welshpom

G'day all.

I posted (via usenet) to the immigration forum earlier today a tale of whale spotting in South Australia, and was invited over to the 'culture' section.
I'm not a fan of web forums, I prefer usenet, but what the hell, there doesn't seem to be a good post-emigrating newsgroup.

So here I am. Registered and logged in.

I came out to Aus in mid May (timeline ID 'robh'), on an investment linked business visa.

I saw my first Southern Right Whale earlier today. Finally!, this is supposed to be Whale-central, but the whales are on a go-slow this year.

I'm in Goolwa - where the Murray meets the sea. Here we've got Australia's largest freshwater lake, the salt-water Coorong, and of course the Southern Ocean, all within walking or sailing distance of each other. I guess that's why the local marina on Hindmarsh Island has recently been voted Australia's best.

I wrote up some observations and tips in the first few weeks out here (http://www.hartill.net/Aus/tips.html).

Fire away with any questions or comments. It's winter out here, so the evenings are cool and dark - so much time is spent indoors right now, and I prefer the computer to the crappy Aus tv.

That's enough for my first post.

Enjoy your summer in the UK!

mika24me

Hiya

just read the info on your link. I am also moving to South Australia, and most of what you wrote was just what I would have expected. Thanks for taking the time to write it all up, it is always useful to read someone else's persepctive.

The only thing that gave me a bit of a shock was your comment about most parks not allowing dogs. I did know that some parks are "dog friendly" and some are not, but I had believed this was a 50:50 split.

Do you know approx what the correct ratio is?

Mel

welshpom

Ok, we're talking conservation parks (CPs), now. The Fleurieu Peninsular brochure lists about 10 CPs and only one allows dogs. I can't comment on other regions, but would assume the same kind of ratio.

There are other places to take dogs - e.g the beach. I haven't seen a beach yet that bans dogs, though they all insist on them being on a lead (which everyone ignores as long as the dog doesn't pester other beach users).

Dunno about parks such as the Adelaide's famous inner-city parks. All I've ever done in Adelaide is shop and bank so far.
My guess is that those parks allow dogs on leads.

30 mins south of Adelaide is Kuitpo forest. That's vast and open for dogs, horses, mountain bikes, the lot. They don't insist on dogs being on a lead, but do insist on dogs being under control.

It's a shame, I'd love to see more of the CPs, but now that the pouch is here, I guess I won't see them for some time.

The ban on dogs in CPs is for the protection of native animals.

rob

mika24me

Thanks for your reply, that makes more sense now

Do you live far from Adelaide? My hubby, dog and myself are hoping to live within everyday travelling distance from Adelaide so that work is not a problem. Can you suggest any nice areas?

Mel

welshpom

Despite what the locals say, Adelaide isn't a "big country town", it's a sprawling city. Okay so it's not as big as Sydney and Melbourne, but it's still big. To get from say the outter suburbs to the CBD during rush hour would take maybe 40 minutes. From where I am it'd take nearer 90. An hour outside of rush hour. Though I would not recommend commuting from the Fleurieu, even though many people do just that.

I can't offer much help on which areas are nice because all I do is drive straight through or around most of them. Public transport looks good, but I haven't tried it.

On the edge of the southern suburbs is a seaside area called Seaford, which looks nice. Inland you could even consider McLaren Vale - a famous wine region.

If you like the country feel, look at Mt Barker.

I would recommend getting out as far from the CBD as possible, unless city life is what you crave.

Oh, and there does seem to be more stuff to do/see south of the city than north of it.

mr mover

nice spot goolwa , the nephew lives just off beach road, about 1/2 a km off the beach . we try to visit ,but mainly in the spring or summer, when you can go surfing or hire a jet ski...... MM

whisky

Welcome to the forum Welshpom,
I think that you will find this a little different to any other forum you have been in, and I am sure you will enjoy it. There aren't many topics on here that have been missed. Most of us are friendly, though some of the threads can get a bit heated at times.
Enjoy your time on here, and let us have any tips or info you may think will be of use.

Whisky

gdcollectables

Hi Rob

thank you so much for taking the time to write your findings, feelings and information.

We really enjoyed your photos too!

Would love to see any whales, when you meet them and look forward to seeing them for ourselves soon!

Please keep the updates coming, we have an unquenchable thirst here in the UK!

Juleigh:PARTY: