Mount Lofty

A couple of pictures from Mount Lofty this Saturday. This is a hill just outside of Adelaide. It's not really much bigger than Scolty, taking about an hour to get to the summit. The one of me is at Waterfall Gully at the bottom. Danny, is my friend from the gym, and he is kindly illustrating that there was a big white monument at the top of the hill. But I can't remember what it was there for! I reckon the sun addles my brain! The other picture is Danny doing his best 'Dirty Dancing' impersonation, walking along a log.

A couple more pictures from Perth

So Perth's a bit beautiful, isn't it..?

Had a great time. Was there for Australia Day, our national holiday. Tried to have as stereotypically an Aussie Day as possible. Started well with re-runs of Home and Away. Went to the pub for lunch and had lots of champagne and margheritas. Followed by a swim in the pool and then down to the shore to watch the fireworks. Didgeridoos were playing in the background as the fireworks went off!

This weekend is a quiet one. The next weekend is Melbourne!

Some piccies of Perth

I am wondering if $3.50 is too much to spend on a can of Irn Bru?

Had a good weekend in Normanville, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide. No photos still I'm afraid, due to my camera being with the manufacturer for repairs. Stayed in the time share dad had got. See his blog for link. It was about 5mins from the beach and on a big golf course (surprise!). But it was lovely. We used the outdoor pool and went to the beach despite it being a bit chilly: 24 degrees!

On Sunday went to McLaren Vale, in between Normanville and Adelaide, to a few of the wineries. Went to one called Woodstock for lunch. http://www.woodstockwine.com.au/ I had squid stuffed with pistachio and lime cous cous, and of course a few glasses of wine. They had a jazz band playing while we were there. So it was all very civilised, darling! Ha! A bit of a change from 10years ago, going to raves and drinking cheap, white cider! :)

Back to Adelaide this week where the Tour Down Under is on. It's the Australian version of the Tour de France. The only famous cyclist I know is here... Lance Armstrong. I am going to try and go down to watch one of the legs this week.

Thinking about booking some tickets for some of the Adelaide Fringe festival http://tix.adelaidefringe.com.au/ticketing/home.aspx. It's promoted as the second biggest in the world after the Edinburgh one. The comedian Ross Noble (from the UK) is doing a few shows, so I might try and go and see him.

Away to Perth on Saturday for 5 days. Am going to see Sophie. It's a National Holiday on Tuesday; Australia Day.

We re having another heat wave here at the moment. Someone at work told me that they define a heat wave by 35 degrees plus for 5 or more days in a row.

Yesterday it was 39... and today, tomorrow and Monday it is due to be 41! Ouch!

After a long, sweaty day at work yesterday I went swimming with a friend at this beach pictured. I was swimming just to the left of this jetty. We were in the water til the sunset. It was really beautiful. This beach is called Semaphore and is about 20mins from my house.

Just to add a bit of pressure Gary, I have to change my flights in the next few weeks, so the sooner you and Carole can let me know when to come home the better. I am also just about to book a holiday to Bali, so it would be great to know your dates before I do that. Just to make sure they don't clash.

Today I went dragon boat racing for the first time. The picture of the boat is not us(!) but is here for illustrative purposes only! I had a good time, so I will probably go back.

The other picture is of the Murray River. I went waterski-ing on this river after with one of the guys I met from the gym.

Congratulations Gary and Carole. That's great news! I agree with Lucy, can someone Skype me please...?!! I have so many questions to ask...! How long do I have to get a hat...?

New Year's Eve was fun. Went out for drinks in Adelaide. It had been a scorcher of a day-40degrees. But it turned into a nice evening. On New Year's Day it was a bit cooler, about 33, and I went to the beach with a friend and swam in the sea. Last New Year I did the 'looney dip' in Cornwall. Slight difference in temperature in water temperature from there!

I've attached a picture of a spider. This is like the one I have just annihilated in the bathroom. I have been smashing to smithereens every spider I see. I'm not sure which ones are dangerous or not. But after consulting an Ozzie friend, he tells me that the red backs are really dangerous. So I did well to wipe out this one!