Fri Nov 14th
The taxi came for us at 4pm and we arrived at Heathrow at 7.45pm. The airport was heaving with people and seemed very disorganised. We booked in and went through to departures, again it was very busy, there seemed to be thousands of people milling around. We had a drink and waited for our flight to be called, we boarded at 9.30 and it was about 10.45 before we took off. We had 3 seats between us so it gave us a bit more room. We had supper and managed to sleep for quite a while, we were woken at 4am and given a bun, I think it must have been morning their time,Malasia Airline, dozed again till we had another meal, all meals and wine etc were complimentary. We landed in Kuala Lumpur at 10.36 (06.36 local time)and waited for our connecting flight, we took off at 01.45 (9.45 local time) and landed in Adelaide at 8.15 (06.43) Sun 16th local time half an hour early. Took ages getting through customs we declared a wooden bowl that Rich had made for S & D and had to open cases, couldn't find it but he said not to bother anyway!! Shirley & Derek met us and took us to their house.
After lunch we went into the Tee Tree plaza shopping mall for a few things. Had a nap then dinner chatted till bedtime.
Mon Nov 17th
Good nights sleep, after breakfast sat in sun and read then had an early lunch and went into the city on the bus, went to a travel agent to enquire about trip to Alice Springs. R & D went back and S & I had a good look around the shops, bought a skirt and a pair of shoes. Back for dinner. Woke up in the night to heavy rain.
Tue Nov 18th
It had stopped raining when we got up but was overcast and quite cool. After lunch we decided to go to Glenelg, S & D had told us how good the trams were and wanted to show us the route so we would be able to go by ourselves. We stopped in the city to get multi tickets that we can use for 10 trips. Waited ages for tram and when it came it was packed, we had to stand but a young couple put their children on their knees so S & I could have a seat, when we were a few stops outside Glenelg there was an announcement to say that we all had to get off and wait for the next tram, no explanation as to why, our tram just turned round and went back to the city. The next tram was not many minutes and we soon arrived in Glenelg.
We had a look a the sea which was grey and very reminiscent of the sea at home, there was a cool breeze blowing so we decided to get a hot drink, we went into MacDonald's and waited about 20 minutes before the assistant told us she couldn't serve us as the coffee machine was out of order so we left and walked up the town to another cafe. We got the tram back and as we arrived at the Paradise Interchange Rich thought we had to change buses and got off! we banged on the window and he just managed to get back on board before the bus left! It had been a bit of a messed up day all in all and the weather was cool, breezy and dull.
Wed Nov 19th
Cool again, went to supermarket for a bit of shopping, we called a the travel agent S & D use and enquired about trip to Alice Springs, got a lot of info from Lucy, it was warmer in the afternoon. In the evening Robin & Bobby, S & D's friends came for a meal with a Russian visitor, Andre, Shirley had done a lovely meal with a huge piece of pork Derek had done on the BBQ, good evening, interesting to talk to Andre who is hoping to come and live in Australia, he is a doctor in Moscow (psychiatrist) but when he comes to Australia he will become a pharmaceutical representative..
Thurs Nov 20th
Weather a bit brighter today, Derek took Rich & I to the mall to book our trip with Lucy, we managed to decide what we would do and got it booked - up on The Ghan, stop in Alice and take a 3 day trip to Uluru then a day in Alice and back on a bus that stops at Coober Pedy overnight. The accommodation will all be pretty basic, especially on the trips but it was the only way to do it on a budget. Derek & I met Bev & Ian, Peter's parents, Lauren & Vanessa were with them and they siad "Hello Grandad then turned to me and were about to say hello Nanny but did a double take when they realised it was not Shirley! In the afternoon it was nice enough to sit outside in the sun
Fri Nov 21st
Shirley went to work today so had a lazy morning then after lunch did some ironing, it was too cool to sit outside! Derek took me to the mall to pay the deposit for our trip and went to see Shirley in her shop (Charity shop) picked up a couple of bargains! When we got back it rained heavily.
