There have been many times in my life when I have felt small. Waving at my mum while grudgingly playing the role of shepherd in my first and only nativity play while learning to dislike primary school for example, or realising that the letters HP on the brown sauce bottle (mmm…with crispy bacon on a hot buttered muffin: deep joy) really did stand for the Houses of Parliament. ‘Oh Lord, please swallow me up now while Phil Collins is singing!’

On reflection however, all of these memories pale into insignificance when placed alongside the awesome feeling felt as the diminishing waves of the Southern Ocean lapped over my ankles on an empty early morning beach in Adelaide which, although only days back, seems already distanced into some pleasant, delicate memory from some other life.

Now before heads are scratched and questions about the effects of the lack of hard, mind-bending prescription chemicals are asked, I can assure you all that the above mentioned life experience is something I am only beginning to acknowledge now as the jetlag ebbs and the last of the ironing from our recent validation trip is stored away.

Of course, we had heard the phrase ‘big sky’ mentioned many times in relation to traveling in Australia, but I can only describe this combination of beach, sea and sky as coaxing within me a feeling of splendid isolation when considering the reality of the next stop South being Antarctica.

It was at this point then, that I realised that all the stress around visa planning, posting, waiting, booking, flying and transit unfamiliarity’s had dissolved into the surf, and the realisation that we had arrived safe and well in Adelaide was confirmed by the umpteenth person saying good morning while walking their dogs before the sand became hot and another day at work beckoned.

I suppose this is the first lasting impression I have of our arrival in Adelaide for what was to be a brief stay of twelve days (and if you want my advice, go for a month for validation). Looking back, it is clear now that the manner of all things Adelaide doesn’t wrap you up in bunting with the thrill of it all straight away - the lack of ceremony when your passport is stamped is the first example of this change of pace, expectation and expression - but rather that the place slowly seeps into you until you either surrender and stay, or leave.

The first week then, was spent overcoming jetlag while simultaneously attempting to cope with funny money and the large number of polite people we encountered. Coming from the UK, where people walk around shaped like question marks against bracing North East breezes, dealing with politeness seemed almost surreal. Now I know that this simple social grace is not automatically attributed to an entire population just because they live where Kangaroos and Wombats do, but the people we met (even the sellers of the BIG ISSUE), were unerringly polite.

The beaches we visited we were also full of surprises…no I don’t mean bits of soggy bog roll or discarded condoms, but the precise opposite – oh and for the record, one morning we were greeted by a little gang of dolphins tipping their fins close enough to the shoreline to seduce even the most miserable looking buggar on Earth into a broad smile (I vote Gordon Brown…but hey that’s me being me).

Drive South from Glenelg and its frozen chips with modest sized butterfish and tasteless pizzas and the beaches stretch out as do recognisable landmarks and before you know it you are in the middle of relentless nothingness. Miles and miles and endless miles of open space, the like of which leaves you thinking that your eyes need adjusting like a new television set does when plugged in for the first time. We did incidentally, try the specials from the place that is also a popular tap room pub game, and were only impressed by the liberal sprinklings of oregano making the pizza resemble a mixed up identi-kit thug as opposed to the taste of the thing.

Now then, television (or rather what is on the television)... It comes as no surprise that the emphasis on the Australian way life is the outdoor life and rounded by socialising via the medium of BBQ’s. The telly is just so crap. I did however, feel duty bound to watch it, as a boy would feel duty bound to pick his nose when told not to, or a man would persist in pressing a sore tooth. Ok, I hear you thinking, 'But everyone here knows that the telly is crap'. The difference now I suppose, is knowing why.

I would like now to take this opportunity to thank all those who we had contact with while over there on our brief stay and to all those whose kind offers we could not honour in such a short time. Oh, and before I forget, I apologise now for the mix up with the meet thing at Glenelg...I think that I had a momentary lapse of Pink Floyd (if you know what I mean). Anyroad, you all know who you are, so no name dropping is necessary I feel, but it was good to meet with people who had made the move and for their candid honesty in all things South Australian. I think moving to start from scratch takes great courage, and is so much more than the stamp in a passport or the inviting of people to sit and admire your lawn sprinklers as the early evening sun drifts out of view. So we were encouraged to hear no-one say that they were living the dream. I think that in the unlikely event of someone saying this, I would have been looking for the long bulbous red shoes and twirly bow tie, and would not have shook hands with anyone with a big white gob...

