Arrival Dinner -- Click on picture to enlarge
Our visit to 
Australia was made to see our 4 month old son, Samuel Thomas Brown who kept us entertained everyday with his smiling giggles and unconditional love for anyone that would pick him up and give him a big hug. We found Australian’s to be warm and friendly people with a great sense of humor which typified the Reed family. Pam and Frank Reed are wonderful people who made us feel like part of the family from our first encounter the day we arrived when Brendan cooked that outstanding Lamb Roast on the Weber. We were greeted with flowers from their garden at Victor Harbor and a warmth about them that made us feel we had known them for years. Brendan’s two brothers Damian and Simon live in Adelaide and were often part of the many family outings we attended.
Australia was made to see our 4 month old son, Samuel Thomas Brown who kept us entertained everyday with his smiling giggles and unconditional love for anyone that would pick him up and give him a big hug. We found Australian’s to be warm and friendly people with a great sense of humor which typified the Reed family. Pam and Frank Reed are wonderful people who made us feel like part of the family from our first encounter the day we arrived when Brendan cooked that outstanding Lamb Roast on the Weber. We were greeted with flowers from their garden at Victor Harbor and a warmth about them that made us feel we had known them for years. Brendan’s two brothers Damian and Simon live in Adelaide and were often part of the many family outings we attended.We stayed for a month with Brendan and LA in their home in Adelaide but traveled to some of the many wine regions which are day trips. The second weekend was a special event and a annual gathering of the Reed Family at their home in Victor Harbor. While Pam and Frank live in Adelaide they inherited a large block of land at Victor Harbor which is about 2 hours from Adelaide. It is a beautiful piece of property with sloping meadows that look down on the historical whaling port of Victor Harbor. We arrived around noon hour to a huge feast of steak, lamb, salads and pie but most important was Pam’s Rabbit stew which was the first of 3 tasks on becoming an honorary Australian. The afternoon was spent collecting a large amount of br
ush off the property for the largest bonfire I have every seen. Brendan and his two brother’s hooked up a trailer onto Frank’s car and collected firewood for about 5 hours. After more food and wine we walked up to the back of the property and started the blaze which I am sure could be seen in Adelaide. It was a great time and one of our fondest memories especially my first rabbit stew.
Frank, Damian, Simon, Brendan
ush off the property for the largest bonfire I have every seen. Brendan and his two brother’s hooked up a trailer onto Frank’s car and collected firewood for about 5 hours. After more food and wine we walked up to the back of the property and started the blaze which I am sure could be seen in Adelaide. It was a great time and one of our fondest memories especially my first rabbit stew. Frank, Damian, Simon, Brendan
The following w
eek-end Sue and Trevor Smith who are friends of the Reed's leant us their beach house for two days in Goolwa which is about one hour from Victor Harbor. This was Samuel’s first overnight trip away from home and a challenge to see if their car would take all the luggage. The Mercedes was a small car on loan that had a tiny back seat taken up with a large car seat for ST and two bucket seats in the front. We tried many combinations but Gail and I just would not fit in the back seat. I sat up front with Brendan and Gail and LA sat almost on top of each other in the back seat. We just managed to get the lid closed on the trunk and even were able to put in a few bottles of wine. Off we went on our first test run to Goolwa. Pam and Frank came down from Victor Harbor that night an
d we went out for dinner and then drove with us to Port Elliot the next day. It was a sunny weekend and we saw a lot of the Australia coastline. On our way home we drove to Cape Jervis and saw the ferry terminal over to Kangaroo Island which I am sure will be a destination on a future trip. Samuel Thomas enjoyed the outing and we thought we could try a longer holiday even in the overloaded Mercedes which was built in China!!!
