Corroboree 2015 - Adelaide, South Australia
In 2015, it was held in Adelaide and I was chosen as one of the UK delegates: We travelled with Singapore Airlines, with a day seeing the sights of Singapore before travelling overnight to arrive in Adelaide on the morning of 25th April – Anzac Day – a huge day in Australian life.
To keep us awake after such a long journey, we went straight into a treasure hunt around the city, made even more exciting and interesting by the Anzac Day parade, with marchers from all the armed forces and from all over Australia. Sadly, I don’t have any photos as my camera was in my stored luggage and my phone, after the epic journey, was totally flat; but I have some fabulous memories of people met and stories shared.
We had been organised into groups, allocated a hotel and a name – we were the Kangaroos and our mascot Rolf was to go everywhere with us. We had a day before the main event started and a trip to the Barossa Valley had been organised – less than an hour’s drive from Adelaide.
Brim full of wineries, some very familiar, some less so and we visited three (all in the cause of business, you understand) Firstly, Penfolds where we had an opportunity to blend our own wine with Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro grapes: mine was lovely and I named it The Perfection (Aussie wines often have ‘The’ in front of the name – The Grange, The Freedom, and so on, and it seemed an honourable tradition to follow!)
Then, we called at Langmeils, a small winery which uses all the traditional methods. I had been here around 14 years before and had tasted and been able to afford to buy a bottle of The Freedom, which is made from an ancient vine. In the nature of things its yield is less as the years go by, but the quality gets better, so The Freedom is no longer on the tasting list and I couldn't even dream of buying a bottle this time!
Last stop was Jacobs Creek, which is huge, and where we had a tour of the growing areas and the production process. They have a great visitor centre and regular tours and you can hire bikes to tour the area.
A marvellous day out and not too squiffy at the end of it!
Corroboree
The main event of Corroboree is three days of meetings, catching up with old contacts and meeting new ones, learning about new products and initiatives, and generally being steeped in all things Oz. No pictures – I’m sure you really don’t want to see 100 tables with graphic displays. They’re long days and hard work but very rewarding and at the end of each day we are entertained and fed and watered in true Aussie style.
The first night was at the iconic Adelaide Oval with finger food and pop-up music. The highlight of the night for me was a slightly scruffy youth in T-shirt and jeans leaping up on a platform, looking like a pub karaoke singer, then launching into Nessun Dorma – as good as Pavarotti!
The second night was a silver service dinner by The Ghan train, which travels between Adelaide and Darwin and was in town between journeys. Three courses were served on the station platform next to the train, before we had a look at the facilities on the train itself; I was able to catch up with my Premier Aussie specialist mates there, which was great.
The third and final night was at the Lion Hotel, a popular venue in North Adelaide. It’s a large, rambling pub with lots of interesting corners: acoustic music playing in one, a rock band playing in another, nooks and crannies to talk and say thanks and goodbyes to friends, and food of all kinds being served throughout.
A superb, jammed-packed, few days in Adelaide - no time for jet-lag, I was moving too fast!
Next stops: Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island with my Kangaroo family and Rolf.