Car Sights

One of my favorite things to do in the whole world is road trip with Rob. He loves to drive, I love to look up obscure, kitschy, and/or interesting things for us to see and do, and we love the freedom and novelty of being on the road. Many of the things we see and do are guided by apps such as Roadside America (when we are in the States) and Atlas Obscura (for anywhere in the world!), travel websites (currently using LandoftheBigs.com), or word of mouth. Of course we are also thrilled when we stumble across unusual things on our own. I love that I am married to someone who did not mind driving two hours into the middle of Kansas to look at the worlds largest ball of twine. Some people are big art, or history, or wine, or whatever people… I just say “Find your joy.” Here are some things of joy- or at least a raised eyebrow- to us (seen in Australia) today:

The Big Olive

I mean, have YOU seen Australia’s biggest olives? Even better, these particular olives have a sordid history. If you want to know more about the dark side of these Big Olives, read here:

https://landofthebigs.com/the-big-olive-tailem-bend-sa/

Bertha the Bunyip

I first learned of Bertha on Atlas Obscura. The story of the Bunyip as I understand it is an aboriginal tale passed down to scare children. The Bunyip was a greedy fisherman who was turned into a half man, half fish creature by the elders of his village. He drags people into the depths of the river if they disobey rules and swim alone or overfish. Good lessons, questionable delivery. The Great Murray Bridge bunyip (named Bertha by locals) is also animatronic and has been scaring locals since 1972. Simply spectacular!

Bertha in her lair:

For more on Bertha:

https://landofthebigs.com/bertha-the-bunyip-murray-bridge-sa/

D’Arenberg Cube & Winery

What an amazing sight! We stopped in the popular wine growing region (there are several in this area) McLaren Vale near Adelaide to visit the D’Arenberg Cube. This five story, cube-shaped building houses an Alternate Reality Museum, a wine tasting room, a restaurant and an art gallery. Think Meow Wolf meets winery. It sits in the heart of the Osborn family vineyards, where they have been making award-winning wines since 1912. It is a spectacular space with great views of the rolling hills and nearby vineyards. They are currently exhibiting Dali sculptures and artwork. Entry to the building comes with wine tasting included. The whole building – and the delicious wines- are unbelievable. Every speck of every wall, even the elevators and the bathrooms, are decorated. What a cool place!!

Christie Beach

Our last road trip stop of the day was the lovely Christie Beach, just 20 minutes from the vineyards and on the coast near Adelaide. Turns out they were having some kind of festival today, which we enjoyed walking around.

Adelaide- Night 1

We used some of our hotel points to check into our nice hotel in Adelaide tonight. After a quick pizza dinner, we did a bit of walking around and checking out the city and views. We have two tours here this weekend: much fun ahead.

Thanks for adventuring with us!