South Australia 2016: Kangaroo Island, Limestone Coast and Wine, CX Y/J
Apr 4, 2016, 7:54 am
#1
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
South Australia 2016: Kangaroo Island, Limestone Coast and Wine, CX Y/J
*** ALL UPDATED, including CX J ***
Introduction:
My family and I travelled to South Australia for the Easter Break. We were in Australia just shy of 8 days, but it was a phenomenal trip covering both nature and culture. We enjoyed breathtaking views of the Southern Sea, handfed kangaroos in a wildlife park, and spotted other wildlifes running around. We also did a fair amount of wine tastings.
This trip report will cover the following, as I update this thread and my blog:
Day 0: Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Adelaide [#5]
Day 1: A pelican-eat-pelican world [#6]
Day 2: Kangaroo Island in depth - land's end, koalas and kangaroos [#7]
Day 3: McLaren Vale and its spicy Shiraz! [#8]
Day 4: Limestone Coast, Langhrone Creek and Robe [#10]
Day 5: An encounter with the Australian medical system, and more wine [#13]
Day 6: Back to Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, and a magical sunset [#15]
Day 7: A love affair with Riesling in Clare Valley [#17]
Day 8: A bittersweet farewell: Adelaide to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific [#20]
Some lovely pictures:
And finally, on an aviational note... CX Long-haul J
Introduction:
My family and I travelled to South Australia for the Easter Break. We were in Australia just shy of 8 days, but it was a phenomenal trip covering both nature and culture. We enjoyed breathtaking views of the Southern Sea, handfed kangaroos in a wildlife park, and spotted other wildlifes running around. We also did a fair amount of wine tastings.
This trip report will cover the following, as I update this thread and my blog:
Day 0: Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Adelaide [#5]
Day 1: A pelican-eat-pelican world [#6]
Day 2: Kangaroo Island in depth - land's end, koalas and kangaroos [#7]
Day 3: McLaren Vale and its spicy Shiraz! [#8]
Day 4: Limestone Coast, Langhrone Creek and Robe [#10]
Day 5: An encounter with the Australian medical system, and more wine [#13]
Day 6: Back to Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, and a magical sunset [#15]
Day 7: A love affair with Riesling in Clare Valley [#17]
Day 8: A bittersweet farewell: Adelaide to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific [#20]
Some lovely pictures:
And finally, on an aviational note... CX Long-haul J
Last edited by Herman Lam; Jun 19, 2016 at 7:45 am
Apr 5, 2016, 9:34 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 0: CX Y HKG-ADL
I would kick-off with a report about the flight to Adelaide. I took the direct service from HKG to ADL on CX's Y. The choice was clear as CX offers a direct flight and its price was reasonable at HK$5900 per person for the peak season (still quite expensive I know, but...)
My father (flying in J on a redemption ticket) and me went to the lounges before the flight to get some dinner...
The fishball noodles in Dragonair's G16 Lounge are very good - I specifically recommend you to stop there for some authentic HK cuisine made to order (though I have read the QF lounge is also very good, and I look forward to going there v. soon)
The noodle bar in The Wing - something that is modelled on in the new lounges being rolled out worldwide.
But some tasteless people in the Wing also decided to pour Moet Champagne into wineglasses
And for some after-dinner drinks... we headed to the Bridge for some mojitos... Lovely indeed! But very crowded (as with the Wing) - so would need to wait for it!
New boarding regime enforced at gate - no more priority boarding for Green MPC members but still, the gate agent was asked by an Australian J pax why he had to queue up even though he was flying J.
I was seated at the bulkhead window (39A) so the PTV was fixed in the wall in front of me (so further away - and easier for my neighbour to see what I was watching).
So fun thing happened: my neighbour watched exactly what I was watching... (so my screen was always 30 seconds to 1 minute ahead of hers…) – Two explanations: either she loves comedy (which is possible) or CX’s IFE is just too lame for her (i.e. she cannot find anything good and resign to watch whatever I was watching on her TV!)
