This trip Down Under was our longest one since we took our walkabout back in 2009/2010, it was so nice to be able to relax up on the Tweed Coast with Todd and Celia for a few days before hitting the ground in Adelaide. Such a beautiful part of the world up on the northern NSW coast… We spent a night each with my parents when we landed in Adelaide before heading over to Ed and Becky’s farm on Yorke Peninsula for a few days, a real zoo with six kids running around the place but we all had a wonderful time over there and I really enjoyed showing the kids some of my old stomping grounds on Hardwicke Bay.
We organized a few get togethers for the adults whilst we were in town, but really tried to spend as much time as possible at the beach during our time in Adelaide. We made it down to Port Noarlunga a couple of times to take the kids snorkeling on the reef, Max thoroughly enjoyed swimming with the schools of mullet off the end of the jetty (Lilia wasn’t quite game…). Also enjoyed some time in front of Dad’s house down at Semaphore as well as a day at Henley.
On one of our cooler days in Adelaide we headed up to Cleland in the Lofty Ranges to get the kids up close and personal with some of the Aussie fauna. A trip to Cleland has been a bit of a standard adventure whenever we visit, I’ve been going there since I was a kid and still love visiting. Some of the Kangaroo Island species of kangaroo were quite hungry when we found them in one of the more remote corners of the park, they made friends with the kids quickly, lots of fun for all of us! The kids couldn’t get enough of the little potteroos that scurried across the walkways between the different areas of the park…
Matty was generous enough to organize a boat to take us out for a day of fishing in the gulf, it was an early morning launch around sunrise from North Haven and the fish were biting as soon as out bait hit the water. We managed to hook some thumping snapper by the Norma wreck right as the sun was coming over the horizon, Matt’s specimen weighed in at around 5.5KG (12LB) and had him grinning from ear to ear for the rest of the day after he got it on the boat. I hooked a snapper on some light tackle and lost it in short order, but was happy to pull in a number of good-sized King George Whiting during the day (which are now sitting in Mum’s freezer!).
A trip to Adelaide really isn’t complete without a visit to the Central Market, all the fresh fruit and the range of meats make for quite the spectacle. A great spot for a bite too with all the cafes and coffee shops, unfortunately not enough time this trip for a Friday night dinner at Lucia’s… Next time!
We stopped off in Sydney for a couple of nights on our way home, we hadn’t been to Sydney since we were on our walkabout so were due for a visit. Was a really fun three weeks, the kids had an absolute ball and it’s always to fun to see all our friends and family Down Under. Both Lisa and I agreed that we might have to make a stop on the northern NSW coast a regular occurrence when we travel to Oz!
Thanks for sharing. Loved all the photos.