Two days after returning home from a wonderful three weeks in Japan we set off again on a road trip
to Adelaide for the MG Car Club National Meeting. We travelled in this 1960 MGA , which was kindly lent to us by a friend ( thankyou Jim) as John was uncertain of the reliability of our older model MG. We left home in torrential rain to board the boat for the 9 hour trip to Melbourne , the joys of living on an island. I had never been on the boat before and was a little nervous of a rough trip but fortunately the seas were calm.
We spent a night in Melbourne and met our son Callum for dinner before hitting the road bright and early the next morning. Our first stop on the road was in Ballarat , a Victorian era goldrush boom town . The hotel above dates from that time and has been beautifully restored and was just the spot for mid morning coffee.
The Ballarat Mining Exchange was used for trading of shares in mining companies during the Gold Rush Era, it still houses the Mining Exchange Gold Shop. The building was fully refurbished in 2004 and retains many of its original features.
I was most impressed with these cleverly painted storage tanks spied in a small country town , the name of which escapes me .
After a couple of days on the road , travelling approximately 730 kilometres , we reached Adelaide and shouted ourselves a night at Mt Lofty House in the Adelaide Hills.
The next day saw us finally visit the Adelaide Zoo to see the two pandas , something we had on the to do list for some time. I did take some photos but as it was through glass they are not brilliant so this guy will do , we both have a passion for black and white.
A sunny Easter Saturday was perfect for the concourse . The best way to describe a concourse , is a beauty pageant for cars . The cars are judged on originality as well as general presentation. The cars above are T series dating from the early 1950’s.
There are a diverse range of activities over the Easter including motorkahanas , speed events and observation runs as well as many social events. John and I were quite chuffed to receive a silver medal for our class in the observation run, fortunately I didn’t have to map read just follow instructions. The observation run took us through the Barossa Valley , a prime Australian wine growing district with some spectacular scenery. No photos, sorry, I was too busy following instructions.
Posing with these fellows after the run, part of a display of colourful scarecrows .
Joining Patti for Visible Monday
and Jess for Turning Heads Tuesday
Wow, that car!
Thank you so much Penny , it was a fun trip and fortunately the car behaved perfectly.
Brilliant photo story! I love the pic of you and the panda, so lovely together. xox-Pattihttp://notdeadyetstyle.com
Thank you Patti, I am pleased you enjoyed my photo story and my rather cheesey pic with the panda. Pleased to join Visible Monday, many thanks for hosting.
Looks like a fun and scenic trip! 🙂
Thanks so much Laurie , it was rather fun to do a road trip for a change.
So happy to see you're back, Jill! What an interesting (and intense!) trip, and right after coming back from Japan too – wow, you're strong people! Love the black outfit, and the painting that you noticed in the small town! Lovely photos of everything, from the hotels to cars and scarecrows. And congratulations on your silver medal!!!
Thank you Natalia , it is good to be home . Not so sure about being strong people perhaps over enthusiastic. The road trip was quite a change for me but good fun and Adelaide is a lovely city to visit and we had many car club friends there so a good time was had by all.
What a fabulous trip!! I don't mind a road trip as long as I don't have to do the driving!! But I'm a fabulous passenger—I will knit the entire way!Jodiewww.jtouchofstyle.com
Thank you so much Jodie , it was a fun trip and driving this car was not an option for me. Like your knitting idea too.
It was an great trip for sure, Ballarat looks an interesting city and, at the end … you got a silver medal! My compliments darling!!Everything sounds like a lot of fun…P.s.I am glad that you are posting again!
Thank you Dan , I enjoyed the travelling and am glad to be back and posting again, I have missed everyone.
Welcome back, Jill! A bit of contrast between this road trip and Japan! I love the old gold mining towns and Ballarat is one to visit. The silos are in Coonalpyn, artist Guido van Helten, who was specially commissioned to paint them in a community project to make people take notice as they drove through en route to Adelaide (the ABC had an interesting program on it recently). Thanks for sharing your adventure. xx
Thankyou Elizabeth it is good to be back. Our old gold towns really are rather special aren't they , Ballarat has so many grand buildings. Appreciate the feedback on the silos . sorry I missed the programme.
Glad to have you back! Sounds like your trip was wonderful. Love the MG you borrowed! wow, what fun. Those silos are so interesting, I love visiting and discovering other treasures and historic hotels. You look lovely in black and white, very chic and fab accessories!Thanks you for linking!jess xxwww.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Thank you Jess , I am happy to be back .We enjoyed our road trip and discovering places I had not visited before.Always my pleasure to join you.