Sat Nov 22nd
Rained again overnight and was quite cool and grey. We went to the city and looked round the Central market, very noisy, busy and bustling with lots of 'Asians" there ar lots of food stalls many selling Chines and Asian food.
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We went for a meal at a Chinese restaurant which was very good. We then went to the Theatre to see "Ying Tong", this is a show about the Goons, it was very good but not what we had expected, we thought it would be a comedy, it was in fact about Spike Milligan's mental breakdown and how it affected the others, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe, it mostly took place with "Spike" in pyjamas in a mental hospital having flashbacks, but it was well done and made us realise just how "mad" he had been, it all stemmed from the war and 'shell shock", nowadays he would have been treated for Post Traumatic stress disorder. We then went on to Russell's, stopping at a bottle shop on the way. We met Chris, Russ's partner and her Mum & Dad and also Jay and Mae 2 Korean students, Jay had stayed with S & D and Mae had stayed with Russ but they now live together in an apartment in the city, he is studying wine and she is studying English. We had a super meal, starters were kangaroo or goat sausages, crocodile & pineapple kebabs or goat chops! I tried a bit of each out of politeness the others all seemed to enjoy it. The main meal was roast chicken dinner followed by trifle. We left at about 10. Russ has a lovely house 2 dogs and a cat which scratched Shirley! We all went to bed as soon as we got in but I couldn't sleep, I felt
VERY unwell with an upset stomach (not like me) and was up and down until about 3am when I finally dropped off.
Sun Nov 23rd.
Woke up feeling better, thank goodness! The sun was shining and it was quite warm. After lunch Derek took us up to Mount Lofty the highest point in the Adelaide hills,
spectacular view over the city, then we stopped at Stirling, a pretty village, there was a market just packing up and we had a drink in a cafe and returned home. Packed for tomorrow's trip.
Mon Nov 24th
We left at about 0945 to drive to Wallaroo, a distance of 94 miles, the scenery was mostly bush, gum trees and fields of cereal crops, mile upon mile of long straight roads. We saw two houses being transported, literally houses on large lorries taking up the full width of the road, police escorts were making sure they got through, we saw many other road trains as well, huge lorries with at least two trailers. There was not a lot of wildlife we saw a couple of kites, pale Australian kestrels, and lots of Australian magpies there were plenty of sheep and a field of alpacas. Once we left the suburbs of Adelaide we passed through a few "one horse towns" Port Gawler,Lower Light, Dublin, Windsor, Wild Horse Plains, Inkerman and Port Wakefield. We stopped at Port Wakefield to eat our sandwiches at a pretty picnic spot, we didn't stop long as we were plagued by flies!
We carried on through Kulpara and Paskeville to Wallaroo arriving at about 12.00 in plenty of time for the ferry which left at 1.30.
The ferry has only been open since March this year and shortens a long drive, it was a 2 hour crossing and we sat and watched a film about Australia which I dozed through! We then drove on through Cowell, Arno Bay, Port Neill, Lipson, Whites Flat,North Shields and Boston to Port Lincoln, a distance of 109 miles, most of the places in this area are named after places in Lincolnshire. The scenery was much the same mile upon mile of yellow fields, some were being combined and we could see the huge machines moving across them followed by huge dust trails. We arrived at 5.30 and booked in to the Port Lincoln Hotel, it was a very nice hotel, quite new and overlooking the sea.
We had adjoining rooms and after settling in we walked up tot the top of the town to the Hotel Boston for a meal,
it was a $9.95 (4.24)special, roast lamb with veg, salad etc, it was very nice but the lamb was a bit tough. The weather had been quite good sunny and cloudy.
Tue Nov 25th
Woke up to grey skies and there had been a fierce storm overnight, didn't hear a thing! We had breakfast in the hotel which was very comprehensive and good We walked up to the information centre and booked a trip for tomorrow to see a Tuna Farm. We walked along the jetty then went back to room for a cuppa. In the afternoon we drove to Sleaford Bay, this was a beautiful bay with a turquoise sea and foaming waves breaking on silver sand, Derek had visited before in 1968 and remembered how beautiful it was.
