Currency Creek

Have not had chance to update my blog for a while, here are some photos from a weekend away about a month ago. We booked a little apartment based at a winery in Currency Creek. There was a nature walk around part of the vineyard that made for some nice photos.


Here is definitive proof that I am taller than Annaliese.




On Guard!


There were lots of flowers in bloom. The yellow one is a wattle tree and is a state plant of South Australia.


Here are some old cars and machinery we found rusting away in the woods...

...broom broom.


The next day we drove down to lake Alexandrina.


We found a cow going for a stroll along the beach!


We then stopped of at a little town called Milang, and had a cream tea on an old railway carriage.

It was sad to see how much the water had receded because of the lack of water coming down the Murray river.

Melbourne and Moving

I have finally got internet access at the local library after Annaliese and I have moved in to our own place!

It’s been a busy past month as we visited Melbourne, then came back to move house.

Annaliese and I have always dreamt of living in a country home with a creek and willow tree! We couldn’t believe it when, only 5 minutes from the centre of the Adelaide CBD in a trendy suburb called Norwood, we came across a flat with just that! So… it may not be a country home, and well… it may be a cemented creek - but hey, waking to the flow of water and rustling of tree leaves in suburbia is great.

It’s a small one bedroom flat (or Unit as they call it here) but it suits us just fine. It’s cosy and doesn’t take long to heat. Yep – heat – it’s now the middle of Winter and yesterday morning was the coldest it’s been so far at 5 degrees at 7am. It still gets up to between 15 – 20 degrees during the day (and usually sunny with blue skies still!) but night times it is reminiscent of home.
I will post some photos soon of our new little habitat.

In other news, I have found work! In fact I have gotten 3 jobs. Annaliese works for a large education company with several institutes. I have done some Exam Invigilating, and International English Language Test marking. Annaliese’s HR/payroll colleague is due to go on Maternity leave for 6 months very soon. I have been asked to be an HR Administrator during these 6 months to help out.

Below are some photos of our last adventure to Melbourne from a month ago. We stayed for five days in Annaliese’s Aunts house, house sitting her two cats. Melbourne reminded me of London, much larger, busier and more cosmopolitan than Adelaide.







This is the Eureka tower which is the tallest residential building in the Southern Hemisphere, We went right to the top one evening and got some good photos looking down on Melbourne.

This photo was taken at a great bar we found, it sits on the top of a tall building in the open air, so had great views of the area.

We met up with Anna and Guy as they live in Melbourne, and spent a day with them travelling on the "Puffing Billy" railway line that travels into the hills surrounding Melbourne. They use old steam trains and people stop and wave or honk their car horns at the trains as they go past.

We got of at a stop where there was a big lake and then went for a walk in the surrounding forest.

Easter - Introducing the Woodmans

Easter was a relaxing day celebrated on Good Friday as Keryn and Greg were flying off to the Gold Coast in Queensland for their two week school holidays (they're both teachers). I finally met Keryn's side of the family; the Woodmans - a lively bunch! After many easter eggs and local McLaren Vale wine, Annaliese and her Papa Jim had a tickling match.

Then did some catalogue posing for the camera.

Here I am with Maureen (Keryn's mum) and Dorothy.

Keryn's sister Marcelle, and her son Nicholas, the second relative of Annaliese's to beat me at table tennis!

Mount Lofty and Cleland Wildlife Park

Mount Lofty is the highest point in the Adelaide hills and has good views over Adelaide and the surrounding area. We stopped part way up and took this photo as it is a good view of the Adelaide Central Business District and surrounding suburbs

And here we are at the top looking down over the Adelaide hills. There is twice as much rain fall in the Adelaide hills than in Adelaide itself so the landscape is much greener.

We then went to the nearby Cleland Wildlife Park, where I got to meet lots of Aussie animals for the first time. Here I am with a Koala. You are able to stroke their back, and you can even pay extra money to "cuddle a koala" if you want to.

Here is a picture of a Tasmanian Devil, yes it isn't just a cartoon character! It is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world, only found living wild on the island of Tasmania. It is now an endangered species.

Many of the other animals in the park are tame and can be fed by hand.