All right mate. We've made our way past the mid-way point (kilometer-wise) without meeting too many Aussies to date. We find our protagonists rolling across the Nullarbor. This section of coastline is also referred to as the Great Australian Bight. Whatever we call it, when Alex and I cross into South Australia we will find it every bit as empty and remote as we did Western Australia. The thing is, we will still be two days away from Port Augusta...which is still another day away from what the rest of us would call "civilization": Adelaide, Barossa Valley wine country, and what not. This will be a cool sort of final run of absolute emptiness. From Esperance to Pt Augusta, I may pass less than a car an hour for four days. I will also pass a few "Road Trains" - those extra long articulated tractor trailers. Apparently when you pass a three-trailer-truck on a narrow road with gravel & sundry stones kicking up, it has an effect on you. All I know is that any stretch of road so long, so empty, and so desolate to make me think of golfing (see my Western Australia entry if this makes no sense) has got my attention. Will I get any radio reception? Will I find myself singing along to every CD in my collection? Will Alex sing harmony? Will I start picking up radio signals from Antarctica? If I do get Antarctica stations, what language would it be in? To revisit a theme from the end of my Western Australia blog entry, the Dakotas will seem far more urban to me after this little jaunt in the Outback. Don't let the green color in the map above confuse you, it is pretty dry and dusty West of Pt Augusta (and for several days preceding it).
South Australia is known for being reserved and sophisticated (by Australian standards). Must be the wine. Anyhow, this will likely be a memorable state and a transition from "empty Australia" to the part where the people are.
So after driving for a little while across "Road Warrior" empty stretches, I will gently ease my rental car into Barossa Valley. The first sound you will hear from me will be "Whew". If I can get this far without any sort of automotive breakdowns, I will be very, very happy. From Adelaide (Barossa is an hour from Adelaide) to Cairns, I will never be that far from humanity. In the middle of the Nullarbor or somewhere between Broome and...umm.... anything...let me just say that there are worse places than somewhere near (or past) Adelaide. Prior to Adelaide, there are lots of places I could feel actual peril in a mechanical breakdown (if I weren't so darn well prepared with food, water, and so forth). After Adelaide, it rates under "inconvenience". Thus, the second exhale you'll hear is that of Alex's loving mother and my adorable wife Aneta. By the way, she just had a birthday (not sure what year - must be 29 or so), so if you feel the desire to write a comment, be sure to wish her a happy xth birthday (it rhymes with "dirty phive"). In a related story, I should experience my birthday while I am somewhere in South Australia (rhymes with "dirty eight") on February 17. Naturally, thanks to being 17 hours ahead of California, I will be older faster and it will be the end of my birthday by the time you folks in the US wake up.
Did I mention Wine Country? Yeah, some of the best wine country on earth is in South Australia. The first one we'll see is Clare Valley. Clare is nice, but to me it is kind of like some of the second tier California districts. Hey, Santa Barbara or Mendocino or Temecula or even Cucamonga are all well and good... but they aren't Napa or Sonoma. Well, I look forward to Clare, but it is the same way someone bent on buying a German car looks forward to test-driving an Audi or VW. Barossa Valley is next and Barossa is the BMW and the Porsche. Barossa is the home of Penfolds Grange - the finest wine on earth (in my eternally humble opinion) and the M3 of this overdone analogy: a bold, marginally rough, ambitious, raw version of perfection. Grange is a densely extracted Shiraz aged in American Oak. Let's go ahead and look past the inconsistency that I use French oak on my own wine and celebrate how awesome Grange is for using American Oak (since I like Sarkozy, any rude references to the Frenchmen have to predate Spring '07). While my Preslav Heritage Estate wine is pretty good (Silver medal, California State Fair - I never fail to mention it), Grange is my benchmark and I hope that I may one day meet it.
