ATE 2010 convention in Adelaide

This morning I went to the Central Market for a quick breakfast roll and coffee. Then I took the free city tram down to the convention center for the first day of the Australian Tourism Exchange convention. I have 30 appointments to visit 15 minutes with various products (hotels & attractions) of Australia. Time to get to work!

McLaren Vale

Yesterday was a pleasure day. We drove to an area known as the McLaren Vale, a wine region. We started the day doing a corporate painting. This was very fun and most of us said we would do something like this at our next get together. We then stopped at Lloyd Brothers, olive growers. Next 4 stops were wineries. The second one, The Producers, we actually blended our own blend of wine. McLaren Vale is known more for their red wines which I do not personally drink but I took a sip or two. In addition to wine tours, this area also has art tours. After our six stops in the region, we go back into the city around 7pm.

This morning we did a two hour walking tour of Adelaide. This city is very easy to get around and the main city area is pretty compact. If you were in the center square (Victoria Square), you would only be a 10 minute walk in any direction to the main attractions. Tomorrow starts the actual Australia Tourism Exchange convention so time to start work.

A VERY photogenic koala !!

After being the last ones to board the Murray Princess yesterday, we were the first ones off today. We disembarked at Murray Bridge. We then drove into the Adelaide Hills region to a town by the name of Hahndorf. This town was settled by Germans. Once again our group helped the economy by shopping. We drove a little out of town into a nature reserve, Cleland. Since it was raining we did not get as much time to explore the park but our guide did take us (between the drops) to see the dingo, Tasmania Devils and have my picture taken with Belle. She was a fairly large koala, I believe she's about 3 years old.
We then went back towards Handorf to a winery, The Lane, for lunch. Since we were enjoying ourself so much, we were late leaving and that caused us to cut our time short at the South Australia Museum when we did arrive in Adelaide. The museum closes at 5pm sharp.

Busy day

This morning we had an early start to make up for lost time yesterday. We drove around Blue Lake in Mount Gambier, although this time of year it is changing from blue to grey. It will not change back to brillant blue until November. We then left Mount Gambier and went into the wine region of Coonawarra. Had a stop at Chardonnay Lodge to see their new addition of rooms. Our next stop was at the Naracoorte Caves, World Heritage Listed due to the extensive fossil record of the park. The lunch stop was at Willalooka Tavern, an unexpected delight. A little late, we arrived in Mannum to board the Murray Princess paddlewheel boat for our overnight stay. Normally passengers either do a 3 night or 4 night option. This is a very relaxing way to hear about Australia history and socialize with Australians from various parts of the country. Being a historical paddlewheel, this does appeal to the older generation.

Broken Tooth

This blog entry was written two days ago but I could not post it since we did not have internet access.

5/27/10 --  This morning we left Warrnambool and stopped in Port Fairy. Did a site inspection (walk through) of a B&B by the name of “Oscar”. We found ourselves waiting past the departure time. Some agents were doing show & tell on their purchases when Jeff, one of the organizers, came and informed us that the bus driver broke a tooth. He was in so much pain that he actually passed out. They found him a doctor and we were going to have to adjust our itinerary and stay longer in Port Fairy. It was a cute town so nobody really minded. We helped their economy by shopping and having lunch there. Around 2pm, the bus driver was cleared to drive. We then continued into South Australia. It was funny because when we did cross state lines, the sun came out. John, our representative from South Australia, said he arranged the sun. Of course being Fall here, it did not last. Went to dinner at an old restaurant and new B&B by the name of The Barn in Mount Gambier, where we spent the night.