Dinner was excellent (surprisingly): BBQ Pork Rice
Breakfast was so-so, barely edible: Western breakfast
Having two hot meals on a 8-hour flight was a luxury, but sleep, too, would be a luxury. I would have no problem for the second meal to be a pastry with some fruits and I get an extra half an hour shut-down time...
Seat comfort was subpar in my opinion - the cushion lacks good support. Other than that, for the price paid, CX got me where I needed to be safely and on time, well good enough for me as the Australian adventure awaits!
My father (flying in J on a redemption ticket) and me went to the lounges before the flight to get some dinner...
The fishball noodles in Dragonair's G16 Lounge are very good - I specifically recommend you to stop there for some authentic HK cuisine made to order (though I have read the QF lounge is also very good, and I look forward to going there v. soon)
The noodle bar in The Wing - something that is modelled on in the new lounges being rolled out worldwide.
But some tasteless people in the Wing also decided to pour Moet Champagne into wineglasses
And for some after-dinner drinks... we headed to the Bridge for some mojitos... Lovely indeed! But very crowded (as with the Wing) - so would need to wait for it!
New boarding regime enforced at gate - no more priority boarding for Green MPC members but still, the gate agent was asked by an Australian J pax why he had to queue up even though he was flying J.
I was seated at the bulkhead window (39A) so the PTV was fixed in the wall in front of me (so further away - and easier for my neighbour to see what I was watching).
So fun thing happened: my neighbour watched exactly what I was watching... (so my screen was always 30 seconds to 1 minute ahead of hers…) – Two explanations: either she loves comedy (which is possible) or CX’s IFE is just too lame for her (i.e. she cannot find anything good and resign to watch whatever I was watching on her TV!)
Dinner was excellent (surprisingly): BBQ Pork Rice
Breakfast was so-so, barely edible: Western breakfast
Having two hot meals on a 8-hour flight was a luxury, but sleep, too, would be a luxury. I would have no problem for the second meal to be a pastry with some fruits and I get an extra half an hour shut-down time...
Seat comfort was subpar in my opinion - the cushion lacks good support. Other than that, for the price paid, CX got me where I needed to be safely and on time, well good enough for me as the Australian adventure awaits!
Apr 6, 2016, 7:05 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 1: A pelican-eat-pelican world
The first day saw us driving from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island.
First stop was 15 minutes away from Adelaide Airport - in Glenelg
And spotted the departure of the plane I departed on... Glenelg is a good place to catch depatures / arrival from ADL
On the road in Kangaroo Island en-route from Penneshaw to Kingscote!
Last signs of summer...
The sea was lovely...
5 pm in Kingscote can only mean one thing...
Our first dinner in Australia was excellent too!
FULL BLOG POST HERE
First stop was 15 minutes away from Adelaide Airport - in Glenelg
And spotted the departure of the plane I departed on... Glenelg is a good place to catch depatures / arrival from ADL
On the road in Kangaroo Island en-route from Penneshaw to Kingscote!
Last signs of summer...
The sea was lovely...
5 pm in Kingscote can only mean one thing...
Our first dinner in Australia was excellent too!
FULL BLOG POST HERE
Apr 11, 2016, 8:00 am
#7
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 2: Kangaroo Island in depth – Land’s End, Koalas and Kangaroos
We only really had one full day in Kangaroo Island so we did the three major tourist spots: Seal Bay, Flinders Chase, and wildlife experiences.
Our visit to the Seal Bay was plagued by the stormy weather sadly, but I managed to get a few snaps of the Australian sea-lions featured at the Bay. This type of seals is quite different for they spend half their time on land and the other half in the sea (for the common ones, they spend most of their time in the sea)
The storm:
Hey there, I am sleeping, don't take pictures of me!
The Cape du Couedic Lighthouse
View of the Cape
Waves...
More waves...
The Admiral Arch
The Remarkable Rocks
Feeding kangaroos
Koalas feasting...
