From 2012 we planned to spend our December -January annual Holidays with the family in different Australian states vising the tourist attractions. Although it is my twilight days but Rozy and Shuvro have so much to see and experience .They is still at the high noon of their life. In 2012 we visited Tasmania .In 2013 Rozy and Shuvro chose South Australia.
Year 2013 was a year of mixed experience for us.We could finally find a bride for Shuvro and had to complete his marriage with a simple program as we were running against time for Rozy’s open heart surgery requiring replacement of aortal and mitral valves. The operation was originally due in end November 2013 was deferred till March 2014. Rozy possess very exemplary mental toughness. She does not worry at all and takes everything on her stride unlike many Bangladeshi women. We had plan something for keeping the moral high for Rozy leading to such a major operation. My leave from work in Afghanistan also got squeezed as I spent most of it in Bangladesh in connection with my Son’s marriage. I could only spend time from 24 th December 2013 till 2nd January 2014. Shuvro fancy driving. He booked a motor inn at Adelaide and we planned to drive from Melbourne a distance of 920KM.
We live in Victoria .Shuvro and I worked in Queensland. We also visited NSW and in 2012 we had been to Tasmania. Keeping in mind to wait for Shuvro’s wife’s arrival to Australia sometime in 2014 we deferred our plan to revisit NSW and Queensland .So we opted for South Australia and chose to stay at a Motor Inn at the Outskirts of Adelaide. If God permits this December we will either revisit Tasmania or go to New Zealand.
For our readers here is a brief on Adelaide the Capital of South Australia.
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. As of June 2013, Adelaide had an estimated resident population of 1.29 million. Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. 
Named in honor of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide - cite_note-5 Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parklands. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties, which led to the moniker "City of Churches".
As South Australia's seat of government and commercial center, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city center along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area.
Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. It ranks highly in terms of livability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010, 2011and 2012.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide - cite_note-9 It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011, 2012and again in 2013. 
Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km (56 mi) from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Adelaide Metropolitan Region has a total land area of 870 km2 (340 sq mi), and is at an average elevation of 50 metres (160 ft) above sea level. Mount Lofty, east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the Adelaide Hills at an elevation of 727 metres (2,385 ft), is the tallest point of the city and in the state south of Burra.
Much of Adelaide was bush land before British settlement, with some variation – sand hills, swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. The loss of the sand hills to urban development had a particularly destructive effect on the coastline due to erosion. Where practical, the government has implemented programs to rebuild and vegetate sand hills at several of Adelaide's beachside suburbs. Much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Cleland Conservation Park and Belair National Park. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply with the Happy Valley Reservoir supplying around 40% and the much larger Mount Bold Reservoir 10% of Adelaide's domestic requirements respectively.
Boxing Day at MCG:
Both me and Shuvro being cricket lovers we do not miss the Boxing Day Cricket at MCG, an iconic event. Watching cricket 90,000 Plus adoring fans in the historic stadium is very thrilling and exciting. If I am in Melbourne it is a sure feature of my annual calendar .But unfortunately India failed to create contest and Australia took control on the very first day.
Drive to Adelaide:
Melbourne to Adelaide is usually a Nine and a Half hours drive .But we opted for driving along the Great Ocean drive to have another look at Twelve Apostle .On a bright summer day of 27 December most of the Melbournians were on great spirit and the drive witnessed a big trail of traffic along the Great Ocean Drive . We were already late by an hour or so when we reached Twelve Apostles and did not stay long there .Shuvro had to adjust his GPS and made the mistake of not taking the tool road .This made our journey longer and we could travel about 750 KMs in 9 hours. In the process Shuvro driving through country side was driving at 120Km/hour.
He was spotted by police and got a penalty of overspending .We were enjoying lovely recorded music of Rozy’s collection along the way with regular monitoring of Cricket score from MCG on ABC Radio. We had our lunch on a way side park with homemade Kheechuri and Hilsha fry. The drive through Victoria country side was memorable. We pssed by many dairy farms , lakes, gardens, vineyards, fruit orchards. Finally around 6PM we reached Vicroia –South Australia border. From there the motor Inn where we stayed took another hour. In summer these parts of Australia witness sun till 9:00 PM. So after taking shower three of us went out to have a first view of Modern Adelaide city looking gorgeous in the evening.
Everyone was hungry .At Adelaide CBD we had multiple choice restaurants from East African ,Mexican ,South Asian , Chinese ,Thai, Lebanese or even French .My family has a fancy for sea food .So we had sea food dinner at a lovely South American restaurant having a Brazilian Brand band playing the South American songs . All were so hungry that we ate almost what a dozen usually consumes.
BDST: 1017 HRS, SEP 30, 2014
