After 2 weeks in Adelaide it is time to move on. Friday the 4th of January at 2:10 pm we board a Fokker 100 for the 3 and a half hour flight to Perth in Western Australia where we will spend a week before heading back to winter cold and darkness.
Our time in Adelaide has been wonderful. Fantastic weather, only one day over 40°C, fabulous beaches, great times catching up with family and friends, and beautiful scenic vistas from “the farm” on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
On New Year’s Day we drove the Fleurieu Peninsula (love that name!) to check out the Talisker Mine near Silverton, a silver and lead mine from the mid-eighteen hundreds. Big holes and slag heaps and old ruins in the middle of the bush in the middle of nowhere. Hard to imagine how anyone found anything here in the first place. Took a look at Second Valley, a spectacular coastal township with fantastic views of the cliffs along the coast. It has been quite sleepy when I have been here previously with a caravan park and a few holiday homes but now it seems to have been discovered by tourists as it was packed with people. The views are still magnificent.
Caught up with some friends from design school days nearly 40 years ago at Ken’s summer house in Port Elliot. Met up with Ken G, John K, and John P. Shared memories, life experiences and thoughts on design and life in general. Amazing how it feels like we’re just picking up the conversation again from the last time we met. Truth be known I think we have changed more than we believe. Perhaps we have become more concentrated versions of parts of ourselves as prejudices take root and beliefs become creeds.
The last day before leaving we caught up with John T and Jill for breakfast in downtown Adelaide. It was to be the hottest day in Adelaide and the temperature hit 42°C in the early afternoon. Went down to Brighton Beach to cool off. The Aussies keep out of the sun this time of the year so it was not very crowded. In the evening we had a BBQ with my sister Jeanette and her boys, our last major family get together for awhile.
