The hills are alive with the sound of hic...hic

It's got to be said that my favourite bit of our Australia trip was to come; in and around Adelaide. We travelled there passing through Mount Gambia where the No.1 tourist spot is the Blue Lake. Take a look at the photo, there's been no retouching, it's the "bluest" water we have ever seen and not a shopping centre in sight.

It was a special feeling coming into the Adelaide hills for the first time just before new year. We went straight to Mount Lofty (which sounds like an instruction if you're unfortunately called Lofty). From here, there is an incredible view point where you can see the centre of Adelaide and everything around it. A single photo does not do it justice.

We stayed in the hills for one night in Hahndorf, a German food and wine town, sampled some great food and some lush wines at the cellar door. And not a German or towel in sight although I did hold a few sausages in my hand. Sometimes you've just got to put your feet up and send the Shiela off to get some Coopers Ale to drink round the pool in a stubby. What a lovely sight, isn't she hot. Well it was 35 degrees.

It was New Year's Eve now and the temperature was 41 degrees. The bush fire alert system was set to "catastrophic' because of the wind and temperature. Planes overhead; Aussie's talking about the threat on street corners. So, we joined in with the panic and went to a winery to sample some more wine, bought a bottle or two, then fled the bush. The last bush alert I was involved in was on a Saturday night in Sunderland.