Indeed we do get on fine. Don and his
lovely wife Rae are excellent hosts. We chat over dinner about life,
travels and experiences. I head out into Adelaide the next morning by
bus. I'm out early – I have only one full day here and I want to
get the feel of the city.
I alight on Melbourne St. It's a smart street with many cafe bars and shops. I walk the mile or so towards the centre of Adelaide. It's a bright, sunny and warm morning. The air is clear and traffic volume isn't what I'd expect – quite light really.
I could almost describe Adelaide as a large collection of well maintained parkland that someone decided to plant a small city into. It's a pleasing stroll – people make eye-contact easily and always find time to say 'G'day'. I head along the riverside for a while, crossing it on King William Bridge and end up in Rundle Mall shopping centre. I buy myself a mobile phone sim card from the main telecomms company - Telstra. I have around seven weeks to travel Australia – having a local phone is much cheaper than using my Spanish Vodafone service.
I wander around the centre taking it all in – not like me to be spending a Saturday morning in a shopping centre, especially coming all this way to do it. I head down to the indoor market in Gouger Street
Known as 'Central Market' it's a large and very busy place. I come across a shop in there with some familiar looking stuff...
How amazing to find an Andean shop with
authentic Peruvian goods on sale – in the middle of Adelaide of all
places. I wander in - “Hola amigo, buenos dias” I say to the guy
behind the counter. Well, it turns out that the owner is from Cusco,
but has been in Oz for more than ten years now. He hasn't been back
in all that time. I show him some photos that I have on my camera –
he's really interested to see them. We chit-chat in Spanish and
English – well, more English really.
As nice as it it here, I'm missing S America – can't put my finger on it as to why, though.
I take the Tram to Glenaig – a
seaside resort just to the south of Adelaide. It's a tidy suburb (or
resort), I'm not sure which. I go sit on a wall by the beach and just
watch the world go by. It's Saturday afternoon and the beach is full
of teenagers. How lucky to be able to live in a place like this and
just happen along to the beach for a few hours. No wonder everyone's
so chilled here.
Tram and bus back to Don and Rae. He's been preparing some curry and accompaniments for a dinner party with some friends. I'm invited along – everyone has made a dish or two. I buy some wine to take along – can't go empty handed now, can I?
Well, only Woz can decide to buy wine from Western Australia and take it to a dinner-party in South Australia – home of the famous 'Barossa Valley' wine region – reputed to be the finest and oldest in all of Australia!! Of course they gave me some serious well-humored stick for that. I haven't done much for the reputation of POM's here!!
Don decides to show me how it really is – he takes me on a tour of the Barossa Reigon. We can't do it all – it's quite an area and I only have a few hours on this Sunday morning. Still – I get to see the original 'creek' where Jacobs Creek Wine – the one that put Aussie wine on the map – comes from.
He takes to to a small winery for a
tasting session. They're very sophisticated and have a recommended
tasting list – and the order in which to sample them. There must be
thirty or so wines on the list. I haven't had breakfast yet – so I
limit myself to just ten or so. Feeling pretty good – I buy a
fabulous dessert wine to take with me to my next Couchsurf hosts in
Tasmania. I hope they don't mind Barossa Valley wine in 'Tassy'.
Don has a magnificent knowledge of the Barossa, it's history and the towns and villages there. He and Rae both grew up in the 'Valley' – I couldn't have had a better tour if I'd tried. He drops me at the Airport exactly on time for me to check-in for the couple hours flight to Hobart in Tasmania. We've only known each other for less than a couple of days. It's like saying goodbye to an old friend. What a great guy – Rae too!
I'm concerned about taking the wine with me in my hand luggage. “Do I need to check this in”? I ask the check-in clerk. “Aussie wine”? He questions. “No worries, mate, take as much as you like”
No 100ml limits on liquids and stupid little plastic bags here.
How come the Aussies can make life so easy for domestic travellers? You know something.... When the Aussies say 'No worries, mate' They really mean it.
I board the Virgin Blue flight – oh so friendly crew. I'm still waiting for the 'liquids police' to arrest me. It doesn't happen and just ninety minutes later we're descending into the small island of Tasmania...
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