (or more specifically, to show Lesley I can deal with the amount of driving each day. Happy wife means I get to do this more often 😉).
I had an itinerary for today. It didn't go according to plan and I feel pretty good about it.
The plan was to get the ferry back to the mainland and then drive around Adelaide, via the Adelaide Hills, and then Adelaide plains, before reaching my destination on the Yorke Peninsula.
When I first traveled on the ferry to Kangaroo Island back on Wednesday, it was late afternoon and I arrived slightly early. I was first in the queue and it was pretty easy to get on to the ferry.
The ferry is one of those that only has one entry/exit point for the cars. and as I was first on, that wasn't an issue. Plenty of space on the ferry to turn around and face the front to allow for easy exit from the ferry.
I arrived at the ferry terminal in Penneshaw in what I thought was plenty of time. I didn't account for the fact that the 10:30am ferry to the mainland is the busiest crossing of the day.
What followed then was about 30 minutes of controlled chaos.
"Are you a confident reverse driver?", I was asked (as were most other drivers). "Of course I am", I replied.
"Good. Can you reverse in to the ferry next to that other car."
I didn't see the other car the attendant was pointing to.
There were two or three other attendants already on the ferry pointing left, right and centre for other cars.
I purposefully drove up to ferry, put it the car in reverse and then promptly started reversing into the wrong spot.
Nobody was paying any attention to me, for a while.
Then someone finally saw what I was doing and then spent five minutes getting me to maneuver my car into a totally different area.
I finally got out of the car and went upstairs to the lounge area. No harm done, except for a slightly bruised ego.
The ferry left about 30 minutes later than scheduled. only some of which was my fault - there were others more cleverer than me.
As we were nearing the mainland, all drivers were told to go to their car.
This is the scene that awaited me.
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| That's my blue car in the front on the left. Note the space. |
It is amazing how quickly this cleared out once the front doors crashed down. All empty in less than five minutes.
I take my hat off to the parking attendants for the ferry. They know their stuff, and didn't shout at us (I know I would have).
The ferry service is currently being upgraded. The two new ferries are quite a bit bigger than the ones I used, and new port facilities are being built to accommodate them. It should all be up and running next year.
I allowed my self some time on the road before stopping for morning tea. This was at a bakery in Yankalilla (Pie Review below). I then had to travel quite a bit more before my lunch stop in Hahndorf.
Hahndorf is place that I know reasonably well. Pretty much every trip I have made across to Adelaide in the last 20 years has involved some sort of visit to this town. Sitting in the Adelaide Hills, and settled by Germans in the late 1830's, it has developed an almost tourist-like Bavarian feel. Eating options are plentiful and I felt certain I'd get a good feed there.
What I forgot was that today is Saturday, and the town was packed to bursting with day trippers from Adelaide.
With no car parking space available I made a decision to leave without eating, and continue on.
By this time my itinerary had gone out the window. What I decided to to was to put my final destination into google Maps and essentially wing it. Every time it provided an alternative route, with a similar ETA (that's estimated time of arrival), I'd take the alternative. This is how I ended up driving through the towns of Lobethal and Gumeracha. And then I found this place:
Applewood is a gin distillery of note. Or at least I know my sister likes their gins quite a lot.
And they serve food as well!
What followed was a tasting of their "cello" range - Lemon, Coffee and Mandarin (the Mandarin was exceptional). And lunch.
That's kangaroo metwurst from Hahndorf, bocconcini from Elizabeth (north Adelaide), and finger lime jam using some of their limonocello.
After a decent rest there I continued on through the rest of the Adelaide Hills and on to Gawler. From there it was an easy drive through the Adelaide Plains to Port Wakefied and then to the Copper Coast, and to my destination tonight in Wallaroo.
Tea tonight was at the Bond Store, a brewery and distillery serving tapas style, Asian inspired dishes. I couldn't finish it. Too much. Delicious but!
PIE REVIEW
You know you're in for a treat when you try to get through the front door of the bakery and cant get in because of the long line stretching from the front counter back. Yankalilla was that sort of bakery.
When I finally reached the front I decided to try a chicken and mushroom pie, my first time away from the beef pies. At $7.00 I thought this was reasonably priced. Especially because it was a pretty tall pie.
How to eat a hot pie when it's in bits? I broke out my travel cutlery, which I have for just such an occasion.
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| Job done. |
Podcast of the day: No Such Thing As a Fish - No Such Thing as a Ghost in Blue Jeans
- Enough of satirical podcasts! This podcast was created by four of the researchers behind the TV show QI. In addition to their day job they have developed quite a following with their podcast where they discuss interesting weekly facts they have researched, about nearly everything.
They are currently touring Australia and will be performing their podcast live at Hamer Hall on Tuesday 12th November.
Total km traveled - 2,062
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