Arrived in Adelaide

The drive from Horsham to Adelaide was beautiful. Some of the plains seemed vast and endless. There was only an occasional clump of trees to break up the landscape, and so we could see for miles and miles. It's a huge grain growing area, and the rail lines and highway run parallel to each other for most of the trip. In coming up to towns along the way, we could see the grain silos long before we actually entered any town. In some areas, the road had tumbleweeds - small bits of grasses that with even the smallest hint of a breeze rolled across the hardtop. We also had a first experience with road trains.

You know those 18-wheelers we see going down the 401 or the TransCanada? They have usually 53-foot boxes. Now imagine that with two boxes attached. We saw quite a few of those on the way. They all have signs indicating 'long vehicle' for good reason - they seem huge when they're in the lane next to you. The only safe way to pass them is to wait for the overtaking lanes and then use all of that space to get around them. When you see them in the oncoming lane on a two-lane highway, they can see pretty daunting.

All along the highway, there are signs warning about fatigue. The highway, in addition to overtaking lanes, has powernap stops and drivers are encouraged to drive no more than two hours before taking breaks. Typical signs include 'stop, rest, live', or 'micronaps can kill in seconds' or 'fatigue kills - powernap area ahead'. Much of the Western Highway is two lane, and the overtaking lanes (we would call them passing lanes), and power nap areas make a lot of sense. Drivers tend not to overtake except otherwise, and the overtaking lanes are frequent enough that there isn't any need to try to pass when there are only two lanes - it's not worth the gamble.

Gradually, the scenery began to change to gentle hills - still huge tracts of grain land, but also cattle farms (or stations), and more trees. As we got closer to Adelaide, we started going through the Adelaide Hills, beautiful forested hills with a sharp descent into Adelaide, situated on the Torrens River.

Jon and Margy, where we are staying, have a house on the hillside overlooking the Adelaide HIlls - a spectacular view of the countryside.