ADELAIDE

We stopped for lunch on Thursday at a place called Ardrossan. We realised we could easily make it to Adelaide and rang ahead to try and book in to the caravan park a day early. They were booked out though. The 2nd Ashes test was on, which is why we had booked ahead for the weekend. We headed off to a little town 60km from Adelaide.

Mallala is a lovely little town and location for V8 supercar races. We stopped at a free campsite in the middle of town at the local sports ground. The kids had the whole oval to play on as well as tennis courts and a skate ramp. The weather had also fined up and it was quite hot.

The next day we arrived in Adelaide - another very hot day. We had booked at Brownhill Creek Caravan Park, southeast of the city, for four nights. We told the kids that there was a surprise for them the next morning.

They couldn't believe their eyes when Nan and Kev arrived at the caravan, having flown down from the Gold Coast for the weekend. It was a wonderful early Christmas present for all of us. That afternoon we had a look around Glenelg beach then went out for dinner.

Near the restaurant was a lock where boats go from the canals into the ocean. It was interesting to watch as one gate opened and the boats moved into the small area to wait for the other gate to open.

On Sunday we all had a look around the city. There are so many beautiful old buildings in Adelaide.

That night we had pizza together in the caravan before saying a sad farewell. The kids agreed it had been the best surprise ever!

On Monday we drove up into the Adelaide hills. The view from Mt Lofty Summit was amazing.

From there it was a short drive to Hahndorf, a town with a rich German heritage. The kids loved this puppet shop, filled with hundreds of different puppets.

Hahndorf was also filled with many beautiful old buildings.

Back at the caravan park, the kids went straight to the playground (nothing but two swings). They've spent a lot of time over the past few days playing all kinds of their own made up games on these two swings! It's confirmation to me that this trip has been really good for them.