Sorry for the late updates - been busy working, but hope you enjoy the posts so far.
Full blog post here
Our visit to the Seal Bay was plagued by the stormy weather sadly, but I managed to get a few snaps of the Australian sea-lions featured at the Bay. This type of seals is quite different for they spend half their time on land and the other half in the sea (for the common ones, they spend most of their time in the sea)
The storm:
Hey there, I am sleeping, don't take pictures of me!
The Cape du Couedic Lighthouse
View of the Cape
Waves...
More waves...
The Admiral Arch
The Remarkable Rocks
Feeding kangaroos
Koalas feasting...
Sorry for the late updates - been busy working, but hope you enjoy the posts so far.
Full blog post here
Apr 22, 2016, 3:32 am
#8
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 3: McLaren Vale and its spicy Shiraz!
Sorry for the late updates! Life has been hectic!
Our day started off with the ferry ride from Kangaroo Island back to the mainland, as we made our way to the wine region McLaren Vale.
A buddha was spotted on the way - the Nan Hai Pu Tuo Temple - flooded by Chinese people
Ah such comfoting view of vineyards, so settling!
We got there just after the harvesting season... signs of autumn, not in the nicest way though!
Hardy's Tintara Vineyard...
Which includes a viewing platform for customers to spy on their red wine production
Two of the more expensive wines... On the left is the 2012 Shiraz ($55) and the right one is single-vineyard Shiraz ($80). The wines made from grapes from one single vineyards mean that the winemakers were very very confident about the quality of the grapes. And indeed we were very impressed!
Autumn in Hahndorf - the nicer sign of autumn!
Chinese food in Adelaide - at Ding Hao. While Adelaide has a smaller Chinatown than most other metropolitans, I do not doubt Adelaide has the best Chinese restaurant! Great quality food, lovely waiting staff and reasonable price are the hallmarks of this restaurant!
And I doubt I have had a better duck elsewhere!
As ever, a fuller review of my day can be found via my blog
Our day started off with the ferry ride from Kangaroo Island back to the mainland, as we made our way to the wine region McLaren Vale.
A buddha was spotted on the way - the Nan Hai Pu Tuo Temple - flooded by Chinese people
Ah such comfoting view of vineyards, so settling!
We got there just after the harvesting season... signs of autumn, not in the nicest way though!
Hardy's Tintara Vineyard...
Which includes a viewing platform for customers to spy on their red wine production
Two of the more expensive wines... On the left is the 2012 Shiraz ($55) and the right one is single-vineyard Shiraz ($80). The wines made from grapes from one single vineyards mean that the winemakers were very very confident about the quality of the grapes. And indeed we were very impressed!
Autumn in Hahndorf - the nicer sign of autumn!
Chinese food in Adelaide - at Ding Hao. While Adelaide has a smaller Chinatown than most other metropolitans, I do not doubt Adelaide has the best Chinese restaurant! Great quality food, lovely waiting staff and reasonable price are the hallmarks of this restaurant!
And I doubt I have had a better duck elsewhere!
As ever, a fuller review of my day can be found via my blog
Apr 28, 2016, 3:11 pm
#10
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 4: Limestone Coast, Langhorne Creek, and Robe
Full Blog Post here
First off today is the English town of Strathalbyn
And then it was winetasting in Langhorne Creek - a less well-known wine region of South Australia, but wine making there was equally well done. I liked the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and it was highly affordable, and very refreshing!
Any trekking east from Adelaide would require an encounter with the Murray River, the longest river in Australia - and here we are crossing in the town called Wellington:
"Big Lobster" in Kingston
I had the crab risotto (because lobster is very pricy!) It was very creamy and well-spiced, I liked it a lot
Coast of Kingston
Coast of Robe
You cannot go wrong for steak for dinner - at least for now!
First off today is the English town of Strathalbyn
And then it was winetasting in Langhorne Creek - a less well-known wine region of South Australia, but wine making there was equally well done. I liked the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and it was highly affordable, and very refreshing!
