One of the most common questions I hear from my readers on this blog is “why is there no posts about Australia considering you are an Aussie?”
Fair point.
There will be many new posts about my life in Australia (when I am not giving my passport a workout) in 2016 and this is the first of them. These posts will not just serve to show off what South Australia has to offer, but also to show a little insight into my everyday life when I am not on the road.
Late last year I was still living in Adelaide, South Australia. Adelaide is where I was born and where I have spent the majority of my life. However, a sea change always does me good, and I decided in the later part of 2015 that I was going to uproot myself and move my home base from Adelaide to Darwin.
Once I had made that decision, I set out to appreciate some of the beauty of South Australia before I left it. Coincidentally, one of my best friends was celebrating her 23rd birthday, so in November, we spent the day together exploring some beautiful vineyards in the Adelaide Hills.
We hired a mini bus and driver for the day. Nobody wanted to be a designated driver (which is fair enough) so this was the best option.
We all met on the southern outskirts of the Adelaide CBD, hopped on the minibus and were off!
This is the gorgeous Meggan. I met her through my bestie Tessa (on the left) several years ago. She has lived all around Asia, South America and was recently in North Korea which led to me becoming insanely jealous!
On the left (above) is beautiful Laura and on the right is blonde bombshell Liv. We all became friends in year 11 (junior year to my lovely American readers) of high school and have been friends ever since. Laura is studying to be a kickass psychologist and Liv is the hottest vet nurse you’ll ever meet.
After about 45 minutes of driving we arrived at our first winery – Howard Vineyard. We were the only people there at this early part of the day which meant we were able to have a lovely and relaxed wine tasting.
These two lovely ladies, Monique (left) and Alicia (right) are one of the cutest couples I have ever met. These two seem to balance each other out perfectly.
This spunk of a man is my best ever male friend. He is the sorta guy that is super reserved when sober but becomes an absolute demon after knocking back a few “voddies”. He’s an amazing nurse and a barrel of laughs.
After trying every single wine on the tasting list at Howard Vineyard (and some more than once) it was back on the bus to the next vineyard!
This glorious human is another one of my besties! Her name is Tessa. This day out was to celebrate her birthday and she was relishing in the sun and booze. She herself hates wine, so I still have no idea why she chose a wine tasting day for her celebration, but despite proclaiming her dislike for fermented grapes, by the end of the day she was knocking them back as enthusiastically as the rest of us.
This second winery was Nepenthe Wines. We didn’t take too long to get elbow deep into a tasting and it wasn’t long before we all become rather jolly*.
*Jolly = inebriated
It is a gorgeous and photogenic winery, and on this day the sun beating down on it made it extra beautiful.
After a bit of frolicking on my own along the vines, Ethan and Tessa found me and it was time to get our obligatory ‘pose in front of the vines shot’.
Then it was time to re-hydrate with juice.
Our last stop of the day was Kersbrook Wines and Cider. By this point we were all pretty knackered but the prospect of wine, birthday cake and about three cheese platters kept us all moving.
After singing Happy Birthday to the now 23 year old Tessa, we all chowed down on a beautiful cake made by the lovely Laura and then worked to keep our blood alcohol content at a good (high) level.
By the time we had drunk our way to the dessert wines, it was getting late in the arvo and we needed to head back to the city.
By the time we arrived back to Adelaide and up to the balcony of a city hotel where Tessa and her other half were residing, the sun was setting in the sky and I was feeling totally content after a wonderful day in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.
T H E L O W D O W N
Hiring a minibus: There are many different companies in Adelaide – most of which are pretty good. Cost will depend on the number of seats on the bus. It makes sense to book a larger bus for a larger group and spend about $70-$80 each for the whole day.
Howard Vineyard: Howard is a relaxed and chilled out winery with a beautiful selection of wines
Nepenthe: The wines at Nepenthe are good but nothing to write home about, the real attraction here is the view
Kersbrook: The cider made at Kersbrook is ridiculously good
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with 12-40mm M.Zuiko Pro Lens
Threads: I am wearing a gorgeous maxi by Aussie label Tigerlily
Remember: To pack snacks for the road, your drunk self will thank you for it
Nicely written!
Thanks 🙂
What a lovely bunch of people you are… and I am so glad to read a post about Australia. Australia has been on my bucket list since like forever… I’ve never visited it before, but I feel like I know it pretty well as I have read so many things about it already. One of my best friends lives in Canberra (we were in high school together but when she was 16 she moved to Australia with her parents and brother). We kept contact ever since. She has come back to Europe several times, but I haven’t visited Australia… yet. I do hope that one day I will and then your posts will come in handy… so keep blogging about this Great Southern Land!! Love, Kathleen
Will do! I will be writing lots about the Northern Territory and a fair bot about Northern Queensland later this year – stay tuned!
