Adelaide Adventures

Published in 'Newslink', Headstart ABI Service; October, 2017

 

 From September the 5^th I travelled to Adelaide for two weeks.

This began with a flight down to Melbourne to visit my sister and her partner. The five days spent with them were packed with activities. There was a meditation workshop, her regular Tuesday night Art class, a trip to the Botanic Gardens and a visit to Coombe Cottage- previously the Estate of Dame Nellie Melba. The scones there were excellent and the restaurant’s setting real cosy. 

Then I bunked at Melbourne Central YHA ready to rise bright and early for the the Overland train to Adelaide. 

By 7:30 I was up and waiting on the platform. Our departure was delayed due to track-work, but we soon regained what time we lost. The landscape was marked by sweeping fields of canola flowers, rolling hills and rugged terrain. The sudden appearance of ‘Stobie Poles’, an answer to the dearth of long and termite-resistant timber in SA, said we had truly left Victoria behind.

At Parklands station I met Mr and Mrs Paul and Dawn, dear old friends. Rewind eighteen years, and you’ll see two families happily hanging out together in Adelaide Hills. Return to the present day, and the sentiments remain the same.

For the first few days I hung out with Paul, Dawn and their daughter Lorinda. We visited the beach at Brighton, saw late artist Hans Heysen’s residence out at Hahndorf and most nights entertained ourselves with various movies such as Lars and the Real Girl and Top-Gear’s Polar Special.  A trip on the tram from Glenelg seemed customary, and come mid-week I was soon traipsing the Adelaide Markets, the War Memorial near Government House and visiting the Adelaide Museum. Lunch at Spaghetti Western seemed fitting too, particularly once I noticed a picture of John Wayne looking down at me all adorned in hanging pasta!

The last few days were out near Victor Harbor. Paul and Dawn’s middle son Steve lives there with his lovely wife and two charming children, so I spent the better part of three days visiting. As a Fireman, Steve works four days on, four days off so we managed to time my coming and going quite neatly. Laughter, music and plenty of good company- that’s what I recall best. 

My final Sunday went like a flash. My folks and I frequented a Baptist Church there years ago, so a visit seemed called for. Then I headed out to Clarence Park to meet for lunch with a girl whom I schooled with years ago. ‘What would you like?’ she asked. ‘Your choice,’ I said, and the resultant “experiment” was a Korean dish that proved to be a winner. 

So Adelaide, 2017? What a blast! Slightly dampened by the “funny throat” at the end, but that pales into insignificance when compared with the pros. Armed with pages of diary entries, dozens and dozens of photos and happy memories, who could ask for anything more?