In Adelaide and the 4th of July

This is Rundle Street and our apartment is right off this street. It is very busy on Friday nights and on the weekends. There are heaps of cafes and shops.

This is our apartment complex. It is called the Palias Apartments. It is completely different than our complex back home in Dallas!

This is the beginning of Rundle Street. As you can see on the left there is a Target. But it isn't like ours at home. It is more of a department store.

This is one of several bronze pig statues in Rundle Mall.

This is a picture of Rundle Mall. It is essentially a shopping district where cars can't drive. This is where we do all of our shopping because it is so close!

This is Woolworths. Our second home. If we aren't home on a weeknight it is because we are here! We do all of our grocery shopping and Wal-Mart type shopping here! They have everything we need!

This fine sculpture Justin is standing by is called "Malls Balls" Great name, huh? It is in the middle of Rundle Mall and a lot of people choose it as a meeting place. You can see David Jones in the background and that is an upscale department store like a Nordstroms or Saks.

Justin with Horatio, the most famous bronze pig!

This is Adelaide Arcade which is in Rundle Mall. It is one of the most beautiful and oldest arcades on the Mall. Supposedly it is haunted too!

This is at Victoria Square which is right in the middle of the city. Justin and I were on our way to the Central Market to buy some salami and cheese. The Central Market is a place to buy fresh fruits, veg, cheese, meat, and fish.

This is Queen Victoria guarding her square!

Inside Central Market. As you can see in the background, it is CRAZY busy on the weekends and hard to move around, but very fun and you can get some good stuff!

This is some famous fountain in Victoria Square, but I don't know what it is called! Directly behind with the clock tower is the Post Office. Our old apartment when we first moved here was behind the Post Office.

So there are some pictures of where we live and what our life is like here in Adelaide. I love Adelaide and think everyone should come here because it is such a nice place. It gets overlooked so often because of the big cities like Sydney and Melbourne, but it has a lot of character and the people here are wonderful!

On a different note, let me tell y'all (that is for all of those Texans out there) about our Fourth of July here! Well, of course they don't celebrate it because it is our Independence Day, so we both had to go into work. But, Justin told me that I needed to come to Beer-Thirty this Friday for sure. (Side Note: Every Friday at 4:30 Justin's work stops 30 minutes early and everyone drinks beer, coke, or wine to wind down for the weekend). So after work I walked over to Justin's work to partake in Beer-Thirty. You wouldn't believe but Justin's boss's wife, Anne, had put together a full July 4th food spread to help us celebrate our holiday! They had red, white, and blue table cloths, napkins, and plates. Anne and Bob (Justin's boss) looked up on the internet typical July 4th food (they found we eat chicken and blueberries) and made us little chicken sandwiches and had blueberry cheesecake! It was so thoughtful and sweet. Everyone was wishing us a Happy 4th of July. Justin couldn't work for a better company or boss! Anyway that is how we celebrated the fourth of July! We miss you all!!

Mt. Remarkable National Park

Some wild kangaroos

At an overlook

Going through Hidden Gorge

The hike back home

The whole gang (minus me because I am taking the picture)

Justin (isn't he so cute!)

Me in the gorge (those rocks got really annoying hiking on after an hour or so!)

Scenic overlook

Justin again!

This weekend we went on our first backpacking trip in Australia and it was wonderful! We couldn't have asked for better weather considering we were going in the middle of winter. We went with 6 other people from our church. We head off on Friday night to Mt. Remarkable National Park which is in the Southern Flinders Ranges about 3 hours away.

We stayed in a small cabin on Friday night since we didn't get there until like midnight. On Saturday morning we packed up all of our stuff and headed off to the trail. It was really beautiful on the trail. We hiked through a place called Alligator Gorge and then headed up to what is called the Battery which is essential just a flat ridge on top of a mountain. We hiked for about 6 hours and found our campsite on top of the battery. It was sorta just off on the side of the trail which isn't what Justin and I are used to, but we made it our home for the night. The eight of us pitched in and we had a delicious dinner of spaghetti. After dinner we quite a bit of time to kill before heading to bed, so we lied down on our back and watched the stars. I can't even describe how beautiful the night sky was. I had never seen so many star in my life. You could even see the band of the Milky Way. We saw several shooting starts as well. Who needs TV when you have nature!

We got up the next morning and started the trek back home through Hidden Gorge. It was beautiful as well! Eventually we made it back to car and it was a glorious site. On the way back home we stopped by and had some pies and Farmers Union Iced Coffee and called it a day! It was great getting back into nature and surprisingly enough Justin and I weren't too tired on Monday morning!

This weekend we are resting! We have been go the past four weekends and now it is time to relax! We are going to take some pictures of Adelaide so you all can see where we live and what it is like here! We miss everyone!

Kangaroo Island

On the way to Remarkable Rocks

Remarkable Rocks

Remarkable Rocks

On the way to Admiral Arch

Admiral Arch

The city we stayed in on KI

Penguin crossing! You don't see these in Kansas!