eek-end Sue and Trevor Smith who are friends of the Reed's leant us their beach house for two days in Goolwa which is about one hour from Victor Harbor. This was Samuel’s first overnight trip away from home and a challenge to see if their car would take all the luggage. The Mercedes was a small car on loan that had a tiny back seat taken up with a large car seat for ST and two bucket seats in the front. We tried many combinations but Gail and I just would not fit in the back seat. I sat up front with Brendan and Gail and LA sat almost on top of each other in the back seat. We just managed to get the lid closed on the trunk and even were able to put in a few bottles of wine. Off we went on our first test run to Goolwa. Pam and Frank came down from Victor Harbor that night an
d we went out for dinner and then drove with us to Port Elliot the next day. It was a sunny weekend and we saw a lot of the Australia coastline. On our way home we drove to Cape Jervis and saw the ferry terminal over to Kangaroo Island which I am sure will be a destination on a future trip. Samuel Thomas enjoyed the outing and we thought we could try a longer holiday even in the overloaded Mercedes which was built in China!!!On June 23 about a week later we loaded the car and set off for one of the most famous wine areas in the world. You have heard of Wolf Blass and Penfold wines, well they are part of the Barossa Wine Vall
ey. It was about a 3 hour drive and we went by a massive Auto Assembly Plant that produced Holden’s which is owned by General Motors. The tourist information in Bethany - Borassa Valley suggested Sontag House which was a B&B. This is one of the nicest cottages I have ever stayed at. It was built in 1840 but the interior updated to modern facilities with preservation of its history. We had a great time in some very comfortable surroundings and Brendan and I even had time to quickly visit 3 wineries between 4 and 5 PM!!! The next day we spent drinking wine at some of the most famous vineyards in the world. Many of the tastings were over $100/bottle but it was all free and usually generous samples. One stop had self serve stations set up in the winery where you poured your own and these were expensive wines !!!! I thought I had died and gone to 
heaven as it was a sunny day and very few people were visiting as it was not tourist season. What a GREAT day but after 2 days at Sontag house we sadly had to pack up and leave to travel north. On June 25 we arrived at the Reed’s friends - Maria and Phillip Martin - who live in Riverland just out side of Waikerie. They have a small farm and raise chickens but in their back yard have a old train car which was fixed up with two bedrooms for a B&B. They never got their B&B going but the accommodation was finished and free !!!! The next day we went to about 20 km down the road and all you could see was huge tanks that looked like the largest oil refinery I had ever seen. Tanks as far as the eye could see but not for oil but WINE. Berri is the largest wine processing plant in the southern hemisphere which encompasses 4.5 hectares and processes 18,000 tons of grapes per season. After tasting some wine we headed off for lunch at a very famous winery called Banrock Station which sits on the wetlands close to the Murray River. This is a combination winery, nature preserve, and famous restaurant which has a spectacular view over the Murray River. We spent the afternoon there eating and drinking wine whi
le I had Kangaroo done in a wine sauce in a puffed pastry which completed my second task of becoming an honorary Australian. We met Yvonne and Jeff Drogemuller , friends of Pam and Frank, there for lunch who invited us for dinner in their spectacular home overlooking the valley. The next morning we left our train and said good bye to Maria and Phillip as we headed back to Adelaide along the Murray River. It was sunny and even had a ferry crossing across the river which is busy in the summer with lots of house boats. The overloaded Mercedes with tired occupants limped back home where we were all glad to enjoy the comfort of a house we called home. Samuel Thomas of course had a great time and slept in his car seat. He was ready to party and very upset when he learned it was bed time.
There are many more
stories that you will see in our pictures that include feeding kangaroos at the nature park, visiting the Adelaide Botanical garden, and the many dinners and wine tastings with the Reed family. You will see pictures of Brendan and I building a fence and are wondering what that is all about. Brendan agreed to build a fence in Pam & Frank’s back yard to help separate the carport from the back yard to give them some more privacy since Frank runs his conveyancing business out of the garage/office. Brendan had the wood delivered before I arrived and asked me to help him. We found some of his old coverall's which looked like prison issue and brought up memories of Australia being founded by convicts. Brendan assured me these were from his mining job and in fact Adelaide was a planned community that was first inhabited by wealthy settlers from England which is why the Barossa region got off to an early start. Gail and La would often go off for the day so Brendan and I would show up for work just before lunch. Pam always made sure we were fed
well and even had afternoon snacks before Frank brought our port at 5 PM. We quickly figured out there was no hurry to complete the project since food and drink were free. We managed to keep the project going for about two weeks and had lots of fun. Now many of you reading this are wondering what was the third thing I had to eat to become an honorary Australian. Remember I have eaten Kangaroo and Rabbit stew. It was a Vegemite sandwich. Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty — similar to beef bouillon. The texture is smooth and sticky. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite. I never did eat it so will remain proudly Canadian for the time being.
