Sunday May 5
We left home at 6:30am for our 8:15 fight to Adelaide connecting to Kangaroo Island. We booked this trip a couple of months earlier when offered a half-price special at Southern Ocean Lodge (SOL) for “returning” guests (and their friends and family). We were considered returning guests as we had stayed at Capella on Lord Howe Island which is also a Baillie lodge. When I told Christine about this she jumped on board and she and Neil booked for the same dates (as was required by the offer).
We met up with C&N at the airport - upon arrival in ADL we found out that our flight to KI was delayed by an hour - disappointing for sure - maybe we can make a claim on our travel insurance for the lost minutes at Southern Ocean Lodge.
C&N were able to sweet talk their way into the QF lounge as Christine is a Silver but as scumbags Dieter and I were relegated to using the Rex lounge with our Priority Pass - alas when we walked all the way to the other end of the airport to the Rex lounge, the desk (which is outside the lounge) was unattended and the door was locked so we just waited at the gate for our flight.
Finally we were off, arriving at KI around mid-day and were met by one of SOL’s guides who drove the 4 of us (and another couple) to the lodge, about 1 hour away. On arrival we were whisked straight into lunch which was great as we were all starving. Lunch was excellent - so we took our time eating, chatting and trying one of the excellent wines on offer. SOL is fully inclusive.
After completing the rest of the check-in process which consisted mainly of reviewing the tour program they had planned - we went to our respective rooms to settle in and rest (that half-hour of jet-lag between Sydney and Adelaide) is a real killer (as was the 6:30am departure from home).
At 5pm we all met along with about a dozen another guests for the late afternoon tour - kangaroos and canapés. The tour was somewhat boring - unless you’ve never seen a kangaroo up close.
Back at the lodge we rushed off to shower and dress for dinner. We started with a pre-dinner drink in the wonderful lounge followed by an excellent dinner - prawns for entree for all of us then 2 lamb rumps and 2 barramundi - all washed down with chardonnay for me and a select red for D and C.
Monday May 6
It was a wonderful sunny day - high teens - we were booked on 2 tours - Wonders of KI in the morning then the Cliff Walk in the afternoon. Both were very good particularly the koalas. We met C&N in their room (presidential suite in fact) for a pre-dinner champagne then proceeded to happy hour and dinner.
Tuesday May 7
It started out rainy and pretty much stayed that way all day. We had no scheduled tours in the morning and our planned self-guided walk was aborted due to the on and off heavy rain. Actually Neil did a walk and came back soaked to the skin - Christine had a spa treatment - no doubt the right decision. After lunch we headed out to Seal Bay to see the seals and after about 15 minutes (or less) torrential rain, wind and sleet forced us back to the visitor centre but by then we were all cold and wet in spite of wearing rain jackets.
We had an enjoyable final dinner where the entree of marrons were the highlight.
Wednesday May 8
It was our final day - time to say farewell - after breakfast SOL drove us back to the airport (1 hour) for our 11:40am flight which left early. In Adelaide we each (couple) picked up their own hire car and headed separately to the Barossa - staying at the Novotel (by coincidence).
Once checked in (our room turned out to be a 2 bedroom apartment) we had a late lunch at the hotel (AccorPlus half price dining always welcome). We idled about in the afternoon then had dinner at the hotel. C&N did their own thing.
Thursday May 9
It turned out to be a very rainy and cold day (high of 10C) - after brekkie we headed out around 10:30 to visit Tanunda, the local town then a couple of wineries (Chateau Tanunda and Chateau Yaldara) mainly to view and photograph their historic buildings. We had lunch at Chateau Yaldara - good old Google Maps sent us “overland” on a very muddy dirt road - the car will need washing before turning it in.
We met C&N for a drink before dinner - they headed off to town for dinner while we stayed at the hotel.
Friday May 10
It was off to Adelaide today - staying at the Pullman. We arrived in time for lunch which we had at Salt, the Pullman’s restaurant.
We spent the afternoon lazing about then went to the Executive Lounge for happy 2-hours then to a local pizza joint for a quick dinner.
Saturday May 11
We did a bit of road tour today - down to the mouth of the Murray then Victor Harbour for lunch then back to Adelaide via Maclaren Vale stopping at d’Argenberg winery with it’s amazing Cube building.
We went to a restaurant recommended by Christine called Expose Exhibition - about 10 minutes away by taxi.
Sunday May 12
Last day in Adelaide - it was also Mother’s Day so we realised that all restaurants would be full at lunch. We drove to Port Adelaide and took a “dolphin” cruise on the Adelaide River but did not spot any dolphins. We managed to get a table at a pub (outside only, in spite of being cool and cloudy) - being Mother’s Day every restaurant and pub was totally full.
We had dinner at Salt in our hotel and weren’t overly impressed but the AccorPlus half-price dining made it OK.
Monday May 13
Back to Sydney today - only 4 weeks till we take off for Europe - time to shape up.
Once at the airport (somewhat earlier than required as we had to return our hire car) we found total chaos as Virgin’s systems were down country-wide and manual checkin was required - massive flight delays as well. We waited in the Virgin lounge then finally checked in when the system came back up but our 3:30pm flight was delayed till 5:40pm. Fortunately has access to the Virgin lounge, even though we were in Y, via our AmEx card. We finally arrived home at 9pm.
To add insult to injury - on the return flight Virgin would not honor their own happy hour (free drinks on flights between 5:30-7:30PM) as our flight, while after 5:30pm, was originally scheduled for 3:30pm - I let them know via Twitter that they were scumbags and cheapskates.