WINE - Welcome to Adelaide and the Wineries <2009.06.10>

Australia is the land of extremes - you can see this on my next trip.

We just got out of the desert of the opal field and only few hundred km`s south are Oz most famous wine yards: Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Barrossa Valley & Clare Valley.



Those areas are parted by the huge flinder ranges - the largest national park in South Australia - famous for daylong hikes & spectecular gorges and lookouts.







This is the perfect location for us to celebrate my parents 40 years marriage anniversary where we visited the 40th gorge as well ;-)



Overcoming this final gorge we reached the Clare Valley with a great welcome of fantastic wines at a bit chilly 3 degrees - brr.





Wine lovers describe this area as the Toscana of Oz - which fits pretty well!
You are send back in time to the 1850s were Jesuits introduced the skill of winery.



Stralling through the ancient wine fields, the 20 km riesling trail or the many wine cellars are the highlights of this trip.









After several extensive wine tastings we are rolling on over the hills down to Adelaide - the capital of SA.





Its lovely city with a buzzing inner city and the first walking mall in Australia. Famous for art & festivals you won`t be bored spending some time in this lively city.





This is now the end of the first part of the Australia trip as my parents and Luigi will leave from Adelaide back home to Graz.



So I sattled Jaqueline (our campervan) to make my way on alone to new adventures...

Riding in the sunset

My Presious - The Land of OPALS <2009.6.5>

On the way further south you can experience the real australian outback. So far I haven`t got the real feeling beeing in the desert but there is one place where there you feel like on Moon - Coober Pedy.



First you have to cross the border to South Australia - the driest state of the driest continent on this planet!





First - it realy look like as there is nothing - but here you have to look closer!
Much closer - 20m below the earth!

Here you can find (if you are very lucky) valuable gem stones - the OPAL.



Coober Pedy is the Opal captial of the world which looks on its first sight more as the biggest collection of mole hills!





With all those treasures around me it didn`t took long, to receive the ultimate mission from her majestiy - find her lost opals!



Here I am, with a leathal mission and completle glueless - so I start as everyone around - with "noodeling" (by digging with your own hands in dirt)



My tough trainings as double 00 payed off after I hold the jewel in my hands:



Yes - and not only THE Opal I found, also GOLD was with me!!!



Blessed by god ...



...and all the lost souls on this digging grounds....



... I could fulfill this mission and return safely!

This was a long way to go - here is the evidence - happy anniversery!!!



Yours 007

THE ROCK - Welcome to Uluru (Ayers Rock) & Kata Tjuta (Olgas) <2009.5.29>

Next destination is maybe the most famous sight of Australia – THE AYERS ROCK.





Who hasn`t heard about the huge red monolith (not confirmed), who is changing its color every hour and angle you look at it. Infamous for its high temperatures (up to 50deg) & dry climate – so be prepared to sweat a lot!

BUT not this time – we arrived at freezing 10 deg. (which even dropped to 3 deg during the next mornings x-) and an Ayers Rock which was covered in rain clouds!



RAIN – yes here is the evidence and that we are so called “lucky” ;-)



The Ayers Rock – called in Aboriginal language ULURU – comes alive during these rainy hours and you can experience waterfalls shooting done from its rare edges…








In the shadow of fame sit the Kata Tjuta`s – the Olgas. These are a group of hills just 50km west of Uluru which even are higher than the big brother himself. I personal found those funny marbles somehow more interesting than the huge rock before.







Here you have the choice of 2 walks which both can easily be done at one day – the better one is clearly the walk through the Valley of Winds!







To survive this cold nights outside, we mixed our knowledge of Austrian & Japanese Tradition to find the ideal solution: We build up a outside tent where we sit on one table covered with a huge sleeping blanket; below a heater running to warm us all up & 2 litres of hot wine or so called “Gluehwein” which heats from inside!!!



But after rain comes sunshine and so we could experience on our last day the full beauty of Uluru during a sunny day – you can tell the difference!











Have you ever seen the rain, coming down on a sunny day…

Kings Canyon - The King of the Gorges <2009.05.28>

After so many gorges I was prepared to confront the biggest of them – the Kings Canyon!



The name already tells you, that it won`t be small so I was full of expectations.
After a 5 hours drive from Alice you reach the entrance to Kings Canyon National Park. The weather was as in the past days very cold and blessed with rain showers here in the desert.






However when we arrived, it cleared up and gave us a chance to make our first walk into the gorge at sunset. The rain clouds put everything in perfect light with a dramatic touch ;-)





On the first sight – the Kings Canyon, didn`t impress me much, but I got its full beauty when I did the 4 hours rim walk on the next day. This is a real MUST if you want to get a feeling about its real dimension and great backyard scenery.







There you can find dramatic drop offs, sandstone domes like in the bungles, lush vegetation & pools in the Garden of Eden and some wildlife as the huge grey roos.









or the very rare specious of Xmas - ren:



Yeah – after that hike a agree that this is the

KING OF GORGES