Any trekking east from Adelaide would require an encounter with the Murray River, the longest river in Australia - and here we are crossing in the town called Wellington:
"Big Lobster" in Kingston
I had the crab risotto (because lobster is very pricy!) It was very creamy and well-spiced, I liked it a lot
Coast of Kingston
Coast of Robe
You cannot go wrong for steak for dinner - at least for now!
Apr 30, 2016, 2:40 am
#12
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ADL
Programs: Qantas, Singapore Airlines
Posts: 32
May 1, 2016, 2:33 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 5: An encounter with the Australian medical system, and more wine
Full blog post here
The day started at Long Beach here in Robe
In the spirit of comparison, I attach a picture of Holkham Beach in Norfolk, UK (April 2016) -- so, my question for you is, which looks better?
Millicent Hospital
Story: Getting out of bed in the morning, my dad was not feeling quite alright. He hadn’t pooped for quite a while and that made him feel really uncomfortable. So I went out and checked out the town. There is a clinic in the town but because of the long weekend, all the slots were booked and the nurse was not very helpful either. I also went to the pharmacy, and it was run by, probably a Vietnamese, pharmacist. I got a few medicine for my dad but it only added to his suffering.
We arrived into the hospital after lunch. Fortunately for us, the A&E was empty and my dad was first in line. It took a while to wait for the senior nurse to attend to my father, though. Apparently there were having a meeting discussing his symptoms (well classic constipation?) and when they came through, they already had some drugs on hand and asked my dad to take those. They also performed a check for my father and told him the poop was too dry to be out.
Lesson to self: drink more than enough liquids when travelling long-distance on a car because your body would take away liquids from your intestines to supply other body parts when you are not drinking.
Thus, before we proceeded further, I asked my dad (kindly) to finish a whole bottle of water.
We got to Coonawarra wine region later that afternoon. And we continued our lovely journey of wine tasting!
Lovely Sauv Blanc!
We stayed at this lovely cottage:
The day started at Long Beach here in Robe
In the spirit of comparison, I attach a picture of Holkham Beach in Norfolk, UK (April 2016) -- so, my question for you is, which looks better?
Millicent Hospital
Story: Getting out of bed in the morning, my dad was not feeling quite alright. He hadn’t pooped for quite a while and that made him feel really uncomfortable. So I went out and checked out the town. There is a clinic in the town but because of the long weekend, all the slots were booked and the nurse was not very helpful either. I also went to the pharmacy, and it was run by, probably a Vietnamese, pharmacist. I got a few medicine for my dad but it only added to his suffering.
We arrived into the hospital after lunch. Fortunately for us, the A&E was empty and my dad was first in line. It took a while to wait for the senior nurse to attend to my father, though. Apparently there were having a meeting discussing his symptoms (well classic constipation?) and when they came through, they already had some drugs on hand and asked my dad to take those. They also performed a check for my father and told him the poop was too dry to be out.
Lesson to self: drink more than enough liquids when travelling long-distance on a car because your body would take away liquids from your intestines to supply other body parts when you are not drinking.
Thus, before we proceeded further, I asked my dad (kindly) to finish a whole bottle of water.
We got to Coonawarra wine region later that afternoon. And we continued our lovely journey of wine tasting!
Lovely Sauv Blanc!
We stayed at this lovely cottage:
May 9, 2016, 1:55 am
#14
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Location: Germany
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May 17, 2016, 1:56 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
Day 6: Back to Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, and a magical sunset
Keith, SA
Tailem Band, SA
Adelaide Hills Vineyards - brilliant Sauv Blanc and quite good Riesling - but you cannot beat Clare Valley on Riesling!
Sunset by Glenelg, SA
A full write-up is available in my blog
Tailem Band, SA
Adelaide Hills Vineyards - brilliant Sauv Blanc and quite good Riesling - but you cannot beat Clare Valley on Riesling!
Sunset by Glenelg, SA
A full write-up is available in my blog