Richie managed to film a pair of kestrels on their nest with young. We then went and had a look around the Marina, mooched around the shops then back to hotel. I went for a swim, it was an outdoor pool and not very warm, I sat and read in the sun for a while. We went for a meal at the Great Northern Hotel which was a lot nearer the hotel, their special was $12.95 (5.52), it was fish, including salad, veg and sweet, it was lovely, we all had 2 sweets!!
Wed Nov 26th
We got up early 06.30, and after breakfast went to the Marina to catch the boat for the Tuna Tour. It was a very interesting tour, Matt the owner used to be a tuna fisherman (4th generation)and he explained a lot about the fishing industry, tuna fetch such a high price that there are more millionaires in Port Lincoln than anywhere else in Australia, a lot goes to Japan and it is priced in yen on the market, tuna can grow up to 35-45 kilo and fetch up to $45 a kilo - a lot more for top quality. To prevent overfishing what they do is catch them when they are small in huge nets and tow them inshore then keep them and fatten them up in these circular cages thus leaving enough stock in the sea. We arrived at the farm and got off the boat onto a platform and we could then feed the tuna with sardines, they would come up to the surface and take the fish out of our hands, they provided tongs to hold the sardines with for those who didn't want to get bitten! there were a lot of terns about as well taking advantage of a free meal, they would swoop to catch fish, one swooped and bit my finger, didn't really hurt.
If you wanted you could swim amongst the tuna, a family with children did this, there was a cameraman taking underwater pictures which we assumed were for a brochure. There was an undersea chamber where you could view the tuna from under water as well. The trip was most interesting and it was lovely and sunny if a bit breezy. After a cuppa back at the hotel we went to a winery just outside town, we had a tasting and bought a couple of bottles, there were trees full of gallahs which we stopped to photograph.
We stopped at a couple of small bays and saw lots more sea birds, cormorants, pied cormorants, whiskered and crested terns, pelicans,
we saw a gull catch a fish (leatherback, a bit like a tough plaice) Back in town we had a cup of coffee in a market and then had our evening meal at the Great Northern again, schnitzel,another good, cheap meal.
Thurs Nov 27th
We woke to grey skies and while we were having breakfast it rained quite heavily, we waited a while but it didn't seem to be clearing so went out anyway. We drove to Coffin Bay, driving through a few light showers. We got out at a jetty and watched some children who were having a lesson in canoes, we also watched oyster boats coming in and being loaded on to trailers to be taken off to the processing plant.
We called at another jetty and the same children were still having their lesson, then we called at a cafe for a drink, as we drove back we saw some emu with young and quite a few black swans. R & I had a walk along the front before we went to the Great Northern again, smorgasbord tonight.
Fri Nov 28th
After breakfast we checked out and headed back home, it was raining again. We called at Koppio where there is a museum of rural life, it was off the main road and along a dirt road, driving through the scrub we were surprised to come across a rose garden, an oasis of green amongst the red dirt roads, it was a commercial rose centre.
The museum was staffed by one old man who looked like he'd been there since pioneer days. It was National Trust run so we were cheeky and presented our National Trust cards and he accepted them! It was very interesting, the smithy had been on that site and a cottage, which was also the Post Office, but other buildings had been
brought in, there were sheds of agricultural machinery (most of which Rich remembered using) and old vehicles and a couple of pioneer houses, a bank and a school, old horse drawn vehicles and early cars, it was very interesting. There had been a very bad bush fire in 2005 and there was an exhibition about that, there was a motorbike and a lawn mower that had been in the fire, completely destroyed,it had only caught one tree on the museum site.
We saw rainbow lorikeets in the trees.
We then drove to Tumby Bay, a small seaside town and had lunch
then on to Lucky Cove to get the 4 o'clock ferry, back in Wallaroo for 6 and home by 8pm.
Sat Nov 29th
Lovely sunny day, did washing and a bit of shopping and looked at photos, sat in sun a while.
