Adelaide

Monday 29/01 (2/2)

On the way to Adelaide, we would like to repair the few things that we broke in the camper: mainly the plastic piece at the (top) back of the camper (from the first accident), the back right light and bumper, and the dent on the side. We go to Jayco (the camper manufacturer) where a very nice salesman repairs the piece to hold the door (since they don’t sell this piece). None of the (3) repairs shops where we go have an appointment for us. So we resign ourselves to give back the camper like that, knowing that they will deduct the expenses related to these repairs from our bond. It’s a bit like a blank cheque since they can ask whatever they want to repair these small broken things. Let’s see…

I first drop Isabelle and the kids in the serviced apartment that Isabelle booked for our last 2 nights in Australia, which is located in the centre of the city. I then go to Britz to give back the camper, near the airport. They tell me that they will send me a email with the cost of the repairs and that, until then, they have to keep our (7,500 $) bond.

We did approximately 2,200 km with this campervan, from Melbourne to Adelaide, while the distance between these 2 cities (via the highway) is a bit over 70 km.

I take a Uber to go back to the apartment; it’s already 4pm. Isabelle and the kids ate a Subway.

The apartment is very convenient, with 3 bedrooms.

I go to Coles to buy the dinner for tonight and some fruit and juices for breakfast.

We stay in the apartment the rest of the afternoon. Kids do their homeschooling with Isabelle while I go back to the preparation of our 6-week trip in New Zealand. I worked a lot on this country before the departure (while in Jeddah) but since then I haven’t touched any of the documents or guide books.

Isabelle prepares a nice dinner (salmon with rice and peas) while I take a very relaxing bath, which is quite unusual.

I work till 1am.

Note: no picture today (quite unusual…). Maybe an overdose after Kangaroo Island?

 

Tuesday 30/01

We wake up at 9am.

We leave the apartment around 10:30am to do a walking tour in the city, passing by some museums.

We start by the Central Market, which is clearly a tourist sight. There are 250-odd stalls in this superb market with beautiful fruit & vegetables shops, cheese shop, charcuterie shop, etc. There’s even a Yoghurt shop with a great choice of yummy yoghurts.

We visit the South Australian Museum, a natural history museum. It’s a very nice museum, interesting for the children. There are different sections such as World Mammals, Australian Aboriginal Cultures, Pacific Cultures and South Australian Biodiversity. One of the highlights is the giant squid that stretches over the four floors of the museum (in an ex elevator shaft). There’s also a lion with a twitchy tail in the ‘World Mammals’ section, which Jules enjoys.

It’s already 1:30pm. We go and have lunch at ‘Poké Me’. We are all happy to eat a bowl full of fresh and healthy ingredients made just the way we like it. Interestingly each of us chooses a different protein (salmon, tuna, chicken, tofu). It’s a very nice “chain” (they also have 2 shops in Melbourne). More “chic” than Pokéd but also more expensive (they only have one size -> minimum 15$ per bowl) and there’s maybe less choice. Sometimes we imagine opening such kind of Poké bar in Brussels when we come back and it’s very interesting to see how the kids share their (great) ideas about this concept, including marketing wise. They are very much mature and I’m sure this trip around the world has opened their mind significantly. At their age, we were working on our presentation about our dog or cat…

After this nice lunch, we go and visit the Art Gallery of South Australia. It has some bronze Rodins. We don’t stay long.

I go back home with the kids (to do some homeschooling), while Isabelle goes to the National Wine Center of Australia (we cannot change our nature…).

On our way back home, we first stop at Boost for a healthy juice for Jules and Ludivine while Florence and I take a nice ice cream at 48 Flavours, a gelateria that won an international award for their ‘pear, gorgonzola, fig & walnut’ flavor, which I try… but I end up choosing black chocolate, as often (not convinced by the gorgonzola in ice cream…).

Kids do 2 homeschooling sessions.

At 8pm, I prepare their dinner, which consists mainly of the leftovers (we can’t take any food in New Zealand) and a naan bread that we bought in the Central Market.

For our last evening in Australia, Isabelle and I go to the restaurant. I booked at Press*, where we have a nice dinner: raw fish and sirloin, with good (Australian) wine.

 

Wednesday 31/01 (1/2)

After preparing our luggage, we take 2 Ubers to the airport. We fly to New Zealand today!!!

We have 10 pieces of luggage (without counting our 5 bags that we take in the cabin); we even wrapped the tent together with the cooler and the 2 mattresses into one piece. As per Air New Zealand’s regulations, we are entitled to 5 pieces only. After negotiations, they accept 7 pieces to be checked-in and we can take the other ones (if less than 8-9 kg) in the cabins. Good!

They also ask us a proof of our flight out of NZ. Fortunately, Isabelle checked the entry formalities yesterday night and she booked tickets (that can be cancelled) from Auckland to Santiago (Chile), in 45 days. Everything is fine.

Our flight is at noon. It’s a 4-hour flight. Kids work a bit while I prepare our stay in Auckland.

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