Day 1:
We were originally meant to stay in Springtown, but due to a mix-up we all of a sudden did not have any accommodation. After some mad reorganizing on the part of the people in Springtown (great work!) we travelled to Mt Pleasant. We ended up staying at the Mt Pleasant hotel in a simple room. There we had nice dinner at the pub. To make up for the mix-up we got very generous breakfast for the next morning.
At night I discovered that while I brought the laptop I forgot the power supply! Bjoern to the rescue! We can charge the laptop with my bike with the connectors Bjoern brought! Success! So , everything was well until the next morning. Time for sleep! 🙂
Day 2:
The simple room did not have any cooking facilities, but it didn’t matter. We had very nice fruit with a coffee in the morning and got ready to go. Loaded up and rugged up, we’re ready to go! Last thing- start the engine!
Whooops … not a single spin from the starter motor. For some strange reason the battery was completely flat…
OK no Problem, out comes another gadget Bjoern built- trickle charging my bike from his battery. That should work… another coffee and 15 min later, try again.
Bugger… only a faint humming from the battery. So, while the trickle charging is working it will probably take a while… Meanwhile we were checking out other options.
I saw a motorbike shop in town, let’s go there and see if he can help! Off we go to arrive in front of the shop – they had a very polite sign up saying
“we are on xmas holidays until next Monday”
So we’re on our way back to the bike for another try. Once more, no success. While the alternator made half a turn, it wasn’t quite enough. So we asked people in the neighboring room if anyone had a jumper lead – again with no success. Even the very helpful staff cleaning the rooms could not help us. But she came up with the information that there is a petrol station on the other side of town. She even offered to drive us there, but we were ready for a walk. So off we went to find the petrol station. When we got there it appeared as though it was stuck in time – looking like a petrol station out of an old movie set with an attached garage.
It looked soo crammed but the owner knew were everything was and – for a deposit – leant us his jumper lead. Back we walked. We tried to start the bike again, still no success. So now we are attempting to get the bike started with the jumper lead. That means seats off…. Easier said than done- while the seat of my bike came off, no worries,
Bjoern’s seat was a different matter.
The nut on the right hand side was so tight that the thin spanner that comes with the Suzuki toolkit was not strong enough and bent open, damaging the head of the screw in the process. The lady from the pub came to the rescue again. She said her partner is also into bikes and he would have all sorts of tools. After a short phone call and an even shorter wait he arrives with a REAL ring spanner and the screw comes off in no time. From there it was easy, connect the terminals of the battery and in no time my bike was started, making its formidable thumping noises again
After a big thank you to our rescuers we were finally off, but we did not dare to go off roads . With my history I would have dropped the bike on the dirt and then we would not have gotten it started again. So we went via the main road and only a short ride to Tanunda, our final destination for this little trip. We stayed in a very nice cottage with access to a pool and a beautiful Spa. Luck would have it that the other available cottages were not booked at this time so we had this all for ourselves!
We went for a short trip to town to get a few supplies like oysters, Champaign and BBQ meat and settled in 🙂
Day 3
Today we were lazing about, alternating between Spa, Pool, and lounge – live can be hard 
🙂
Bjoern did however fix the screen door and I tried out the laptop in conjunction with the mobile as proof of concept and found out that Simon sent us a nice e-card and Gaby had booked the accommodation in NY for us! Progress! Real Progress!
We talked about the upcoming adventure and how we would organise luggage. What to send and what to take on board of the airplane are still contentious issues.
At night we walked for a nice meal to The Clubhouse in Tanunda. It was a balmy night, very pleasant after the hot day.
4th day
Late start, some more swimming, spa and discussions, testing out how we could charge the laptop during the drive…. Only if we drill a hole into the top box… not quite ideal… More thinking to be done.
Another short trip to town to get some pasta that will help us to use the leftover from the BBQ and provide a nice dinner
Day 5:
Over already?! Cant’ be !
But it is .. but not before a nice cooked breakfast, courtesy of Bjoern – Ok I’m spoiled
We packed up and left as it started to drizzle. OK, a question dear reader: When does drizzle become rain? At which point does it warrant a stop and put on the wet weather gear?
Too late for me- too early for Bjoern – but we could syncronise due to our new beatiful communications equipment ! We stopped along the way and put the wet weather gear on and slowly made our way to Summertown to visit Charles and Joanne. We got warmed up by their coffee and a nice chat. Bjoern had a niggling issue with one of the screws on my luggage box- he could not fit the taps. Charles gave him the great advice to use copper paste and together they fixed it there on the spot- thanks Charles!
Then we made tracks homewards bound and arrived home early in the afternoon.
What a nice break! I’m soo looking forward to make kt permanent for a year!. Ok I might not get the Spa thingy , but just being on the road is a great feeling! Can’t wait! 🙂