Sun Nov 30th
At about 11 o'clock Jane, Derek's daughter, and Bob their friend arrived and we set off for the Barossa Valley, Jane went with Bob in his MGV8. We went to a beautiful house set in rose gardens for a "Day of Wine & Roses" hosted by a local winery "1847". We had a free glass of wine on arriving and sat with S & D's other friends Kim & Adin.
It was a vrey pleasant day sunny but quite windy. The meal was Thai food and it took ages to arrive,2 hours between courses! it was nice food all individually cooked but a bit too spicy for us. Apparently the power kept going off in the kitchen as they were trying to do too much! There was a band playing jazz/standards most of the afternoon which was very pleasant as background music and a young girl, Grace Bawden, who had won Australia's Got Talent, sang as well, she had a fantastic voice and Rich got a CD off her. The day ended quite late because of the long wait for food but Adin persuaded us to call and meet his magpie. We called at their house in Williamstown which is lovely. Adin has a wild magpie that comes when he calls it and plays with his dog and cat!
He also has a shed full of "junk" it seems that he goes to sales and anything that catches his eye and is cheap he buys! he has 34 clocks, 2 organs, a huge TV, 2 recliner chairs and endless other pieces of tat. As we drove back to Adelaide we saw a huge "troop" of kangaroos, almost 100 we thought.
Mon Dec 1st
Lovely sunny day didn't do much, Karen & family came for tea.
Tue Dec 2nd
Stayed around the house getting ready for trip, packing etc.
Wed Dec 3rd
Bob picked us up at 0845 and took us to the airport, we were booked in online so went straight through. Good flight and landed Coolangata at 12.10 local time, half an hour ahead, We picked up the hire car and drove to the apartments in Southport, we were told we had been upgraded to a villa! The apartment was very nice, four stories high and built around a pool area with very well laid aout gardens, predominantly palms. After settling in we went to the Southport Worker Club wher we had to book in as visitors, the food was very good and very reasonable with plenty of variety, rump steak for $8.90, special of the day for $5. There was live music, pokies,raffles,keno (a type of instant lottery. When we got back to the apartment there was an electric storm with lightening all around. S & R went to bed and D & I played cards for a while.
Thurs Dec 4th
It was a grey morning, we went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary which was on the road back towards the airport.
www.currumbin-sanctuary.org.au
This was very interesting within a very well laid out park. We saw koalas, kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils (these are endangered as they are getting an aggressive form of mouth cancer that is killing them off), dingos, tree kangaroos and many birdsS & I managed to get separated from the men so after a lot of looking for them we decided to go and see the free flight bird show, we then went to a cafe and met up with them again.
It was a fascinating place and the weather turned sunny so we had a very good time. Derek then drove S & I to an outlet shopping place for an hour or so and then back to the apartment. There was a thunder storm
R & I had booked to go to the Australian Outback Spectacular, this is a show based on the opening of the Sydney Olympics,
"Each night the giant thousand seat arena thunders with the hooves of Australian stock horses as an action-packed performance unfolds. It's an electric atmosphere presented with state-of-the-art lighting and sound as Australia''s leading stunt riders and stockmen play out a story of two rival cattle stations. During the performance, a traditional Australian BBQ will be served as the action unfolds!"http://www.outbackspectaculargoldcoast.com.au/
S & D had been to see it and recommended it to us. The ticket included pick up from the hotel and a meal. When we arrived we were issued with hats, there were two colour hat bands, red and yellow, showing which team or "station" you had to support we were red when we arrived we went into the bar area where was a girl singing and some of the horses on display after a while we went into the arena and took our seats, we had good seats at the back where we could see the whole arena. Salad was already waiting and the waiters came around with wine or any drink you wanted. The show was certainly spectacular with magnifican horse and brilliant riders and wonderful special effects. There were sheep being herded, pioneers on a wagon, a depiction of a homestead and music all the time. There were staged competitions between the rival stations and we had to cheer on our side, the special effects were spectacular even including a helicopter rounding up the stock. All in all a wonderful night's entertainment.
