We arrived in Adelaide the afternoon of Friday 22nd July. Annette and Jock, Jude’s sister and brother-in-law, had flown in from Perth that morning and were waiting at the caravan park. They were sharing a cabin with Ben for the week whilst we had our usual powered site. It was a really stormy afternoon so we quickly set up the rig and then  joined everyone in the cabin for a fish and chip dinner. A bottle of Prosecco went down very well.

On Saturday we drove to Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills – this town was founded in 1839 by Prussian Lutheran families who arrived in the ship Zebra. There is a very strong German influence seen in the town even today. The weather had improved and we wandered up and down the main street before having lunch at the German Arms Hotel which was also established in 1839. The food was plentiful and delicious and we sat out on the balcony watching the world go by.

On the outskirts of the town is where the acclaimed Australian landscape artist Hans Heysen lived and worked.  We had a tour of the gardens and his studio which was just amazing and we are so thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit here. We weren’t allowed to take photo’s inside the studio so the pics below show his studio from the outside and a view from it which he painted. The person in the photo is his daughter Nora who was also a painter.

We also called into the Beerenberg Farm which has also been around since 1839 and has been run by the same family for seven generations. We had a taste of some of the jams and pickles and just had to buy a small selection.

On Sunday 24th July we had a family lunch at Mount Lofty, which at 710 metres above sea level, is the highest peak in South Australia.  Unfortunately the weather turned bad again and initially the whole place was covered in mist and you could hardly see the person next to you let alone the panoramic views across Adelaide skyline to the coast. We were joined by Jude and Annette’s cousins – Jill, Brian, Mandy, Diana and Max. Jen and Garry were unable to join us as sadly Garry had taken ill the night before and was admitted to Adelaide hospital. (He is now home and doing very well) We all had a great time catching up on each other’s lives and enjoyed some delicious food. By the end of lunch the conditions had improved and we managed a couple of pics outside.