Saturday 16th April 2005

POOR JUDY - and she still talks to us?????

Last night turned out to be a bit of a disaster for us and a rather confusing time for Judy. After driving down to Hahndorf and around the area during the day, we parked the patrol up ready to pick Judy up from the Adelaide Airport at 10:30pm last night.

Our intentions were good but we were in trouble from the moment we went to leave the caravan park to head off to the airport. Having given ourselves plenty of time to get there we thought we were right, even when the Patrol didn't start due to a flat battery. (Still don't know why it went flat). No problems we thought, we have an auxiliary battery and it was just a matter of putting the jump leads from one battery to the other - WRONG!!!!

We tried this but there still wasn't enough power in the battery to start the Patrol. There was a bit of a concern by this time and 'One of Us' was getting rather edgy to say the least, the 'Other One' may not be very perceptive but he did get the impression she was not too happy about this situation. Out came the battery charger and it was put to use charging the battery up, however it is not a fast charger and after about 30 minutes, the Patrol still did not want to start.

Next came the idea of removing the battery from inside the caravan and using that for a jump start, but still no success. Batterys were swapped but didn't fit and there were tools and bits everywhere, but still not enough power to start the Patrol and it had gone way past concern by this time as we were not going to be able to get to the airport to pick up Judy for quite some time at this rate.

No worries, Judy has a mobile phone, so it was just a simple matter of ringing her and letting her know what was going on.... WRONG... Judy's phone wasn't turned on. Then came calls to Travis at home to get the Airport phone number, but this just gave us an answer machine. Then more calls to Travis to get a taxi phone number to organize one to pick Judy up, but fortunately by this time, Judy had concerns as to where we were or what might have happed to us and she gave us a phone call. We were all much happier knowing what was going on. Poor Judy then had to catch a taxi out to Hahndorf where we met her and took her to her accommodation. It was then time to sit down with a cup of tea and have a bit of a laugh at the events of the night whilst 'One of Us' calmed down and the 'Other One' continued to grovel and seek forgiveness for not being there for Judy. All's well that ends well they say.

This morning, after a night on the battery charger, the Patrol started without a problem so we drove through to Mount Barker where Judy visited a Coles Shopping Centre whilst the Patrol visited an Auto Electrician. Unfortunately nothing could be done on a Saturday so it has to go back on Monday to have a check up and find out the cause of it's problem.

Next we came back to Hahndorf and parked in the street and took a walk up and down the main street. After visiting many of the shops we eventually stopped in at the local german pub where the girls insisted on having a glass of wine with their lunch, so the 'Other One' had one 'small' beer with his.

After lunch we drove out of Hahndorf and into the Adelaide Hills, not really knowing where we were going, but after a very scenic drive through the hills for about half an hour, we found our way back to the caravan park for the afternoon.

The main event for tonight will be Beer (and wine) O'clock then tomorrow we may take a longer drive, maybe back to the Barossa Valley to show Judy around that area.

Sunday 17th April 2005

No problems with the Patrol this morning, but maybe that is due to the battery charger on it overnight. We all caught up on a little sleep overnight and were not in a hurry to move this morning, however we eventually made ourselves ready and drove out of the caravan park at about 9:45am.

The decision was to travel up to the Barossa Valley via Adelaide and Gawler, so we set of down the Adelaide Hills along the Princes Freeway. For those who have not traveled that road, it is quite spectacular in patches and it travels through a tunnel for a short distance.

Once down into the Adelaide suburbs, we found that the 'Bossy B' (Navman) had not picked up the satellites and didn't want to tell us which way to go. We think that she must have heard us talking about her and what we called her and had decided to go on strike. After an apology from us, she called off the strike and came back to work, leading us out of Adelaide on the Main North Road. This took us up through Elizabeth, Monno Para and into Gawler. We drove around Gawler before making the remainder of the journey into the Barossa Valley.

