Hahndorf in the Rain

During my earlier posts, I forgot to write about our trip to Hahndorf last Saturday. Hahndorf is a little German town in the hills east of Adelaide (point A).

It's fall here, so the streets were lined with yellow trees, and naturally it was pouring rain. Once we got there, we actually went into a place that had a wood stove burning for a coffee to warm up! The town was nice, but we didn't really walk around because of the rain. I'll definitely go back in better weather. (Disclaimer: the storm wasn't that bad by Canadian standards, but they closed down one of the piers on the beach because of storm damage)

Next we stopped at Beerenburg Farms, which is a place that makes jams and sauces. Pretty nice, but we were disappointed by the lack of free samples.

Our final destination was Chain of Ponds Winery (point B on the map). After a lot of windy roads (and me switching to the front seat because I get carsick) we finally made it. The drive was really beautiful, but no pictures, sorry. I've never been to a vineyard or a wine tasting before, but I'll certainly go to more! The property was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately these are the only pictures I have, but they don't do it justice.

After delicious food and wine, and another warm fire, we headed home.

Another picture I forgot that I took was the sunset on day 1.

And here are some pictures Ryan sent me from his work on the rig:

Now What?

After a week of hard work dealing with properties, banks, phone, internet, gas, electricity, and watching the full first season of 30 Rock, I'm not really sure what to do with myself.  Luckily tomorrow's Saturday so Kelsey and I are going shopping!  I've got a whole house to furnish!

Walked 40 minutes to a Salvation Army today...turns out they don't sell furniture at that location. 

I think on Monday I will start applying for jobs.  You all know me...I can't sit still for long.

Reality Sets In

Since this is not technically a vacation, by day 2 reality sort of set in...we actually have to live here. This means that we have to take care of all of the boring stuff: banking, phones, grocery shopping, finding a place to live… I won't bore you with all of the details, except for our adventures in finding an apartment.

On Day 1 we had already set up a viewing to see an amazing place right on the beach. It was beautiful and we did everything possible to get it. Justin warned us that the market was tough, so not to get our hopes up on the first place we saw. So, after that we went to a few more open houses and submitted some more applications. A few days later we saw another great place right down the street from Justin and Kelsey. The two places couldn't have been more different. The second one was actually a house with a yard, but a 10 minute walk to the beach. We loved it though, so we submitted the application.

Meanwhile….

Ryan met with Euro, the exploration contracting company who hired him. They were happy he made it and wanted him out in the field right away. After only being here for 4 days, he was off to work for 2 weeks. He's about a 5 hour drive (I think) North-East of Adelaide near a town called Broken Hill.

I haven't really heard from him much since he left, so I can't really tell you how he's doing. He told me "the rest of the country is really beautiful" and "there are tons of emus here" via text message, so that will have to do for now!

Back in Henley Beach…

I was eagerly awaiting phone calls from our two favourite places. Whichever one accepted us we were going to take. That is, until they both did! After much debate, we decided to go with the house because it was closer to a grocery store and to Justin and Kelsey. Also, it had a covered area in the yard so I can have a BBQ! Here are 2 pictures. More to follow once it is furnished. It's not as big as it looks.

So, there you go, officially one week since our arrival date, and I have keys to a house. Turns out the housing market has crashed here recently and they are having a much harder time renting and selling places. Either way, one week is pretty impressive if I do say so myself!

Off to a Good Start

Well, we made it.  After a surprisingly easy (and nauseating) 28 hour flight, we arrived in Adelaide.

For those of you who don't know, Ryan and I are staying with friends in Adelaide.  Justin and Ryan met a few years ago in school, and he married a fellow geologist name Kelsey.  If you're counting...I now live with 3 geologists. 

One of the first things Justin told us while walking through the airport parking lot: 

This is a "ute" (like "utility vehicle")  and they're everywhere!  Commonly seen parked on lawns…. 

Anyways, Justin and Kelsey live in a great suburb called Henley Beach, and they're a 10 minute walk from the beach.  We obviously went there first! 

(Don't be fooled by this picture.  This was the only warm day we have had so far.  I've been freezing in hoodies and long johns every day, and had to go buy slippers!)

Other than the beach, the next best thing about this place is Justin's cooking.  Seeing as I'm a Wasylyk, that's saying a lot!  Oh, and did I mention they have an orange tree and a lemon tree in their backyard??