Hopefully you make it down under soon! 🙂
Oh great… the Northern Territory that’s still quite unknown for me… so a great way for me to get to know it 🙂 looking forward to the posts.
Awesome! I already have some posts about the gorgeous Litchfield National Park in the works, and will be heading to Katherine and Kakadu in the coming months!
sounds goooood 😀
Looks like you have an amazing group of friends and you enjoyed a great day out. Cheers.
A nice personal post ☺ You ladies look like a billion dollars! ☺
Oh why thankyou! 🙂
Looks like a lovely and fun time. It’s important to have such good friends. Cheers.
It absolutely was! Thanks for reading 🙂 See you next time!
Beautiful friends and wine! Ah! And that cake looked divine. Thanks for sharing!
Oh it totally was! Definitely ate more of it than I am proud of ha!
The posts about your travels have been so great to read, but I also love the ‘personal’ side of things, too. Thanks for mixing it up with a snapshot of your life at home, it was great to read a little about wineries in South Australia. I’m slowly but surely making the vineyard rounds on the east coast of the US, and I love learning more about wine from around the world! I’m enjoying your great blog, thanks 🙂
Awesome! Thanks so much for the positive feedback – I am glad that my little departure from travel stories has been so well received! I look forward to sharing many more stories with you!
Your next-to-last picture says it all. Fun time. 🙂
That was my favourite photo of the whole day!
Such a beautiful bunch of ladies! Love this post, best I’ll read today. So nice to read about your life in Australia. The last photo of you is beautiful! ❤️
Wow thankyou! It makes me so happy to hear people enjoying my blog! See you next time 🙂
Looks like the perfect birthday to me, BUT I’m a wine-o! 🙂 I love the photos! The ones from vineyard one look like they should be in the vineyards catalog. I love how as the day progressed the pics became more casual and silly and obviously more *jolly. I know this type of post is different for you,but I loved it!!!!!
Awesome! I love to hear it! Nothing quite like over indulging with friends 🙂
Exactly!!! We all need to overindulge once in a while… 😉
Love the SA wines. Coming over to the Coonawarra in April
Fantastic! You will love it!
Lovely place, and ladies! It always becomes the traveler to give tout to one’s home turf.
Why thankyou 🙂 I certainly don’t always give Adelaide the credit it deserves but it does have some wonderful appeal!
I love living in Adelaide its so beautiful and just a short drive from the CBD there is SO MUCH to do! I just got back from a weekend getaway on The Yorke Peninsula (where I’m originally from) and can’t wait to write about it! Such a perfect spot for some great photography! After this, I think I might have to book a wine tour while the weather is still nice! (:
Whereabouts on the Yorke Peninsula? Do it! Although might as well wait until after the Fringe and soak up all the Fringe-ness while it’s still hot!
From a small town called Warooka. But if you know the YP its down the bottom end, names like Edithburgh and Marion Bay will put it in perspective. Yes! I’m spending as much time at the Fringe as I can before uni goes back next week.
Marion Bay! I have spent many a long weekend in Marion Bay – such gorgeous beaches 🙂
Yes! The beaches are perfection. The beaches on the Yorke Peninsula are my favourite!
What a fun day! Love all the smiles in the pictures. 🙂 Your post makes me want to visit Adelaide!
Do it! But make sure you come in March! All the festivals happen in March and it is by far the best time of year to visit Adelaide.
That’s good to know! I’m so glad you told me that – I would’ve never have known that and would probably have visited during a different month 🙂
My pleasure! People who visit Adelaide outside of festival season often think it’s a bit of a sleepy city – definitely gotta go in March for the best experience!
Fun tour. We live in wine country… between Northern California and Southern Oregon, pretty much always have. Good idea on the van. 🙂 Have you ever tried a bike riding wine-tasting tour? –Curt
No I haven’t! I worry that my coordination would become pretty non-existent after a few drinks!
It can be… especially when it is after dark. 🙂
Ah!! My husband spent 7 months living in Adelaide while doing some training and during my visits there, found Adelaide to be the cutest city ever! We were there in the winter and didn’t get to experience the full glory of the wine vineyards, but we’d like to go back and tour Barossa Valley because people seem to loose their minds for that one!
Really? What did you like about it? Do come back for the Barossa though! Try and come in March though – that is when the city truly comes alive!
I think I need to buy this camera! Your photos are great!
Do it! I highly recommend my little Olympus OM-D E-M1 – it is an absolutely fantastic camera!
Does it film good quality videos too? I’m searching for something so I can start filming YouTube vids
Yeah it does shoot beautiful HD quality film!
This sounds like a wonderful trip–I had no idea how lovely the vineyards in S. Australia were!
They are beautiful! Makes me proud to be a South Aussie 🙂
Hello! Just wanted to say that I love your blog! And then I read this and discovered you are a fellow Adelaidean 🙂 hooray for Adelaide! (but also hooray for travelling)