Our first stop was at the Jacobs Creek Visitors Centre where it was a difficult task to get 'One of Us' and Judy to take advantage of the information and informative displays before cantering around to the tasting counter where they breasted the bar for a few samples. This Visitors Centre is well worth the time to call in and browse the displays, which include several large screen interactive video presentations.

After the 'Other One' managed to drag 'One of Us' and Judy away from the tasting bar, we continued northward into Tanunda and on to Nuriootpa. By this time the girls were getting a bit thirsty again and making the 'Other One' well aware of there dire predicament, so on we went again and called in at the Wolf Blass Visitors Centre. This Visitors Centre is very new and is a very impressive sight. It has been constructed using some Western Australian Moore River Limestone in some of the walls and the entry into the circle is under a very large aluminum set of wings. On the inside, at the centre of the circle there is a bronze? statue of the Wolf Blass Eagle on top of a large stone block.

The girls made a straight line into the sampling room and when the 'Other One' caught up with them, they were enjoying what they had found in there. The display of wines and other available products is very extensive and once again, well worth the visit. Eventually, after relenting and buying some wine for 'One of Us' the 'Other One' managed to get the girls away from the tasting centre and back into the Patrol.

From here we took a diversion up to a lookout over the Barossa Valley before making our way back to Lyndoch where, when passing the Lyndoch Bakery Restaurant there was a unmistakable direction to stop there for lunch, which was rather plentiful and went part way to satisfy the needs of the girls. However when leaving the restaurant, there was a call to attend the McGuigans Winery for an after lunch tasting or two. We managed to get away from this winery after another three bottles of white had been purchased.

On the way back to Hahndorf and the caravan park, we went via the whispering wall where even with 140 metres between them and without raised voices, 'One of Us' and Judy still kept up their conversation without missing a beat. From here it was just a pretty straight forward drive along a lot of windy roads back through the Adelaide Hills to the caravan park

Not long after arrival, it was Beer O'Clock, so out came the wine and the girls settled down for the night.

Monday 18th April 2005

This morning started out slowly again and it did not speed up very much after that. First came the inquiries about a local laundromat as the laundry in the caravan park was closed due to a problem with the plumbing. Although the manager at the reception desk tried to locate one for us, it was eventually left up to us to find one ourselves.

Our search started with a drive over to Mount Barker where we did a circuit around the town centre before getting directions from one of the shop staff in town. It turned out it wasn't far from where we were and it was a very good laundry facility, far better than those found in the caravan parks. 'One of Us' with the assistance of Judy, started the washer day blues whilst the 'Other One' took the patrol to the local Auto Electrician to get the battery and electrical system checked.

The young auto electrician who owned the place was really a great help and a nice young fellow. He checked the Patrol out, he had his work experience boy stay with him and explained everything he was doing, what equipment he was using and what readings should be obtained..... I learned a lot as well. As it turned out the battery had a faulty cell and wouldn't carry the full power to the starter motor when it was not fully charged. About 20 minutes and $168 later, the Patrol drove out with a new heavy duty battery and hopefully that is the end of the starting problems we had. At least we will get Judy to the airport even if we couldn't pick her up from it.

After the washing had been completed, we made a short stop in at the Coles Shopping Centre then returned to the caravan park for lunch. After satisfying the worms, we set out for the vineyards of McLaren Vale.

It was a pleasant drive through the hills to McLaren Vale where we took a diversion around some of the local vineyards. Our first stop was at Kay Bros where our mate Eddie had requested we attempt to locate a bottle of 'Block 6' Shiraz but unfortunately that is a very popular choice and sells out before it is released. Not being diverted from their duty, the girls still tried a sample or two of white wine before departing.

Next came a visit to Maxwells Winery, which has been constructed using Moore River Limestone from Western Australia. The woman serving behind the tasting bar remembers a visit by Rex Bentley (Brother) after it had been completed. The girls then proceeded to taste a white or two and some honey mead as well.

It was then time to have a look around the town of McLaren Vale before returning to Hahndorf and the caravan park in plenty of time for the girls to prepare for Beer O'clock and the next bottle of wine.