Fri Dec 5th
Woke up to another grey day, drove to Burleigh Head to go on beach, it started to rain but was not cold so R & I were swimming in the rain!!
it brightened for a while then rained again so we moved the car and parked by a National Park and S sat and read while me R & D walked through the park, it was a rainforest environment and was very rocky, basalt lava, and had many interesting trees and plants, we saw the tiniest bird, no bigger than a thumb, red backed black wren, and brush turkeys we also saw a few lizards, we must have walked for an hour or so and it got quite humid.
We went back to the apartment and looked for the RSL club to eat, S & D had used these before and said how good they were, we were all very disappointed, it was nowhere near as cheap as the Southport Workers Club, did not have the selection of food and they put $2 on everything as we were not members, the meals we had were very poor. Had a swim and a game of cards before bed.
Sat Dec 6th
Had a swim before breakfast then we drove to Glasshouse Mountains, these were further away than we thought and it was almost a 2 hour drive,the road was called Steve Irwin Way as this is the area where his wildlife park is, when we stopped for lunch we saw a young parrot out of it's nest being chased by butcher birds, a lady from the kiosk rescued it with a tea towel.
When we arrived the scenery was spectacular the mountain peaks that Captain Cook had seen from the sea when he first arrived. It was
very hot and humid.
We drove back to Southport, it was interesting to see houses for sale on lots, typical Queensland house, wooden and built on stilts all on display like used cars ready to be bought and transported to wherever they were wanted. Had meal at Southport Workers club again, live band playing, good food.
Sun Dec 7th
Drove to Carrara market, a huge permanent market it was very hot again and we had a couple of hours there and then went back to the apartment, were going to go to beach again but weather grey again so stayed and went in pool - in rain! it was lovely and the spa pool was great.
After a meal at the club again R & I had another swim as it was getting dark, we saw huge bat soaring over the pool, we thought it was a hawk but a lad told us it was a bat, almost as big as a kestrel.
Mon Dec 8th
Grey and raining again but warm, after breakfast packed and off to the airport. Boarded our Virgin 737-700 and had a good flight back, I was looking out of the window most of the way and it was fascinating to look down an the country, Queensland was green and lush looking but we were soon flying over red, barren land,
all I could see was meandering creek beds (probably dry)outlined by trees and dead straight roads heading for the horizon, there were few signs of habitation, as we approached Adelaide there were lots of salt lakes, and what I assumed was the Murray River. We landed at 4 oclock and Bob picked us up to take us home. After we unpacked we went to Fasta Pasta to eat.
Tue Dec 9th
Shower in early morning but got loads of washing done and dried. Went to shops to get some food in. In the evening we went with S & D to their Friendship Force meeting, we picked their friend Hedy up on the way, she is joining the club. We met a lot of people and were made very welcome we had a meal and then a choir entertained us, they called themselves "Qwire" and are Adelaides gay and lesbian choir!!! not to our taste as we only knew two of the songs they sang and although not dreadful they were not that good, we were just a bit uncomfortable with it all. We then had to wait for the meeting to finish (Derek is President) and went home.
Wed Dec 10th
Lovely sunny day, sat and read, did ironing and not much else. S & D went to Lord Mayors reception in the evening, because of Derek being president of club.
Thurs Dec 11th
As it was a nice day, forecast to be 26c R & I decided to go to the beach, this involved 3 buses, we caught the local bus just up the road which took us to Paradise Interchange there we got on a bus into the city which goeas along the Oban, this is a concrete roadway just for buses that goes through the country away from the roads. We got off in the city ,walked a couple of blocks and got on the tram to Glenelg. Glenelg is the place where the first settlers landed in 1836, South Australia never had any convicts it was settled by pioneers, they surveyed the land and Col Light decided on the site for the city of Adelaide - named after the King, William 1V's wife. There was quite a bit of controversy about the site and he ended up resigning a couple of years later. The area between the city and Glenelg was all forest when they first arrived it is now all built up.
