Now that we have settled into Adelaide, we are beginning to explore some areas around the cute little city centre. Our relatives here have been really generous with their cars and their time, taking us to local sites and attractions.
Only Known External Usages of the Dawkins Surname: Atheism, the NFL, and...Adelaide!?
We have hit the beach several times, and are sure to be spending even more time there as it warms up. While white sand runs along the western edge of city, this 30km stretch is divided into little communities that are fun to visit. From Henley Beach in the north to Brighton in the south, there are many spots to drink, read, and soak-up this harmfully strong South Australian sun. We have also wandered through Glenelg, which is the largest of these beach towns.
Our cousins took us to Hahndorf last week. Located in the Adelaide Hills, a half-hour outside of town, this quaint village was settled by Prussian Lutherans in the late 1830s who were lured by the warm weather and cheap land. At this time, Australia had not yet established large-scale agricultural developments, so the majority of settlers in and around Hahndorf were Prussian/German farmers. This nineteenth-century German heritage is evident to this day, with the city's fachwerk buildings still being used and German beer featured in most pubs and restaurants. We also learned about two new foods, which are popular up in Hahndorf: the kransky and the beesting cake (or bienenstich cake). We didn't spend a huge amount of time here...just long enough for a beer, a kransky, and a pleasant walk down the village's main (and only) commercial street.
The Rubbish Bin Says it All
Our aunt and uncle also took us to the Cleland Wildlife Park this week. Although we have been in Australia for over one month, we have not seen as many kangaroos, koalas, and kookaburras as we thought we would have seen by now. After we mentioned this, we were promptly taken up into the hills, to Cleland. Using open-air divisions instead of compartmentalized enclosures, Cleland allows visitors to interact with many of Australia's famous, furry, and feathered creatures. While Kate loved patting and talking to Stephen the Koala, I was enamored of the wallabies. I was expecting kangaroos and wallabies to be skittish and grumpy, but these particular marsupials were calm and extremely tame. As my aunt Cathy said, wallabies "filled the deer niche in Australia" and this observation really rang true. However, a deer from back home in BC would never let you hand-feed it and scratch its belly. We also saw wombats, bandicoots, Tasmanian Devils, and purebred dingoes. Oh, one more thing...emus suck.
I Want a Pet Wallaby!
Stephen Wasn't As Smelly As We Thought He Would Be
"I Don't Want Your Food, and I Don't Need Your Food!"
In other news, we finally scored jobs! After applying for dozens of positions - ranging from Retirement Home Cleaner to Catholic School Librarian to Dog Washer - and feeling as if we had been blacklisted due to our Working Holiday Visas, we were both offered positions as Pizza Makers. This is no Pizza Hut position...we create personal-sized, pre-packaged pizzas for a company that is affiliated with South Australia's massive and ubiquitous baker, Vilis. While it is a tedious processing position (we create 700 pizzas per day!), it has its perks: shifts are 10am-2pm, we get discounted pizzas, the workplace is fairly close to home, we get to work together, and it pays $19 per hour. The owner was really nice regarding our Visas and said that he doesn't expect backpackers to hang around too long...he'll hire them as long as they work hard while they are in town. That's us!
A Pie Floater from Vilis Cafe...Yum?
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