To see more of our pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/TomMarjieSVisitToSouthAustralia
We had a fantastic time touring southern Australia with Billy's parents, Tom & Marjie! They made the long trip from Florida for a two-week visit, and it was so great to see family again. After filling us in on all the happenings on the Peter Compound, we took them to a footy game at the MCG, with our generous personal tour Byron Wicks giving us the inside tour. Thanks Byron! We also visited one of our favorite dinner haunts, the Met, were we proved to them that we had made some friends in Australia. After showing them around Melbourne for a couple days we flew out to Adelaide.
Adelaide is a beautiful city... more of a large rural town that is the capital of South Australia. It has some beautiful architecture and it's full of nice people. The Torrens river runs right along the edge of downtown, and the city has done an excellent job in setting the buildings back from the river and putting in a nice park area directly next to it. After going for a nice walk along the river, we toured some of the interesting architecture as well as a cricket/Bradford museum and the wide-ranging South Australian Museum. We also visited the house of Mr. Ayer, who was the governor of South Australia during the time Uluru (the giant rock in the center of Australia) was discovered. He basically made his wealth through mining, and was far from altruistic. I think Uluru is a much better name for the rock to be honest...
We then headed up to Barossa Valley for some wine tasting, something that seems to be a common theme when Billy's parents visit! It reminded all of us of Sonoma and Napa, without the crowds! We tasted some excellent wines, the valley is famous for its Shirazes in particular, our favorite being Grant Birge.
We then made our way southeast along the coast on our way back to Melbourne. We stayed at several fantastic B&Bs, including one centered in a beautiful orchard. We first stopped in Victor Harbor, my personal favorite part of the trip. Staying at a hotel overlooking the harbor, we went on a night tour to watch the blue penguins come into tour. Since the tour was small, we were able to get close up to the penguins, which were quite talkative. We didn't spot any whales though..
We then drove along the Limestone Coast, stopping off at a secluded beach with shells a foot thick. After escaping the dangerous Emus, we then headed to Mount Gambier to check out the volcanic (extinct) craters and the blue lake within.
Just outside of Mount Gambier, we visited Tower Hill, which I highly recommend to anyone wishing to see Australian wildlife. Besides the koalas chilling out in the tress in the parking lot and throughout the park, wild Emus walked through the camping area. Emus (below) are similar to ostriches, and make a bass drum-like sound in their throats.
Finally, we headed along the scenic Great Ocean Road and saw the famous Twelve Apostles, London Bridge, and other rock structures.
Upon our return to Melbourne, we then headed to the informative Melbourne goal and my parents made a trip to the Melbourne museum. And of course, we also caught the latest Harry Potter movie.
That's all I can think of for now, but it was an exciting and full trip. I think we were all a bit exhausted afterwards, but it was well worth it!
So now that Tom and Marjie have taken honors as first visitors, who will be next??
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