Australian Sea lion (don't you just want to go and cuddle with him!!)

Seal Bay

Seal Bay

We went to Kangaroo Island this week! It was amazing! I highly recommend going there if you are ever in South Australia. We headed to the bus station late Saturday afternoon to catch a bus to Cape Jarvis. A two hour bus ride later we had arrived, but our traveling wasn't done yet! We still had to take a 2 hour ferry ride over to the island. We finally arrived around 7:00 or so Saturday night. We dropped off our bags in our rooms and headed to dinner. Dinner was quite nice. After dinner the real fun started! Fairy Penguin hunting! Okay, we really didn't hunt them, but we had flashlights with red beams to find them. Fairy Penguins are the smallest penguins there are and the fish all day and come back home to the rocks by the beach at night to feed their babies. It took us awhile, but we found heaps of them! They were everywhere waddling around all cute and cuddly. The very first one we found looked at us and then started to waddle away and then looked back again and pooped. It was hilarious! I think you had to be there, but it was funny! No pictures of the penguin though because the bright light of the camera flash hurts their eyes. But you can look them up on the Internet! They are cute!

We eventually headed off to bed because our day tour started early. Our first stop on the tour was Seal Bay. It was amazing! There were Australian Sea lions lounging on the beach everywhere! I think we took a million pictures of them because they are so incredibly cute! We got to walk right along the beach with them there. We weren't allowed to get too close because they do attack. After Seal Bay it was time for lunch and then a Birds of Prey show. It was okay. Justin got to hold an owl on his arm! After the Birds of Pray off to Remarkable Rocks. They are these beautiful rock overlooking the ocean that have eroded over time making some cool shapes. Then after a million pictures, off to Admirals Arch. Admirals Arch is a basically a hole looking through to the ocean ( you can see the picture above). All around the area were a bunch of New Zealand Fur Seal. Very cute as well!

Eventually our tour came to an end and we began our journey back home! We arrive back to Adelaide around 10:30 at night. It was tough waking up on Monday morning! Kangaroo Island was pretty much amazing! This weekend Justin and I are off to the southern Flinders Ranges to go camping/bushwalking with some friends from church. No in-laws this time! I dont' think camping in the cold is there style! Anyway we miss you all!!

The Riverlands!

At the National Park

Those little dark spots in the background are wild kangaroos at the National Park

The Big Orange- one of the many "big" things in Australia. See The Big Rocking Horse from an earlier post

The Murray River

Cliffs along the Murray River

The Murray River just after sunset

This weekend our excursion was to the Riverlands! Only this time, the in-laws were on board for the trip. Invasion of the in-laws! Okay, it really isn't an invasion, but a nice two week visit.

Early Saturday morning we picked up our car hire and were off on the open road to Renmark, South Australia. It was about a two hour drive from Adelaide. On on way there we stopped off in a small town call Waikerie drove our car on a fairy that took across the Murray River, but once on the other side there was nothing to do, so we came right back! Then we went on a short cliff top walk to check out the river. Next, on to Renmark.

In Renmark, we went on a two hour river boat ride down the Murray River. The Murray river is one of the longest rivers in the world by the way! It was cold! We started up on the top deck, but ended up having to come downstairs to stay warm in the covered area. We did see two wild koalas on the ride! It was a nice, relaxing ride.

We checked into our hotel afterwards, a nice family room with four beds! Then out on the town before dinner. We went out to this lookout to check out the sunset which we just missed by like 10 minutes, but was still beautiful! Next, on to dinner. We ate in a hotel and it was pretty good. We called it an early night because Renmark is closed down pretty much after 5:00. We watched the rest of the Crows game (footy) and we lost! So sad.

In the morning we were off to Banrock Station a winery. One way there we stopped off and drove through a National Park. I don't remember which one it was thought. I think it was Murraylands National Park. On drive though we saw about 20 or more wild kangaroos jumping around. It was pretty cool. Once we arrived to Banrock Station, we went on a hike around the site the a little wine tasting.

After Banrock, we were off on our way back to Adelaide. It was a nice weekend trip however a bit cold! This weekend we are off to Kangaroo Island. I am pretty excited about this one because we get to see some wild seals and the Southern Right whales are out so we might see some whales on the way over! We miss you all!!

Clare Valley and Moonta Bay

At the end of the Moonta Bay jetty

Towards the end of the Moonta Bay jetty

On some cool looking rocks

Justin on the beach

Justin on a bridge on the Riesling Trail

Grape vines on the Riesling Trail

On my bike...our butts really hurt by the end of the day!

Underground wine cellar at Sevenhill Winery (the make sacramental wine for the Catholic church)

The Sevenhill Winery with the church

This past weekend we had a long weekend because we had a Holiday! It was the Queen's Birthday. So we took advantage of the long weekend and ventured off to Clare Valley and Moota Bay. Clare is one of the main wine regions in South Australia. Our wonderful friends from church, Rowan and Nyoli, let us borrow their car to take on the trip.