Peter Lehman is very good wine as well. I had the good fortune of meeting Ian Hongell, the Sr Winemaker at Peter Lehman a month ago at an event hosted by "the Jug" (an Australian skewing and thus interesting-to-me wine shop here in San Francisco). Peter Lehman Clancy's is an excellent blend that I really like. At 1/10th the price of Grange, I have had more Clancy's anyhow.
The point here is that Barossa is my vision of heaven (or at least a neighborhood in heaven) - arguably (yes, I will accept that it is arguable) the best wine on earth served to me by relaxed people with Australian accents. Jacob's Creek, Penfolds, Peter Lehman, and about 40 other brands and blends appeal to me. They offer the best price/ quality ratio on earth - and that is with the US dollar in the tank. With a normal strong dollar it gets better! Their wines are a robust combo of bold flavors, fruit, and strong tannins. Oh, in case you are curious, the people are interesting as well. They have "olde" Germanic-looking homes and German ancestry in what was a sleepy farm community. Aneta and I flew from Perth to Melbourne and could not get a direct flight on Qantas. We were told we would have a 3 hour layover in Adelaide, so I asked for a 7 hour layover instead. I got my wish and we got to fly in, rent a car, drive up, taste a little, drive back, and fly on. This time, after crossing 3/4 of South Australia, I will have no question in my mind that I will have earned my place in Barossa Valley. Thus, I may look for a tour with someone else to do my driving so that Alex and I may experience Barossa to its fullest. Think about spending 4 days alone on the loneliest stretch of asphalt you've ever seen - then showing up in wine country: I'll be chomping at the bit.
OK, after Barossa, we'll swing through Adelaide - an hour away. Adelaide is near Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale wine districts. I plan to skip both, but in the spirit of football season, I reserve the right to call an audible. Adelaide is called the "city of churches". People from Lynchburg, Virginia (including one of my best friends on earth) will recognize the "city o' churches" moniker. No, that is not the Jack Daniels Lynchburg(Tennessee), it is the Jerry Falwell Lynchburg(VA). My brief experience with Adelaide (contrasted with more extensive Lynchburg, VA experience) tells me that the name is legit and the town would not easily be confused with South Beach (Miami). Alex and I will surely visit Adelaide, but if my brief, perhaps unrepresentative visit is accurate, it is sort of the Oakland surrounded by Napa, Sonoma, and other points of interest (without gangs or Raider-fans, as if there was a difference between those two groups). If so, we'll keep it short. If not... well, I will have more to post. At the very least, Adelaide is home to the first Starbucks that I will see outside San Francisco. Not that I am already anticipating it, but 21-23 Rundle Mall, Adelaide is the address and I doubt I will pass through Adelaide without stopping by. Regardless, I will quickly move on to Coonawarra.
Coonawarra is the second best wine region (in my eternally understated opinion). Alex will surely offer a willingness to evaluate their apple juice. Meawhile, I will happily share my thoughts on their vino. I have high hopes that by this point in South Australia, I will have learned an Aboriginal phrase for "goofy-looking guy with purple teeth and a red-headed kid". Regardless, I have a certain confidence that I will be filling the trunk of my rental car with some quality grog while endearing myself with the locals thanks to my good will ambassador Alex. 
So we'll get through Coonawarra and find ... the coast. Yes, the constant theme of this whole trip, we will leave Coonawarra and head for water and the fine region of Warnambool at the Victoria state line. Much like Western Australia South of Monkey Mia, a key selling point of the South Australia waters are that they lack box jellyfish, salt water crocodiles, and all sorts of exotic means of death. As such, we may find a way good beach somewhere along the line. Now, we'll still be cautious out there and the water might be cold since the Great Southern Ocean sits between southern Australia and Antarctica. Still, I kind of like my odds once we've minimized the opposition to just sharks.
South Australia is known for being reserved and sophisticated (by Australian standards). Must be the wine. Anyhow, this will likely be a memorable state and a transition from "empty Australia" to the part where the people are.
In our next venture, we will discuss Victoria - from the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne to the penguins of Philip Island... Victoria will be a cool and fun change of pace.
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