Day 25 - Adelaide

A wee shower and chilly winds blowing through the night and a 6C morning led to a brisk start to the day.

We only stopped for fuel in Naracoorte, morning tea beside the highway near Yumali and the a final coffee stop at Mount Barker before brushing the eastern side of Adelaide in order to get to Tea Tree Gully and the home of friends from our days in Tambar Springs, the Maudes. Tea Tree Gully is in the northwest of Adelaide, tucked up against the hills.

After a tricky reverse into the only free section of the busy Maude front yard, we settled to play catch up for the last seven years. We had visited them when Rick was the vicar at Lightning Ridge but not since, despite three previous attempts. Something strange had happened to their children. Rowan, who I taught briefly as a seven year old, has almost finished uni and works for an engineering firm and Dylan, is a chippy and is developing his own business toward being a builder. At least Jarrod, Ashlyn and Raewyn had the decency to all still be in their school years and not make me feel completely ancient!

Danielle has home-schooled all five children, almost completely, although Rowan and Dylan did has some time with me at Tambar Springs. The kids are all bright and articulate and charming to spend time with.

Rick continues in his role of vicar, as always prepared to do the hard yards for what he believes. First Tambar, then Lightning Ridge and no a parish in the ultra-liberal Adelaide, where preaching the Bible comes with a set of conditions and one eye on fitting in with society. Not so Rick.

As always, they are great company and we had a lovely night comparing notes on our children and just generally chewing the juicy fat.

Shopping & TV

A short drive after breakfast saw us arrive at a large shopping plaza - Sue territory - in search of new shoes for the children. The joggers they had left Tambar Springs in, were now only tattered remnants of their former selves.

Whilst she raked over the best on offer, I toured the record and book shops. I purchased Jack Pollard's History of Australian Cricket - an encyclopedia of the sport in this country, back to 1803. Apart form four volumes of written history, there is a volume devoted to the statistics of the game, compiled by Australia's champion statistician, Ross Dundas.

A short stop at a video store augmented the entertainment package for the cabin.

It was a cool 15 degrees and we again ran back to the comfort of air conditioning. We were being converted hardened campers to soft city dwellers. The highlight of the evening was the season-final of The X-Files. Although Sue, Chris and I felt extreme frustration at being left hanging until next year to reach the conclusion, it was with shredded nerves and short finger nails we went to bed.

Movies

Cloud cover and a cool breeze greeted us as we emerged from a night devoid of the sound of zippers and the need to accompany children to the toilet. It is hard to explain to non campers, but the sound of zippers is a constant companion at all stages of the day and to spend an entire night uninterrupted by the sound of first sleeping bags and then doors zipping open and closed, was nirvana.

The morning was taken with boring fare - shopping - but after lunch we jumped onto a bus and headed for the city and the movie theatres. Alighting in King William St, we walked north and then west along Hindley St in search of the theatre, but finding ourselves in increasingly seedy surroundings, we reversed direction and walked back to the Rundle St Mall.

Twenty minutes later and equipped with directions from a news stand proprietor, we were again heading west along Hindley St. Reaching our destination, we discovered we had failed to continue in the right direction on our original walk, by about thirty metres !

Our choices of movie saw a split decision as to what we would be viewing. Sarah was very keen to see Pocahontas, the latest Disney classic, whilst the rest of us were keen on Apollo 13 - although Sam had put a strong case forward for Batman Forever. Sue - being the democratic socialist she is - chose to take Sarah to her choice, whilst Sam and Chris accompanied me to see the story of man's greatest space adventure. It was an impressive piece of story telling which appeared to stick very closely to the facts and the acting of the lead characters was outstanding. There were no dramatic displays of emotion in the face of disaster. The actors displayed the sort of cool, professional and controlled reactions you would expect from such highly trained personnel.

We returned to our cabin well satisfied by our afternoon - my personal thirst for movies again sated!

Mambray Creek to Adelaide

Crystal Brook, Snowtown, Port Wakefield - (Princes Highway) 264 kms

Each night at Mt Remarkable had been warm and clear ... until our last night. This night was clear and cold, leading to a heavy dew which had settled on the tent by morning and helped keep us to a slower timetable. Added to this were some threatening clouds, which all combined to hold us in place until 10:00am.

Despite this, our spirits stayed high - mamly because of what lay ahead. Our changed itinerary meant gave us seven nights at Adelaide and the standard of the accommodation had everyone excited, as did the planned activities which included movies and the beach.

With heads down, we reached Adelaide by 1:00 pm, in time for lunch and were soon sitting outside
Reception. Details completed, we drove through the park to the "palace" which would be our home for the following week. There was no disappointment when me keys were turned in the door locks and the door swung open. Featuring a double ensemble bed with linen supplied, bunks for the kids, a microwave, oven, air conditioner and colour TV, the cabin would pamper us after our two and a half months of outdoor living.

The cool temperature (16 degrees) and driving westerly kept us indoors for the afternoon, but with a
television set to keep us entertained, we managed to pass the time successfully.

What bliss! A bed which wouldn't lose its comfort level over a few nights and real sheets and blankets. Our own shower and toilet, and cupboards to put our clothes in. Amazing!