How Are Ya?

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Something that has amused me whilst we’ve been in Oz is the form of greeting. We had been expecting ‘G’day’, which we’ve barely heard (although to my embarrassment, I’ve used it a couple of times!) Instead, the greeting is more in a form of asking how you are - anywhere from chirpy ‘Hello, how are you today?’ (normally from someone hoping to make a sale), through to the more gruff ‘How’re ya going?’, and anywhere in between. What I’ve come to realise is that they don’t really want to know. I think I first realised this when I started giving some poor checkout girl an overview of my day, you should have seen her panic ridden face as I gave her the litany of John trying to get the van into reverse. I buttonholed the artist in Freo with ‘you don’t really want to know do you?’, he agreed (!!) and gave me advice on how to answer - apparently with ‘good’ or, if I want to look really educated, ‘well’. However ... I’m still finding it difficult not to give a rundown of my life ... after all, they did ask, didn’t they?!

Anyway, we bid Rapid Bay a fond farewell, as it was a really lovely place. It was actually where the settlers first came on land, and it’s also where the first boy and girl were born in SA - in January and November 1839 to be precise! Apparently, it was very nearly set up as the capital ... but then. It’s amazing how many places have the same claim!

We thought carefully about setting off this morning, as we discovered last night that the Rugby 7s are being played in Adelaide this weekend. It took some serious consideration before we agreed to stick to our plans and keep sightseeing (it was difficult though!!)

We drove round taking in the scenic beauty of the area - almost like a cross between Devon and the Yorkshire Dales, except in brown. We went to Lands End (queue memory of Mum on the English namesake ‘standing on the most southerly point in England’) and looked wistfully at Kangaroo Island, but decided that was just a bridge too far (well, it would actually have been a ferry too far, but you get the point...)

We meandered around the peninsula, eventually getting to a lovely little town called Victor Harbor (originally Victoria Harbour). We went tremendously touristy and caught the horse-drawn tram across the jetty to granite island, as other tourists have done over the past 100 odd years. We were rather touched that the horse doing all the hard work was called ‘Thomas’ ... naturally have the photos to prove it Tom!

And the best bit? Granite island has a colony of 180 or so small penguins - literally small penguins. We went to a sanctuary where injured ones are rehabilitated and we watched feeding time. They were adorable! How I managed to get out without having one in my bag I shall never know ... although it might have had something to do with my not actually having a bag.

By the time we’d stopped and updated a couple of our entries on our Blog, we realised that time had yet again got away from us, so we extravagantly booked into a ‘proper’ site - and were thoroughly excited by the fact that we yet again got a wonderful view looking out across the sea ... twice in 2 days can’t be bad! John took some interesting photos of the island just off our beach and we and a German couple next door spent quite a while trying to work out whether the birds on it were penguins ... what do you think?

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Comments

[Daughter]

You're no parents of mine!
You didn't go to the 7s? Shame on you! x

[Maureen]

Yes - No
I feel like the crazy man in Vicar of Dibley saying "Yes" I want you to come back and "No" I don't want to stop getting these blogs! Did you see lovely lady called Jill Montgomery in Adelaide? You must have! Met her in the 60s. She called everyone "Petal" and was a delight. As you say Oz only has a few people you must have seen her. Adore your photos especially that of the little fluffy bird looking up to you when you were on the tree walk. Wonderful stuff - thank you. Maureen/xx

[Lil Mr. Harrowven]

Silly silly Aussies
How ya goin, mate(s)? Encountered any Bush-fella's using the expression 'whatd'ya know?' yet? In two years, I never knew how to respond to that one! ....and a word of advice, keep a lock on your bread-bin - old habits an' all that!