Final cannon ball run.....

Unbelievably today was our last day, and it was to be a big one, in terms of kilometres at least as we would be driving from Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills to Home, just outside of Geelong, Victoria.

I started the day before the alarm clock, as with most days, I have been getting up at sunrise and normally hitting the pillow each night around 9pm, this touring lifestyle is much different to the daily grind that will resume next week.

As we had packed the car the night before all that we needed to do was have

Touching the Fleurieu Peninsula

Yesterday we realised one thing, we will be back to the Adelaide Hills, there is so much to see in this wonderful area that another full day would not do it justice.  So we decided to head out on a little drive and went to Strathalbyn, Goolwa and Victor Harbour.

On arrival in Strathalbyn, we realised why it had been voted one of the most picturesque towns in S.A. With a little drizzle in the air, we walked around and found the Strath Corner Bakery for a light refreshment and Coffee.

The town has a lovely park and a bridge named the Children's Bridge.

Mural on the Public Toilet

From here the weather turned a little on

Folks, its time to head for the Adelaide Hills

After yesterday's friendly banter at The German Cake Shop Family Restaurant, we decided to head back there for some breakfast.  Walking down Main Street Hahndorf just after 8am on a Tuesday morning, was very surreal. All the shops were closed, and there was no people or traffic.  Now the long weekend has passed there are much fewer people here.

We got to our baker around 8:10 and thankfully he was opened and as we walked in the door we could see him dividing some cakes that he would later put on display for sale.

He recognised us as we come in and we had a discussion on how busy he was yesterday, he looked

Catching a quiet village and great friends

As we found Hahndorf very busy yesterday afternoon, and quite reminiscent of a Disneyland Theme Park, Katie and I were back down there around nine am before most of the shops opened.  The theory was we would get to look along the main street and get a real feel for what it is like out of School Holidays and the Labour Day long weekend.

This proved to be a good idea and for about one hour we felt like we were in a

Guten Tag, Hahndorf

It was time to leave Wilmington and surrounds today and hit the road again, on route to Hahndorf. I have been looking forward to this stop for a little while now. This is the last four days of our trip and as treat, we booked ahead in to a lovely B&B to relax. So we packed up the tent for the last time this morning, in record time and took our time getting to the lovely little German inspired town.

The Adelaide Hills were really lovely and

Birthday Show

Wilmington, a town that along with a lot of other rural places is feeling the pressures of the modern world. It is not urbanisation, it is not overcrowding, it is population decline.  In this area there are a string of towns that were here to support the farmers and associated industries, however, from what we have learnt the farms are getting larger, the farmers are getting the fewer and the yields are less.

These are then, in turn, causing small business to lose trade, and close. Wilmington has a small supermarket, that is part of the rural supplies that also is the petrol station. The butchers are closed, the baker is gone, the two coffee shops are closed, and the pub is closed.

From the inner warmth to the southern cooler

It was time to hit the road again this morning, after a fairly, well...uncomfortable night at the 'Opal Inn' in Coober Pedy. We were clearly spoilt at the Underground Cave lookout hotel on our way through town a couple of weeks ago! 

But we didn't let this spoil our day. We were up with the sun and on the road even before the roadhouse was open for breakfast, muesli bars and iced coffee was breakfast on the run.