Torrens River Day Out

We've been pretty lucky with our weather in SA & a stroll along the river's edge is just the thing to somewhat reconnect with nature. Check out all the creatures large & small we encountered along the way.

The day began with part of a cricket game. I'm still struggling with the rules, but at least it is similar to baseball. The largest difference is number of runs scored...we are talking hundreds for cricket & you know a dozen is pretty huge in b-ball.

Then we gazed at some baby swans...Cam thought they were pretty ugly, but still fluffy & lets face it most little things are just cute.

Then further upstream there was a turtle sun bathing/basking. A pelican came in for a closer view with a black bird in the background, I think another swan. Crazy that C was able to catch all 3 in one shot.


My absolute favorite animals were this band of duckies. There were over a dozen! Everyone was trying to count them & they just kept wandering & swimming and being lost or left behind. You could tell they were probably only a week old.

We ended our bike tour with a couple of lamas outside the prison. It was a furry end to a wonderful trip on the Torrens River.

FLASHBACK: Maquarie St. in Sydney

When C & I were still in Sydney before moving to Adelaide we went to a light festival that celebrated Macquarie. Beginning at the church, we also went to an early hospital, barricks, and other early buildings built by Macquarie at the beginning of the colony. These images really speak for themselves.


































Time keeps ticking, that's for sure.

FLASHBACK: SA into Victoria and back to NSW

Cam and I went from Burra, South Australia into Adelaide and then headed toward Victoria and back to New South Wales & Sydney. I'll cover all those miles in this post. Its a lot of mining, so hold on to your hats.

The first stop was Bremer Mine, a copper mine that operated between 1850-1875. Not much was left, except a stack and a powder house.


We stopped at a museum about the Chinese immigrants who primarily came to Victoria to mine gold in the 1800s. Much of their history has been erased from memory. Placards state how Europeans were the first discoverers of gold, when other more inclusive histories credit that task to the Chinese.


The museum & its contents were informative, and the architecture was monumental.


Back on the road, C & I stopped for a picnic & walk alongside this small creek. Undoubtedly, this small trickle may very well be completely bursting given the recent weather. Floods are spanning the entire eastern coast of Australia causing mind-boggling amounts of destruction.


We also stopped in Clune, Victoria where a huge book sale was underway. The town was very historic, although the width of main street pretty inconceivable.


One of the best parts of our ride was this strawberry & cream cow next to an information center. MMM, strawberries & cream.

Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Cam & I have done our 4th installment of Christmas Cards, and this one is tricky...Half of it is Cam & the other half is me. MANY people have guessed incorrectly, can you tell who is who? I'll post the answer in the New Year.

We are headed to Sydney for the holidays and I will have some more photos then. Lots has happened since the last post, you can imagine. We've been to Sydney 2X: to say Happy Naming day to Andia (our Goddaughter) and a conference in Batemans Bay (S of Sydney 5 hrs).
Here is a shot of Andia, daughter to Cam's twin Toby & Yalda that Cam took. They've moved to Chicago & are braving the winter madness!


We also went on a few hikes/adventures, saw a rodeo, worked, mailed out Christmas cards, and Cam traveled to central Australia to do some archaeology. The rodeo was very similar to seeing a county fair in Houghton, you get to see folks that you would never run into on a regular basis, including clowns. The skill to ride these animals & catch them is pretty great & the greasy food hit just the right spot on the damp evening.


Cam also got to go to the U2 concert with Steve in Sydney (I didn't know about the concert & had booked my flight home & thus was unable to see one of my favorite bands, grrrr). I am still so jealous, but at least I got to see Chicago all those times at Blossom.


Before signing off to bed, C & I have been working on photos in the dark. Our recent shot is taken in between beer & a movie on a Dec Friday night. We saw "The King's Speech" which I would highly recommend, probably on video. We took this shot trying to time the lighting just right for the long exposure. If you close your eyes, you can hear the crickets too. Have a great night & end to your 2010!

FLASHBACK: Burra - CU land

Burra was the home to a massive copper town in South Australia and responsible for saving the state. The Cornish were massively influential in its history, and were particularly responsible for building the engine houses like this one on the left. Burra in fact is the home to the most Cornish engine houses in one location, outside of Cornwall. At least that is what I think.



Cam took this picture of the bottom of one of the flues that would draw air through a huge underground system.

Because they were miners, many of the workers built their houses in the creek bed, into the hillside. These huts were built out of mud and timber and generally held up to working except for the floods. These 2 have been reconstructed for tours.

Burra, like many places in Australia, had a prison. Cam tried his hand at an escape. Did he succeed (well, you can probably guess)? Stayed tune to our next adventure back to Sydney.

FLASHBACK: Burra - CU Aussie Style

Leaving Broken Hill, we headed towards Adelaide & spent a bit of time in Peterborough and Burra.


Peterbourough had a number of trains that were around the town, preserved and standing strong. It was the location where one type of gauge of track changed to the other one (each colony had its own gauge). We had a spectacular lunch there.


Approaching Burra, we drove over the creek that had a tendency to flood from time to time. This photo contains some of the historic buildings included in the district that has state significance. There was hotel in Burra that we stayed at during a blackout where power was cut for a few hours. Everyone ended up at the bar, including us. Just like the old days.


While walking around on a historic tour in town, Cam snapped this photo for his Mom. We haven't yet printed it for her, but I think she'll see it here.


Coming from Houghton MI, Cameron & I really felt at home while passing through Burra. Even though we were a bit like the bloke in the middle (out of place).

Next post will be historic part of Burra including the mines!

I GOT A JOB - really!

Hey all,

This is going to be a short post, but the good news is I got a full-time job. I'm starting on Monday and hope to see a contract soon. The Unley Museum will be my home and as curator I'll be in charge of people visiting, opening the museum, and working with the local council.

Sorry for lack of photos, haven't spent 1 day there yet. More from flashbacks.

-E