Tag: South Australia
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FROM STREAKY TO BORDER VILLAGE
Padma and I slowed down our pace once we reached the Far West Coast of South Australia. We drove a mere 590 kms from Streaky Bay to Border Village on the SA/WA border as we didn’t want to miss the sights. From sheep grazing in sparse paddocks, to wide-open rangeland with no start or end, to the longest uninterrupted line of sea cliffs in the world and finally to a roadhouse with a giant kangaroo holding a jar of Vegemite. We detoured off the Eyre Highway to the Head of Bight…
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THE STREAKS OF STREAKY BAY
In 1802 Captain Matthew Flinders sailed into a bay on the current day South Australian coastline and noticed how the light reflecting off the seaweed created streaks in the water. He named the place Streaky Bay. After driving all day from Adelaide, Padma and I arrived at Streaky Bay as the sun was setting. We were welcomed with abundant streaks of colour on an evening when there wasn’t even a whisper of a breeze. We stretched our legs and walked out to the end of the jetty and watched the final…
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NORTH OF GOYDER’S LINE
Back in 1865 a surveyor known as George Goyder got on his horse and traversed 3200 kms across South Australia. When he got home he drew a line across the state. He figured to the south of his line farmers could get enough rainfall to allow them to grow crops. To the north, he felt it was just too prone to drought and you’d best stick to grazing animals. Just after Goyder drew his line, South Australia had ample rains and farmers said ‘bugger that line’ and started planting to the…
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THE SEA CHANGE. AUF WIEDERSEHEN ADELAIDE
A few years ago, Padma and I started talking about a sea change. Joseph was nearing the end of his high school days and that would present us with an opportunity to spice up our lives a bit … change our jobs, change homes, change something, change anything. We all reach a point in our lives when we need to re-evaluate the direction our lives have taken, we need to examine what our true values are and, if we’ve strayed from our ideals, we need to get back on course. I…
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THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Last Sunday morning, I felt like getting out in the woods and stretching the old legs with a good long bushwalk. The Cleland Conservation Park is just five minutes from our home and offers endless kilometres of quite challenging hiking trails. But as I drove past the Crafers bus stop and started driving up to Mt Lofty I was concerned that I was going to have plenty of company on the trails. Lots of people were getting off the bus carrying hiking sticks and water bottles and starting the trek up…
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TEMPRANILLO ARGENTINE STYLE
I was out on a morning bushwalk when the ping of an incoming SMS drew me out of my forest trance. ‘Estoy llevando Tempranillo y voy a moler como a las 10.30’. It was my Argentine friend, Martin, and he had just received 600 kilos of Tempranillo grapes and was about to crush them. I had asked Martin to let me know when he was going to crush so I could watch the processing. I had hoped for more than a two-hour notice … but that’s the wine industry. You don’t…
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MARTIN KICKS OFF VINTAGE 2017
Vintage 2017 has started in the Adelaide Hills so I headed out to the vineyards to make sure my favourite bubbly, the Mordrelle Wines Blanc de Blancs, was being picked to perfection under the demanding eye of my compañero, Martin Moran. Martin and I played softball on the Hahndorf Men’s team for several years but I could tell that when he was out there in left field his mind wasn’t focussed on catching fly balls. Martin was aspiring to be a winemaker. He had immigrated to Australia from Mendoza in Argentina’s…
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MY FRIEND LEVI
This is my friend Levi. He is perhaps the most outstanding young man I have ever met. He’s been visiting me once a month for more than two years now. He comes during the day with a colleague and knows I am busy at work so he never stays for long. Levi is soft spoken and humble yet very worldly and knowledgeable about life for a man of his age. He brings me some literature and we have a very nice discussion. No matter how busy I am I always find…
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JASMINE MEMORIES
Human beings have a remarkable ability to remember aromas. All of our senses can be connected with memories but perhaps none evoke nostalgia as much as smell. The olfactory bulb has easy access to a part of the brain known as the amygdala, which plays a role in evoking emotional memories. Yesterday I got a very, very heavy dose of nostalgia when I walked past the jasmine in our garden, which is in full bloom now that summer has arrived. It never fails … every time I get a whiff of…
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