We went onto the beach and sat for a while, even though the sun was hot the water was quite cool so we only paddled, we walked the length of the beach and back and then had fish & chips in a cafe very nice they were. It had clouded over so we went and looked round an exhibition in the Bay Discovery Centre which told us all about the first settlers and the history of Glenelg. We walked up the street and got a few postcards. We waited about 10 mins for the tram then decided to walk to the next stop as it had not even come down yet, we walked to the next stop and still it hadn't come down, we waited over half an hour before it came (they are supposed to be at no more than 20 min intervals) When it did arrive it was packed, we could only just squeeze in, it was not a very pleasant journey rammed up against people on a hot day with flies buzzing around and more people squeezing in at every stop, I had one particularly smelly chap(fags & BO) right behind me breathing down my neck YUCK! We arrived in the city and got the bus back home with no trouble. It started to rain as we got on the bus and by the time we got home we were quite wet, it rained all evening and most of the night, real heavy rain much needed, the most rain for 6 months the wireless said. D & R went round to see Bob.
Fri Dec 12th
Raining again this morning and continued most of the day, S went to work I sorted photos. It had rained nearly all day and on the news it showed the effects of the heavy rain, Coober Pedy was completly cut off withh all roads out closed, some state troopers were rescued when their truck got washed away, it is good for the country as the water situation is so bad with the river Murray being very low - there is a lot of contention between the states Queensland and Victoria get the river before South Australia and there are dams on it taking a lot of water thus S A reckons it doesn't get it's fair share. The downside is that it is not good for the farmers who are trying to get the harvest inIn evening S & I went to meal with her colleagues from "Vinnie's' the charity shop she works for, it was at the Windsor Hotel, a pub with "pokies" selling reasonable priced food, it was very busy, in fact I heard a waitress telling someone they were overbooked. It was a bit of a mellee and S & I were amongst the first to order but were last to be served, I had a couple of plates of salad to keep me going, the food was very good when it did come, butterfish? & chips, my phone wouldn't work to ring Derek but one of Shirley's colleagues gave us a lift.
Sat Dec 13th
I got up a 6am to "speak" to Emma on the computer, it was quite nice then but clouded over and there was a shower about 8.30. In the afternoon we went to the mall for a few groceries then we called at Peter's to see Alison's children but there was no one in, we called to say hello to Bob then went home, it rained again
Sun Dec 14th
A cool overcast day again with light showers.
We went to the Friendship Force Christmas lunch in a hotel in town. It was a lovely meal, very well served and presented, the people were very welcoming and friendly to us again. After an afternoon rest S D & I went to the town hall to a carol concert, it was very good the town hall is an interesting building and has a magnificent organ. There was a choir a band , soloists and a preacher. We drove back through the city at night and it was very pretty qwith the Christmas lights on.
Mon Dec 15th
A nice sunny day, S & I went into city and I did the tourist thing, took lots of photos of the city.
I then went to the Hans Heysen exhibition at the art gallery, it was very good and there were some wonderful paintings, my favourite was "Droving into the Light", a flock of sheep being driven into the morning sun through gum trees, you felt that you could walk into it it was so vibrant.
R & D had been mending the water sprinkler system while we were out.
Tue Dec 16th
Cloudy to start but turned lovely and sunny. S & I went to lunch with Hedy & Jenesse who Shirley works with, they had vouchers so it was 2 meals for the price of one, very good food and very busy. Read in garden in afternoon.
Wed Dec 17th
S & D took us to Mannum, on the river Murray, we went via Tea Tree Gulley, where Adelaide was first settled, Birdwood and Palmer, it took about an hour and 40 mins. The scenery, once we left the city, was red scrub and gum trees, there were some sheep, a couple of Alpaca Stud farms and a couple of vineyards.
Mannum was once a busy port on the Murray river, it had the first steamboat to carry freight, mostly fleeces, but with modern transport systems and the fact that the river is a lot lower than it used to be it is now a very small country town.