ey. It was about a 3 hour drive and we went by a massive Auto Assembly Plant that produced Holden’s which is owned by General Motors. The tourist information in Bethany - Borassa Valley suggested Sontag House which was a B&B. This is one of the nicest cottages I have ever stayed at. It was built in 1840 but the interior updated to modern facilities with preservation of its history. We had a great time in some very comfortable surroundings and Brendan and I even had time to quickly visit 3 wineries between 4 and 5 PM!!! The next day we spent drinking wine at some of the most famous vineyards in the world. Many of the tastings were over $100/bottle but it was all free and usually generous samples. One stop had self serve stations set up in the winery where you poured your own and these were expensive wines !!!! I thought I had died and gone to 
heaven as it was a sunny day and very few people were visiting as it was not tourist season. What a GREAT day but after 2 days at Sontag house we sadly had to pack up and leave to travel north. On June 25 we arrived at the Reed’s friends - Maria and Phillip Martin - who live in Riverland just out side of Waikerie. They have a small farm and raise chickens but in their back yard have a old train car which was fixed up with two bedrooms for a B&B. They never got their B&B going but the accommodation was finished and free !!!! The next day we went to about 20 km down the road and all you could see was huge tanks that looked like the largest oil refinery I had ever seen. Tanks as far as the eye could see but not for oil but WINE. Berri is the largest wine processing plant in the southern hemisphere which encompasses 4.5 hectares and processes 18,000 tons of grapes per season. After tasting some wine we headed off for lunch at a very famous winery called Banrock Station which sits on the wetlands close to the Murray River. This is a combination winery, nature preserve, and famous restaurant which has a spectacular view over the Murray River. We spent the afternoon there eating and drinking wine whi
le I had Kangaroo done in a wine sauce in a puffed pastry which completed my second task of becoming an honorary Australian. We met Yvonne and Jeff Drogemuller , friends of Pam and Frank, there for lunch who invited us for dinner in their spectacular home overlooking the valley. The next morning we left our train and said good bye to Maria and Phillip as we headed back to Adelaide along the Murray River. It was sunny and even had a ferry crossing across the river which is busy in the summer with lots of house boats. The overloaded Mercedes with tired occupants limped back home where we were all glad to enjoy the comfort of a house we called home. Samuel Thomas of course had a great time and slept in his car seat. He was ready to party and very upset when he learned it was bed time.There are many more
stories that you will see in our pictures that include feeding kangaroos at the nature park, visiting the Adelaide Botanical garden, and the many dinners and wine tastings with the Reed family. You will see pictures of Brendan and I building a fence and are wondering what that is all about. Brendan agreed to build a fence in Pam & Frank’s back yard to help separate the carport from the back yard to give them some more privacy since Frank runs his conveyancing business out of the garage/office. Brendan had the wood delivered before I arrived and asked me to help him. We found some of his old coverall's which looked like prison issue and brought up memories of Australia being founded by convicts. Brendan assured me these were from his mining job and in fact Adelaide was a planned community that was first inhabited by wealthy settlers from England which is why the Barossa region got off to an early start. Gail and La would often go off for the day so Brendan and I would show up for work just before lunch. Pam always made sure we were fed
well and even had afternoon snacks before Frank brought our port at 5 PM. We quickly figured out there was no hurry to complete the project since food and drink were free. We managed to keep the project going for about two weeks and had lots of fun. Now many of you reading this are wondering what was the third thing I had to eat to become an honorary Australian. Remember I have eaten Kangaroo and Rabbit stew. It was a Vegemite sandwich. Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty — similar to beef bouillon. The texture is smooth and sticky. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite. I never did eat it so will remain proudly Canadian for the time being.
After a month we were sad to leave but excited about seeing Jennifer and Dave in Christchurch We all got in the Mercedes and had a tearful goodbye at Adelaide Airport where Air New Zealand had a 5 hour flight to Auckland and then 90 minutes to Christchurch. There are many more stories and friendships that could be told and thanks to everyone that made our trip so wonderful. We will of course be returning to Australia in the future and yes I am sure a Vegemite sandwich will be had. Thank you to Brendan and LA for being great hosts . Our next blog will tell of a great adventure in New Zealand but will have to wait for another rainy day !!
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Pictures Labels from top to bottom
1. Arrival dinner with the Reed's and Brendan's Lamb Roast
2. The Reed Clan at Victor Harbor. Frank ( the short guy), Damian, Simon & Frank
3. Breakfast at park in Goolwa
4. ST talking with Grandpa Frank
5. ST enjoying the wine tasting
6. Memorable afternoon having lunch and wine tasting at Banrock Station
7. Building the great fence
8. Another Wine tasting
9. Samuel Thomas in a new outfit Jennifer sent
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AUSTRALIAN PICTURES
Click this link for our photo series of our Australian Trip June- 2010
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Pictures Labels from top to bottom
1. Arrival dinner with the Reed's and Brendan's Lamb Roast
2. The Reed Clan at Victor Harbor. Frank ( the short guy), Damian, Simon & Frank
3. Breakfast at park in Goolwa
4. ST talking with Grandpa Frank
5. ST enjoying the wine tasting
6. Memorable afternoon having lunch and wine tasting at Banrock Station
7. Building the great fence
8. Another Wine tasting
9. Samuel Thomas in a new outfit Jennifer sent
-------------------------------
AUSTRALIAN PICTURES
Click this link for our photo series of our Australian Trip June- 2010
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