Adelaide - Day 1

As i crossed the time zone border aboard the Overland heading towards Melbourne; my mind kept racing on the wonderful moments I've been through for the past 4 days i spent in the festival state of Adelaide. It has been such unforgettable experience; the weather has been so welcoming with warm, bright & sunny throughout the trips.

Christine & Val has been such a wonderful host to us. The kind of hospitality that you would only expect coming from the Malays. Every little things were taken care of from warm beds each night, mode of transport until every meal of the day. Lucky i followed Shah to Adelaide as they already regards Shah as their own son.

Our day first started early in the morning; i couldn't really sleep the night before as the excitement kicks in early :). We took the earliest plane that scheduled to be departed on 9.00am which means we have to be at the airport at 8.00am. The skybus took about 25min from Southern Cross Station to the Tullamarine Airport.

Tiger Airways terminal for domestic flight were situated at terminal 4 are the furthest from the main passenger terminal & located separately from other international flight terminals. It pretty chaotic inside as there were queues & planes were actually delayed for the passenger to board as many were already checked-in but withheld at the security check-ups.

Our plane took off 30mins later than the scheduled time & the flight landed at Adelaide airport around 10.00am; noted that we've crossed the time zone & it's actually 30 mins earlier than Melbourne. The wonderful thing about Adelaide airport is that the international & domestic flight were practically within the same huge terminal - smaller but definitely newer & nicer than Melbourne airport.


Val & Christine came to picked up us to dropped all of our luggage at their sons house before heading off towards their residence at Aldgate. They kept quite a collection of dolls and other memorabilia st their home. Then we were taken for a hiking at Mt. George Conservation Park nearby Aldgate & we went for an hour hike along Heysen Trail that brought us to Cox Mill at Bridgewater.

For the first time in my life; i found wild blackberries, wild strawberries & cherries at their natural habitat. They all looked like a wee bit smaller & tasted less sweeter as what we could find at the markets or on the shelves of stores. They were mainly consumed he wild animals that could be found around the forest, especially for the birds.

Interesting story about the Cox Mill that was actually considered as the heart & pulse of Bridgewater many moons ago. Residency & train tracks were built because of the mills that provide wheat flour to the people as well as the neighboring city. Train was the best option and the most efficient way to transport large item from places to places.The mill undergo a passing era of technology from being generated by the flowing river streams to steams & finally using electricity to run. Nowadays, the mill has been converted into a fancy restaurant that serves among the best wines that Australia could offer.

As soon we reached home, Christine treated us with fettucini marinara; Val himself went to the local stores to get us the seafood. They were so kind and well concerned about our dietary requirement that they didn't even mind feeding us. Shah insisted on watching Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki & i fell asleep on the couch half way through as it has been such a day having to woke up early & trailing a hike.

Val sent us home to Sam house by dusk & i had the chance to meet the owner of the house that i'm about to crashed for the next few days. He actually worked for the Labor government which is the ruling party at the moment in South Australia. His boss is the treasurer & i was informed that was quite a busy period for them as they just undergo re-shuffling in the government - 11 out of the 15 ministers changed portfolio. Definitely a crucial period for an adjustment and a busy week for him indeed. I slept like a log till the next morning...