City interlude - Adelaide, SA

 Days 25-29

Our journey this morning wasn’t taking us far — down an enormous hill and into Adelaide, with some necessary travel and truck admin along the way. This included the mandatory Bunnings stop, plus visits to BCF and Anaconda. Driving Izzy through suburban streets is… character‑building and finding suitable parking even more so.

We planned to stay in Adelaide for a few days — a mix of sightseeing, catching up with friends, and essential maintenance (including washing).

With Izzy booked in for her 5,000km service, we chose a caravan park only a short drive from the Isuzu service centre. Our site backed onto the River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri) and a fantastic shared walking, running and cycling path that stretches from the city centre all the way to the foothills of the Adelaide Hills.

Laundry was done, cobwebs were cleared with a run on this great path, and on a second outing I accidentally discovered the Torrens River parkrun course on the opposite side, complete with mosaic distance markers and the finish line at a painted water tank. A shame I wasn’t there on a Saturday.

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Stephen’s take - Service Day

Tuesday was a momentous day for Izzy: her first service. I felt like a proud parent sending my child off to school for the first time. Would she get along with the other trucks? Would they tease her about her oversized wheels? So many questions.

Seriously though, it was time for her 5,000km check‑up. Huge shout‑out to Lucas at Adelaide Isuzu in Hampstead Gardens, who fitted us in around our travel schedule and even arranged for Brisbane Isuzu (where we bought Izzy) to cover the cost — well beyond the usual timeframe. Thank you! My experience with Isuzu so far has been excellent.

Jo again…

With Izzy in capable hands, we navigated Adelaide’s excellent bus system and found ourselves in the city as the working day was kicking off (for those who still work). Loads to see and do in Adelaide and nothing too far away. We walked close to 10km, taking in Rundle Mall (including the Mall’s Balls and an assortment of cool statues), Adelaide Arcade, Haigh’s Chocolates (yes, something was purchased), and North Terrace. This cultural boulevard showcases the South Australian Art Gallery and Museum, the State Library, Government House, Parliament House and two universities.

 Other highlights of the day included Adelaide Central Market (where we stocked up on savoury treats), Chinatown gates, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide Oval, and finally a picnic by the river. We also made a brief detour to an electrical store in search of something for Izzy - unsuccessful, but worth a try.

That evening we caught up with my uni friend Scotty for Mexican food — a bonus second visit in quick succession. He did point out that on both our trips near Adelaide, we’d brought the rain. He’d also kindly accepted an Amazon delivery for us: a bike cover, prompted by the realisation that our bikes were being absolutely hammered with dust on the back of Izzy.

We hadn’t planned to stay much longer in Adelaide - but circumstances intervened.

Stephen’s take – a necessary delay

We had to stay until at least Thursday.

Why? Because Project Hail Mary was being released in cinemas.

I loved the book and had been eagerly waiting for this movie. As most people know, I can be a bit of a science fiction nerd. Some research revealed that any cinemas we would be close to on release day would be small country theatres with uncomfortable seats - unacceptable. The nerd in me required – no - demanded that this movie been seen in a huge cinema with a 1.21‑gigawatt sound system.

So yes, we stayed two extra days in Adelaide. Not terrible.

Jo again…

With time to fill, we headed to the Barossa Valley. First stop was Château Tanunda, established in 1890 as Australia’s first true winemaking château. Beautiful grounds, historic buildings and an impressive cellar door.

A German bakery provided morning tea before we wandered to the Brothers at War cellar door - a standout. We are always on the lookout for unique and different places and the story of these winemakers caught our attention. We enjoyed a private tasting on the verandah of their stone cottage - generous pours, excellent wines, and a great story. With names like Fist Fight Shiraz, I’m Always Right Cabernet and Our Mum’s Love Rosé, how could we not buy a few bottles? Their membership is called Fight Club, but apparently, we’re not meant to talk about that. #IYKYK

A great pub lunch at the Tanunda Hotel followed, then a quick visit to Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop.

The day unravelled slightly after that. Bethany sounded quaint – however it isn’t really a town (we drove around in circles before discovering this) and the Whispering Wall at Barossa Reservoir Reserve was closed when we arrived. (Moral of the story: check attraction websites before driving to them.) Google Maps then routed us back to Adelaide via the longest, hilliest, narrowest road possible. Stephen drove. It was stressful. We were very relieved to roll back into the caravan park.

Stephen again - The big day finally arrived and we made our way to the biggest and best cinema in Adelaide to see Ryan Gosling flying into space. Project Hail Mary was great, very dumbed down from the book, as is to be expected by Hollywood but quite true to the story. A great experience and a lot of fun but I was itching to get back on the road again.

Jo - And so we did. The following day we cleaned the bikes, fitted their new cover, refilled Izzy’s water tanks, paid just under $3.00 per litre for diesel (likely the last time that will happen), escaped the suburbs - and pointed Izzy toward the Yorke Peninsula.

PS - I enjoyed the movie too. We’d been listening to the audiobook while driving and it was excellent. We deliberately saved the ending for the cinema, and I certainly wasn’t expecting the twist. I was not upset at all by our delayed departure - the huge cinema experience was absolutely worth it.