We arrived in Clare Saturday morning to start a bike ride on the Riesling Trail. This is a trail that used to be on old railway line which was converted into a bike/hike trail. It goes for 25 K one way, but we only did about 18 K round trip because our butts were killing us! The trail goes along different wineries so you can just hop off your bike and go in for a wine tasting. It was quite nice. The main winery we checked out was Sevenhills Winery which is made by priests and they primarily make sacramental wines for the Catholic church. It was a beautiful place. Justin tasted some wine and thought it was pretty good. Eventually we headed back to the car to give our butts a rest and we drove around to some other wineries. We bought two bottles of wine from some small wineries which I liked because it is good to give business to the little guys!

After our wine tour we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed off to Moonta which is a small town on the Yorke Peninsula. The drive there was very beautiful as it was sunset and the sky was gorgeous with the hills in the background. We arrived in Moonta and set up our tent out Moonta Bay Caravan Park. There wasn't too much to do in the little town, so we ate at a small cafe watched some footy and were in the tent by 9:00 pm! We read by head lamp and dozed off around 10:00pm! We awoke to the pitter patter of the rain falling on our tent. We got up and packed up the tent as best we could in the rain and then we headed to the same cafe for some breakfast. After a delicious brekky (Australian word) of pancakes and eggs on toast we checked out the jetty and the ocean. After about 15-20 minutes we had enough of Moonta Bay and were ready for the drive back home! It was cold and rainy which didn't make for much of a fun time for hanging out on the beach!

So all in all we had a nice little weekend trip! The weather was a bit colder than I would have liked, but I must remember it is winter here now! We are also coming up on being here for two months! Crazy! Only 10 more to go! We miss you all!!!

A Weekend Outdoors!

Boardwalk at Hallet Cove Conservation Park

Justin on the boardwalk

Down on the rocky beach at Hallet Cove

On the trail at Morialta

At a lookout point

Playing in the creek

You can see Adelaide through the opening!

Justin

Beth and Rob! Our friends who took us on the hike!

This weekend was an outdoor weekend. On Saturday we went to a place called Hallet Cove Conservation Park. It was amazing! Justin thought we should go because the train takes us out there. So a 40 minute train ride later we are at a beautiful beach boardwalk that goes on in each direction. We were only there a limited time because we were meeting people for dinner, but we are definitely going to go back there again! It was beautiful!

On Sunday, we went with our friends from church, Beth and Rob, to Morialta Conservation Park. It was also amazing! It is crazy how you can go just a bit out of the city and you are in hills. Morialta was a hikers dream. There were trails everywhere and it was beautiful. We did a hike and saw three waterfalls and thankfully they were running! Since it is winter here there is more rain and more creeks and waterfalls are running. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. I felt like I was far, far away from Adelaide, but really only like 20 minutes! We are also going to have to go back there!

This weekend is a holiday weekend. June 9th is the Queen's Birthday. We are hoping to go to the Clare Valley which is a wine region. We will keep you posted on that adventure! We miss you all and hope you are enjoying summer!

Quick Life Update

We have been posting a lot about all of our weekend adventures, but we haven't said too much recently about daily life. Here is a quick life update:

- I got a job! It was much easier than I thought it would be. I applied online on a Monday, had an interview on Friday, and was offered a position on the next Tuesday. I will be working at a place called Calvary College Grove Rehabilitation Hospital. Long name, huh? I am excited because I really enjoy working in inpatient rehab. On Monday I go in for an all day orientation. I really hate those! You sit all day and listen to boring information and try not to fall asleep. I am already dreading going back to Baylors when I get back to Dallas! At least I will be getting paid! As I find out more I will let everyone know. I don't have an official start date yet because I am waiting to get registered with South Australia. I do know I will be working mostly four days a week (totally awesome!) and when people go on maternity leave and holiday, I will go full time. I am what is called a casual worker.

-Our apartment is officially the craziest apartment ever. So everyone knows about the cupboard door falling off, well now we have a leak in the wall that is soaking our carpet in the bedroom. We are having plumbers come out next week to take a look at it. Pretty much to fix it they have to cut a hole in the wall of our bedroom to find the leak, then fix it, then patch up the hole. The have asked us to move out of our room into the guest room because it is going to be messy! Crazy! They still haven't fixed the cupboard yet either! I just hope that everything goes smoothly and they can fix it in a reasonable amount of time. Who knew living in a brand new apartment could cause so much stress! At least we don't have to pay for any of this!

-Other than that life in Australia is beginning to settle down. We have our weekly routine and our weekend routine. It will be nice once I have my job. We are running three days a week and are going to run in a 12K race in September. We have been cooking dinner for ourselves every night. Everything here shuts down at 5:30, so some nights, as sad as this sounds, we go to Woolworths to hang out because it is open until 9:00. This Saturday Justin is going to be doing a service project with the men of our church and then hopefully we will be hanging out with some of our church friends. Sunday we are going to Morialta! Bushwalking here we come!

Okay, that wasn't too quick of an update, but oh well!