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Published: April 13th 2008
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Hi All,
Just finishing a great week in Adelaide. We are doing laundry, shopping and sending emails. It seems like our day before we travel routine.
Adelaide has been wonderful. We were picked up from the airport by Willie and Rosalie, our home exchange friends. Ross and Bonnie rode the public transportation with Rosalie and Larry and I rode home with Willie. His car is comfortable but too small for 6 adults and all our bags. As well as we think we have packed, it is still alot for one small car. Willie and Rosalie are seasoned home exchangers. There house is lovely and comfortable and convenient to everything. In this house, everything has a label or an instruction manual attached. It has been great. We were laughing about this, the first day we went to the grocery store. Willie had a great map book in his car and also on the map book was their address. I don't think I mentioned, when we were in Perth. Shortly, after Kevin left us in his house with his car, we all jumped into the car and headed out to the grocery store. Karen, our GPS did an amazing job of
us to the local store with no problem. As I am standing in the grocery store I mention to R,B and L that I don't think Karen will retrace her steps back to our house and none of us knew Kevin's address. We didn't even know what street we lived on. Kevin had picked us up from the airport and delivered us to his house. I had left his phone number in the house. Larry was sure the car registration would have his address on it but wouldn't you know it in Perth, the car registration does not stay in the car. We all had a few panicky moments. We got in the car and just felt our way home. Ross remembered that we had turned left at the Chinese Restaurant, I remembered another street and so on until we were very happy to #1, Hotham Street!! So, because Willie and Rosalie are seasoned exchangers they had their address on the map book that was in the car. I need to remember that for our Home Exchange visitors.
Brett, Lynn, Robbie and Laura Third all flew to Adelaide with us from Hobart. They had been at the wedding as
well in Hobart. We went down to the beach in Adelaide one evening and had dinner with them. Somehow the travel agent or someone had booked them into this hotel in June and not April so they were upgraded to a mansion!! It was beautiful overlooking the fabulouse Adelaide beach.
Larry had his day in the Borassa Valley wine area. Ross was the DD and again Larry drank, I sipped and Bonnie did the galleries. Larry had done his research and had about 6 wineries circled and Bonnie picked us a route and we were off for a great day in the Vineyards.
Spent another day downtown. Larry and I did a 3 hour bus tour of the city. It is a nice way to see the city and hear about the culture. We went to the Migration Museum as well which was an eye opener. Basically until 1973, Australia had a white only policy. I may not have my facts totally straight but it just made us all shake our heads. The Museum talked about bringing non-whites to Australia as labour but when they wanted to immigrate and become citizens they were often given a written test
but more times then enough they were given a test in a foreign language, not english or their native tougue but maybe Chinese or anything that would make them fail. Children were brought over from England promised a wonderful life in Australia to their parents but were treated very badly. Just like our native people, most of these children were in Residential schools. Different country, same story. Just the other night on TV there was an Aboriginal Chief saying that their children were going to school dirty and hungry and his thought was that the children should be bathed and fed somewhere before school. When pushed by the commentator he thought if the children went home after school, had dinner with their families then would return to a dormitory to sleep so they could bathe and eat the next morning before school. I know his heart was in the right place but it just screams Residential displacement. To any of our Australians friends, please don't take offense. This is an observation we all made and my facts could certainly be haywire.
On Friday, we left bright and early for a 5 hour drive to a very small town called
Hawker. Hawker is considered to be an Outback town. Went to the pub and watched the locals get their heads shaved for cancer donations, then the next morning our bald driver came and we went on an 8 hour Outback Tour. It was great. He had a 4WD truck and we all piled in to see miles and miles of bald prairie and great mountain ranges. The Flinders Ranges. We saw kangaroos by the dozens and some wallabeys as well. Did lots of creek bed driving.
This whole area of Southern Australia has been in a drought for a couple of years. Adelaide is a beautiful city but looks a little desolate because there are severe watering restrictions. It has rained a few minutes a couple of times this week but nothing that us Vancouverites would call rain. The weather has been warm and sunny most days. Everybody saves rainwater and uses it either for drinking or for washing etc. Not many parks have been watered. Golf courses are brown and pretty bleak. Next time I moan at home about rain I will remember Adelaide.
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