There is a lot of tourism but with river levels so low many of the jetties are unable to be used as they have no water below, just dry mud, there have been floods in the past, the highest being in 1956. We had a look in the museum and then around the few shops and had lunch in a pub.
We went down to the river to take a trip and a thunder storm blew up vrey quickly and we had to run for shelter, it was quite fierce but passed as quickly as it came.
We went on board the "Jester" the couple who ran it were vrey nice and were able to tell us alot about the river and the wildlife. We saw black swans and some ducks, ibis, coot, and whistleing kites. We stopped to feed the swans and also carp, the carp have been pest proportions, almost wiping out the Murray Cod, but they are now controlling them, genetically modyfying them so they only produce male offspring, and if anyone catches a carp they must kill it or be fined $2000. We were also told that Willow trees that lined the banks were introduced and are now regarded as a pest and they are trying to eliminate them. We were served with tea and cakes which was very nice, we got the reciepe for the cake as it was so nice (Apricot). It was nice and hot while we were on the boat but as we returned another storm blew up again it was short and sharp but we got wet going to the car.
We drove back a different way via the gorge and past Cuddly Creek wildlife reserve that we had visited last time we came to Australia.
Thurs Dec 18th
Stayed around the house all day, not a bad day, a bit overcast. The washing machine packed up and we could see a bra wire poking out of the drum (one of mine!) Seing it and getting it out were two different matters! R & D spent all day stripping the machine and finally managed to extricate it phew!!
Fri Dec 19th
A nice sunny day, I made an apricot cake from the recipe off the "Jester", not bad as a first attempt, tasted ok but put too much in the tin. R & I went on the bus into the city and went round the Botanic Gardens, http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/botanicgardens/adelaide.html , this is a huge park with lots of grassland and different areas with different types of plants and trees.
We found it very interesting and spent about 4 hours there, stopping for a snack at the kiosk where there were ducks wandering around looking for food. We went into the Bicentennial Conservatory which is a large glass house housing rainforest plants.
We got the bus back. S & I went to supermarket.
Sat Dec 20th
A lovely hot day, R & I went to Glenlg, Derek drove us into the city as they were going to the market. We caught the tram and it was the old one (1920s)which runs at weekends. Glenelg was a lot busier today, ther were two came;s and apony giving rides and a bugy jump thing for children. We sat on the beach and had a couple of dips in the sea, not very warm, R got his toe bitten by a crab! The beach was very busy with lots of teenageers, the boys having great fun with "boogie boards" - small surf boards - sliding in the shallows. We felt we had had enough sun bu about 2.30 so set off back. We waited in Mosely Square for the tram and this was very busy, there is a fountain where jets of water shoot randomly out of the pavement and children were having a whale of a time running in and out of it. When we got back to the city we had to wait quite a while for a bus but when we got to Paradise interchange the next bus came immediately.
Sun Dec 21st
Shirley and I went to a couple of markets, one more like a car boot sale selling a lot of second hand stuff and the other a permanent market in Port Adelaide. In the afternoon we went to Peter's to see Lauren and Vanessa, Alisons children.
Another hot, sunny day.
Mon Dec 22nd
I went into town with Shirley and while she worked at the Information booth I went to the Migration Museum, this was very interesting telling the story of the settlement of South Australia from the first settlers, the 20th century "whites only" policy and up to the current very multi cultural society, I spent a couple of hours there then wandered round the city for a while.
Rundle Mall was very busy and there were lots of buskers, there was a magician, a man on stilts doing ballon sculptures, a tarot reader, an aboriginee playing a didgeredoo,
and a lot of children playing carols on violins or trumpets, all very Christmasy but it still didn't feel like Christmas! I met Shirley, we had another wander round shops, in the Myer Centre there was a gospel choir, we then back on the oban/bus. It was quite an overcast day and I felt a few spots of rain at one point. Derk & Rich went to Williamstown to collect some wine (5 cases) that Adin had got from Jacobs Creek where his daughte works, he can get it cheap but can't choose just take whatever comes $30 a case of a dozen - very good value.
