October 24
Clare, Burra and Adelaide

The sun was blasting into my motel room by 8am. The forecast mid 30's temperature would seem a distinct possibility.

Burra is an old mining town about half an hour's drive from Clare, I set off along a winding road surrounded by trees, which slowly climbed out of the valley.

The road out of the valley	Kirrihill Winery

I passed the huge wine making plant which belongs to Kirrihill Wines. Quite different to their boutique style tasting rooms. Once out of the valley the countryside opened up into rolling plains full of corn.

Corn country
Railway line to nowhere	Amazing skies

I even found a railway line, although it didn't look as if it saw regular use.

Burra is full of old buildings, many of which have been turned into antique shops. The old square, more of a triangle in reality, has an historic pump and a friendly visitor centre. Originally, it was 5 separate settlements, each inhabited by miners from a different area - hence Redruth (Cornish) ; Bon Accord (Scottish) ; Llwchr (Welsh) and so on. It was only in 1940 that the whole area amalgamated under the name of Burra.

The visitor centre gave me a large map, which I perused in a café. This appeared to be run by an aging gay Australian in partnership with his Indonesian boyfriend, & offered Indonesian food in the evenings. It is possible that I misinterpreted the situation but they made me a very good iced coffee. It was strong, cold and unsweetened, with a jug of sugar syrup on the side.

Pearce's Building	Interesting alleyway

On the road out of town, I visited the cider factory - apple wine, really - and had a long chat with the owner. He was very enthusiastic about almost everything and cider in particular, which he definitely considered to be a wine rather than a beer. Technically, of course, he is correct but his products veered towards the German apple wines rather than proper English cider. I purchased a small glass from him, which didn't excite me very much.  Drinking any more would probably have sent me way over the rather restrictive drink driving limits.
Thorogood's Cider Factory

Heading back towards Adelaide the road is flat and dry. The farms were mainly arable but there were a few sheep and some hay bales being made.

Hay bales ...	... and sheep

	I stopped at Riverton for lunch. There is probably a lot of history to the place and there were many photos of the old railway station in evidence. There were certainly a few interesting buildings but it did seem to be a classic one horse (street) town. Being restricted in time, I found a quick and large sandwich at a café, used the very smart public toilets behind the Community Centre, took a few photos and moved on.
Riverton Town Hall and public toilets

I soon rejoined the road I had used on Tuesday and went as fast as I could towards Adelaide. The traffic got heavier and heavier as I neared the city but I negotiated it safely, only got stuck in the wrong lane once, and reached the hotel about half an hour later than I had planned.

Check-in was quick and easy, the guy on reception remembering me from before. I had a room in the new wing so abandoned my bags, returned to the car and drove quite rapidly to the rental office. The only complicated part was finding somewhere to dump the car as all of the parking places and most of the pavement were already occupied.

Formalities completed, I walked along North Terrace in pretty serious heat. I reached the Tourist Office, found the young lady who had organised my accommodation and gave her a full run down on the quality of each place. I then thanked her profusely and walked down King William Street to the Ambassador for a much needed cold beer.

This is a wonderful place for both the photographer and the shopper. I bought some basic provisions for breakfast - bread, cheese and pancetta. All were well priced and looked beautiful. Unfortunately, I had to go to the supermarket for milk. I will return in the morning for another wander.

	Back at the hotel, I had a rest and read some of the guide books I had collected along the way. The weather forecast promised that Saturday would be windy and about 37 degrees. Even they said it would be unpleasant. Sunday would be 15 degrees cooler and there might even be a shower. Looks like North Adelaide and the cricket tomorrow and Port Adelaide on Sunday.

Gouger Street was heaving with people. It was 29 degrees and everyone was out for their Friday night festivities. Adelaide is a quiet place compared to Melbourne or Sydney but it is amazingly urban when compared to the towns in New Zealand. I settled on a Thai style place - the Lime & Lemon café. Lots of noodles and stir fries but not many curries. I had a good view of the street through the open shop front and watched the massed hordes walking by.

My waitress wore a badge saying "NEW", which I assume was her status and not her name. The cold spring rolls looked stunning and were OK but not, I believe, as good as mine. They lacked enough herbs & spices to be interesting.

The main course was full of fresh vegetables, chicken, chilli and red curry paste. No lack of flavour there. With a couple of beers it made a good dinner.

I returned home up the crowded streets, stopping at the Chinese lions to take their photo - they look better at night time than in the day light, and also to take more people shots on the busy streets.