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Rollin', rollin' rollin' on a river, and a highway or two.

OzKiwiJJ

By OzKiwiJJ,
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers

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OzKiwiJJ

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Hahndorf and around.

 

Hahndorf is an interesting little town, primarily playing on it's German heritage. Perhaps a bit too touristy but there are some beautiful old buildings, and some very interesting shops. 

 

Today was a walking day, after three days of driving I did not want to go anywhere by car! We found a great cafe for breakfast and chose to sit outside even though it was a bit chilly but there were rugs to keep us warm.

 

Next to the cafe there was a lovely little park with a fountain commemorating the early settlers here. It looked lovely with the sun coming through the glass panels.

 

I found a gorgeous pair of sheepskin moccasins in one little shop, and DH found a great leather crossbody bag in another shop. One of our favourite cheesemakers is in this area and had a lovely shop and cafe so we stopped there for coffee.

 

Then we found a winery cellar door and spent an hour or so tasting the wines. They were really nice, a bit unusual as the reds were lighter in style than many Australian wines, more European, which suited me perfectly. We bought some to be shipped home.

 

We had lunch at a tapas bar. Some traditional tapas and some modern. We sat outside on a balcony overlooking a lovely garden and lots of trees. It got quite warm out there.

 

It was a long walk back to the motel and, unfortunately, my feet got a bit too hot and my shoes rubbed blisters on my heels. That gave me a very good excuse to stretch out and have a siesta.

 

We ended up going out for dinner a bit later than yesterday and were surprised how quiet the town was. Most people must dine very early. We went to a nice-looking Italian restaurant but were very disappointed in the food. The so-called sauteed fresh seafood in the linguine was very obviously from a pack of frozen mixed seafood and probably not local. It was unpleasantly mushy. I think even my cat would have turned up his nose at it. Luckily I wasn't very hungry.

 

By the time we walked back to the motel the town was empty, and it was only just after 9pm. Hahndorf is obviously not a party town. Perhaps because of Covid?

 

We woke early on Sunday, which was just as well has we had to repack our bags for the cruise. We're using a series of small bags so we can just use one bag for shorter stops and add different combinations of the other bags depending on what we are doing. After checking the BOM forecast for the week, and noticing how cold it was in the morning, we decided to take our cold weather bag onboard with us. I was expecting it to still be very hot but it looks like we will be blessed with lovely days in the mid-20s but cool to cold nights.

 

Finally we were packed up, checked out and the car loaded. After a monster breakfast we headed to The Cedars to discover the world of Hans Heysen. We did the guided tour which was fascinating. Such a variety of styles and subjects, plus quite a bit of his daughter's art as well. I could see how he loved the countryside, especially where his house is. It is just beautiful.

 

Next we headed to the Beerenberg Farm Shop. Sadly, due to Covid, there were no tastings but we found a few things to buy that we hadn't seen in our local stores.

 

We went on to Mt Barker so I could get my glasses checked. The screw for the right lens frame has been undoing itself lately. The OPSM guy said it looked OK. But I'm not taking any chances! I packed a set of mini-screwdrivers, and a spare pair of glasses - older prescription but still OK in emergencies.

 

After a less than impressive lunch at a nearby cafe we went for a drive through the countryside, through Strathalbyn and looped back to Murray Bridge. We were hoping to have a late coffee and snack as we don't board the boat until 7pm, and dinner isn't until 8pm. However every decent cafe or restaurant in Murray Bridge was closed so we've ended up at Maccas. Oh well, the coffee is OK and the toilets are clean. 

We have a couple of hours to fill in now so might go down by the river to wait.

 

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OzKiwiJJ

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I may not be able to post updates every day during the cruise. The itinerary looks full-on so I might not have much spare time. After the cruuse we have a few days in Adelaide so I should be able to catch up then.

 

Here's the itinerary, I tried to post it directly but I can't copy the PDF text.

 

5 Night Itinerary.pdf

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possum52

possum52

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18 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I may not be able to post updates every day during the cruise. The itinerary looks full-on so I might not have much spare time. After the cruuse we have a few days in Adelaide so I should be able to catch up then.

 

Here's the itinerary, I tried to post it directly but I can't copy the PDF text.

 

5 Night Itinerary.pdfUnavailable

Julie, the PDF is unable to be opened. I look forward to hearing more abut your travels.

 

Leigh

 

 

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ilikeanswers

ilikeanswers

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21 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Here's the itinerary, I tried to post it directly but I can't copy the PDF text.

 

5 Night Itinerary.pdfUnavailable

 

It is coming up unavailable for me🙁. Don't suppose you could convert it to JPEG and upload it like a photo🤔

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OzKiwiJJ

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32 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

It is coming up unavailable for me🙁. Don't suppose you could convert it to JPEG and upload it like a photo🤔

No, sorry, but I can't seem to do that. I tried saving it but it didn't allow any options to convert it to jpeg. There may be some form of protection on the document.

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OzKiwiJJ

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We're sitting dockside watching them get the boat ready for us. I think she does two night cruises over the weekend and probably arrived about 4pm, so three hours to clean it ready for the next lot of passengers.

 

Here she is:

 

 

20210221_172629.jpg

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MMDown Under Holiday Sharing Rare

MMDown Under

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1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We're sitting dockside watching them get the boat ready for us. I think she does two night cruises over the weekend and probably arrived about 4pm, so three hours to clean it ready for the next lot of passengers.

 

Here she is:

 

 

20210221_172629.jpg

Bon Voyage, Julie. Lucky you have twilight. 

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OzKiwiJJ

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We're onboard and unpacked. The cabins are tiny but the bed is king size and storage is reasonable although the hanging space is not quite high enough for trousers. It's a squeeze in the bathroom if you're plus size like us.

 

 

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MMDown Under

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10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We're onboard and unpacked. The cabins are tiny but the bed is king size and storage is reasonable although the hanging space is not quite high enough for trousers. It's a squeeze in the bathroom if you're plus size like us.

 

 

I guess you will spend most of your time out on the wrap around verandahs.  Should be lovely this morning at the break of day.  

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OzKiwiJJ

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2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

I guess you will spend most of your time out on the wrap around verandahs.  Should be lovely this morning at the break of day.  

The "wrap around verandah" is the walkway around the ship where all the cabin doors are and is quite narrow. There is a large area with chairs and tables on the top deck though, but it's a bit cool out there at the moment.

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MMDown Under

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1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The "wrap around verandah" is the walkway around the ship where all the cabin doors are and is quite narrow. There is a large area with chairs and tables on the top deck though, but it's a bit cool out there at the moment.

34c Brisbane 39c Perth - enjoy cooler weather this morning.  Enjoy the large area with tables and chairs on the top deck.  Have you seen much wildlife?

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OzKiwiJJ

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1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

34c Brisbane 39c Perth - enjoy cooler weather this morning.  Enjoy the large area with tables and chairs on the top deck.  Have you seen much wildlife?

Just some very noisy birds early this morning. We're on coach tour of Mannum now and go on a wildlife tour this evening.

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