RV Australia Fly-in Goolwa

This morning I drove down to Goolwa (about an hour south of Adelaide) for the RV Australia Fly-in.  

These planes are sold in kit form and shipped to and assembled by the customer.  The company was started by Richard VanGrunsven in a shed in Oregon as a "one-man band" in 1972.  The RV- type numbers refer to his initials. Over 10,000 RV-
aircraft have been assembled all over the world, and the company is now wholly owned by it's 70+ employees. There were examples of many of the aircraft in the range on the ground at Goolwa.

The earliest models were the RV-3 (19-8732) and RV-4 VH-DAX

Some types are available in both tail-dragger and tricycle variants like these RV-6 (VH-YUY) and RV-6A (VH-RHV), and RV-7 (VH-VSR) and RV-7A (VH-XJL)

Later models are the RV-8 (VH-VRV), RV-10 (VH-XIO), RV-12 (19-8207) and RV-14A (VH-VFB)

Aldinga and Adelaide Biplanes

 My last trip down to Aldinga was a bit of a wash out as the airfield and Café was closed

Today it was nice and sunny, so off I went.  The airfield was quite busy with plenty of planes coming and going.  Amongst the planes were a couple of Evektor Harmony light sport planes,  a Vans RV-8 and an Aeronca Champion

Adelaide Biplanes rums the airfield and the café here.  They have a number of vintage aircraft which they use for joy flights.  All of their planes were operating today. They are a Waco Great Lakes, a Waco Classic, a DH-82 Tiger Moth and a Boeing Stearman

Laratinga Wetlands

 The other morning I took a quick trip down the South-Eastern Freeway to Mount Barker and Laratinga Wetlands.  The water levels were still very high and the sun was very bright which reduced the opportunity for photos because of the glare.

I spotted these Pacific Black Ducks resting with one showing off it beautiful blue/green speculum

A little further on i watched an Australian Grebe feeding.  Each time it surfaced the water droplets rolled off it's back.  I couldn't decide between these two photos so you get 2 for the price of 1!

I was hoping to get some photos of the secretive Spotted Crake, but the water was so high it remained hidden behind the grass - seen but not photographed.  There were a couple of Grey Teal resting in the sun. Their speculum is a white and black bar

I haven't been here for a few years, but there was always a Superb Fairy-wren territory by the path, and the bird wasn't scared by people walking past.  Sure enough, there was a male happily feeding by the path, maybe the son or grandson of the bird I saw years ago.

Another regular spot was a partly submerged tree trunk that always had turtles loafing on it. Only one this time, a Maquarie Turtle

I won't leave it so long before my next visit

Bute Silo Art and Kadina Water Tower

 Today I took a trip up to Bute at the top of the Yorke Peninsula to look at their Silo Art.  It was finished in August last year and and was chosen to depict the local fauna and industry.   Bute is a mainly agricultural area   The main painting is of a rooster and a local girl.

The detail that artists manage to include is really amazing 

I also called in to Kadina, which has a small water tower in the town centre that has been painted.  The subjects are a girl holding some copper and wheat and a train. 

New toy

I treated myself to a new toy yesterday - A new camera.   and of course, I had to try it our, so I took it with me on Kobe's walk to see if we could get some interesting photo.  It was a bit later than we normally walk, so there were very few birds around.  There weren't many flowers either, so I made do with some blossom, and gum tree bark, and Kobe of course!!

Back home in the garden, the Hebe's are flowering well, and the bottlebrush is just starting to bloom again

And then the afternoon Qatar Airways flight from Doha passed overhead on its way to the airport

Tour Down Under 2023

 Yesterday I spent the day with my good friends Maggie and Steve from Sydney. They were in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under, so we went to Willunga to watch stage 4.   We found a spot about 40m from the finish line where the race would pass by three times.

It was opposite one of the channel 7 commentary posts, so during the afternoon we got to see Mark Beretta, the legendary Phil Liggett, Anna Meares and Robbie McEwin

before the riders come past there is a parade of emergency services and support vehicles including some with oversized cyclists on the roof

The first time round, two riders had broken away from the peloton.

By the second time past, the Peloton has caught back up to them again

In the end it was a full on sprint to the finish line

Eudunda silo Art

 The other day we took a trip around 100Km (60 Miles) Northeast of Adelaide to the country town of Eudunda.  In October, artist Sam Brooks finished painting the Silos here. Inspired by Colin Thiele's book The Sun on the Stubble, it shows two local children.

The Silos are beautifully painted

Here are close-ups of the two children

Christmas lights 2021

 Yesterday evening we took a short drive to look at some of the Christmas lights on homes around the neighbourhood.  As usual there were some lovely displays

Merry Christmas everyone!