South Australia wine country

Had a great night's sleep. No wonder, since I was absolutely exhausted by day's end yesterday and almost fell asleep at the elegant welcome dinner hosted by The Four Seasons. I managed to stay awake long enough to appreciate the beautiful view from our room at night – the Harbour Bridge was lit as was the Opera House, but the latter is having a very special display for the next few weeks with the shells lit in vivid designs that change colors every few minutes.

The morning dawned bright and sunny as we boarded another Qantas flight, this time to Adelaide in the state of South Australia. I love Qantas; even on a brief flight of less than 2 hours passengers are served a light meal – US carriers take notice! There is a 30-minute time zone difference between Sydney and Adelaide. Don't ask me why -- Aussies just have their own way doing things.

Arriving in Adelaide, we boarded a 20-seater coach and headed north to the Claire Valley. The landscape changed to flat farmland as we left the city. Known as the Adelaide Plains, the major crops are wheat and other grains. After a hour we turned east, and again the terrain changed to rolling hills covered with vineyards. Since it is late autumn in Australia, the harvest had ended and the leaves on the vines were beautiful golds and reds. The Claire Valley has numerous historic townships but is best known in the US for their wonderful wines, especially the light and fruity rieslings. Arriving at the Skillogalee Winery we enjoyed a delicious lunch and and some of their wines. Australian riesling grapes are harvested earlier than the German ones which have a sweeter taste. The Skillogalee name can be traced to the original settlers who survived the early years only by making a "skillogalee" --a sort of thin porridge, probably from grass seeds and water. The word is Celtic in origin and was a dish commonly fed to prisoners in Ireland at this time.

Back on the road we were soon in the Australian Outback. This describes any region in Australia more than 300 miles from a city and includes most of the continent. Since the season is almost winter, the sun began to set and the horizon was enormous. I don't think I've ever seen such vast expanse as a sunset in the Outback. Suddenly our driver hit the brakes as a kangaroo hopped across the road. Several more crossed our path before we reached out destination -- Wilpena Pound Resort where we will stay for 2 nights. What a change from the Four Seasons! We are in the Flinders Ranges National Park and the resort is reminiscent of US National Park Lodges. The temperature dropped as night fell and the roaring fire in the fireplace felt wonderful --as did a good meal and glass of riesling.

More from the Outback tomorrow as we go exploring.

Linda