Tue Dec 23rd
A nice sunny day again, did not do a lot except go to supermarket for food. In the evening we went to Hedy's. She had tables and chairs all set up outside and a duo playing, they were good and played mostly middle of the road or rock music. The food was wonderful, as Hedy is Indian there were different types of curry but also ham, pork, roast potatoes & salad followed by at least half a dozen sweets. We had a wonderful time, ther must have been about 2 dozen people there, some were Hedy's family, neices and great nieces, 2 little babies and other children all having a great time.
We left at about 10.30.
Wed Dec 24th
Nice sunny day, R woke up with very painful throat. In the afternoon S D & I went to the crematorium to take some roses out of the garden to Alison's grave. We called on Dorothy, Derek's sister, then dropped a card in to Bob.
Thurs Dec 25th CHRISTMAS DAY
A lovely warm, sunny day, we went to Jayne's in Morpeth Vale a drive of an hour and a half - as far as going to Jan & Mike's but still in Adelaide. Rich developed a dreadful head cold but decided he would come although he was not feeling too good. Jayne had done a super dinner for us and her two son's, their girl friends and her mum, she had set a very festive table with decorations, crackers etc and plenty of wine.
After dinner we sat and chatted in the outdoor area, a huge veranda over the whole back of the house, it was hot but overcast.
We left at about 4.30 to go on to Jill's in Glenelg, she is a friend from the Friendship Force, there were other people from the FF as well as Jill's daughter Claire and herson-in-law, Claire is a doctor in Port Lincoln and her husband is a farmer near Cummins, a very nice young couple. We got home abou 9.30, it was still about 26c, I called the children and we had a liquer nightcap and bed.
Fri Dec 26th
Another hot, sunny day. Rich felt a bit better but still full of cold. We went to Russell's for "Brunch", Chris's 3 children were there with their partners and children, we had bacon, eggs, toast and pancakes, all cooked by Russ on the BBQ.
it was very hot about 30c. We got home early afternoon and "rested" indoors where it was cool, Rich said the temprature outside was in the 40s.
Sat Dec 28th
Shirl & I went to the sales at Harbour Town shopping outlet which is near the airport, it was very busy, I got a cardigan and Shirl got a skirt and a shirt for Derek. We then went to Ikea and got some biscuits. It had benn a very hot day.
Sun Dec 29th
Overcast but warm, in the afternoon we went to Port Adelaide and took a trip on the dolphin watch boat, it was very full.
I saw dolphins riding the bow wave, only by pushing in and leaning over but I saw them!
Mon Dec 30th
The day started off grey and overcast. We went to Hahndorf, a "German" town in the hills, it rained! We walked round the town, mostly touristy shops then as it was raining quite heavily went back to the car to have our picnic, the rain eased up a bit so we walked round the rest of the town, the architecture is lovely, lots of old buildings.
We then went to "The Cedars", Hans Heysen's house and took a tour round. It was a lovely old house left just as it had been in the 20s & 30s with many of his paintings on display.
Hans Heysen is a very famous Austrlian artist, he was born in Germany but came to Australia as a child, he was famous in his lifetime and had a good living off his work although his popularity took a dive during the second worl war, Hahndorf, along with many other German settlements changed it's name during the war to Ambleside, Hahndorf was one that changed back. He painted lots of scenes of Australian outback and gum trees especially and he captured the light wonderfully.
Tue Dec 31st
Another grey morning but cleared up later. R & D put up a piece of trellis for the roses.
In afternoon went to mall for groceries.
We went to a Friendship Force New Year party at Pat's house, we all took food and drink, Pat is a very keen quilter and has a house full of lots that she has made, a lot of Christmasy ones on display. It was a very nice gathering and we managed to stay awake to see the new year in! way past our bedtime. It was a quiet drive home even though there were lots of vehicles about, there were no fireworks except official displays in the city, fireworks are not sold to the public, all public transport was free after midnight, to try and cut down on drink driving.