I cannot however get away with typing this without saying thank you to Debbie and Gavin off adbrits for all their help and support and tortor for the provision of a car seat which we most definitely needed, Thank You x.

Needless to say there were BBQ's and the warm and friendly way we were received was only pipped at the post by the way our young uns grew in confidence as they spent time with the other kids they met, dressing up, hiding and chasing themselves into an early nights sleep (ah yes I hear you say...a perfect opportunity to sit out under the stars with a glass of chilled wine to identify Orion while providing food for the indigenous mozzie population).

Once we had our bearings, we headed for the Marion centre to see what all that air-conditioned fuss was about. For those of you who are not familiar with the Marion centre, it is the Adelaidian equivalent of the Trafford Centre near Manchester. There are some quite surprisingly good fast food counters in the food court, the Italian counter served up a mean toasted foccachia filled with succulent vegetables and meaty mushrooms. Ok so I'm hungry and my pupils have just dilated at the thought. The shops seem comparable with those here in the UK, and with the added attraction of several deli counters and so on...kind of like a shopping centre with the outside market moved indoors. Here we had a field day counting the number of people with limps or wearing clothes that would have graced the aisles at C+A twenty-five years ago. It reminded the jetlagged me somewhat of the cult Romero classic but without the muzac and hairy bikers...

Drive North past the Airport and into the clear mountain air of Mt Lofty and a different aspect of Adelaide unfolds around the tight bends and brown earth hidden beneath the lush green canopy of gum (and many other species) of trees. As we made our way to Cleeland Park to feed the lazy Roos and stroke the eucalyptus leaf munching Koalas, we began to realise that the place isn't half bad really.

To decide to go and live in Adelaide though, we felt that we had to return from the clean air to the UK. To sit in traffic again, or look at all the litter as it made its way to nowhere, or listen to the peculiar news that the last hose pipe ban had been lifted or indeed the latest paedophile scandal. All of which leaves me metaphorically scratching my head when this apparent grimness is counterbalanced by the thought of South Australia’s seeming lack of astute water conservation planning. I am still trying to get my head around how moving lock, stock and Vinnie Jones is such a desirable prospect when the lack of water is such a pertinent issue yet to be fundamentally resolved?

Selling and moving in this context therefore, seems in some ways a bizarre decision to make…

Adelaide as a city however, we found to be beautifully presented. I did not find the driving difficult, or the drivers rude (even though I had been told this), but then, I have driven around Naples, Italy, and that takes some beating (if you know what I mean!). Adelaide is impressive in its simple layout and the rows of tall modern business structures are quaintly punctuated by pristine churches and the many varied styles of clean, bold architecture.

The City Zoo and botanical gardens are also worth the visit. While strolling the trim surroundings, the feeling that we could one day call this place home, was more like a persistent thought, rather than a spoken commitment.

It seems that in writing this account, I have not really mentioned much about the day to day stuff…for example, the price of fish or the range of beers. Suffice to say that relatively speaking, you could buy most things that you can easily get here in the UK, but not with the luxury of the extended shopping hours. Bar culture is not present as known in the UK, although the beer is plentiful and available from the many drive through liquor outlets: ‘G’day mate’.

All in all then, we enjoyed the experience (and that includes the trips out from the transit lounge into Singapore Centre, where the massive population per hectare provides much cheap labour and the emphasis on Feng Shui seems solely based on commercial, and not spiritual matters).

What we know now is that we have several years with which to make our minds up, and intend making full use of this time. I understand that things move on and prices change and all that stuff, but now that the passports are stamped, the real thinking can begin. I also acknowledge that some reading this will think, ‘they won’t come,’ or ‘what is there to think about?’ I guess then that this is simply what makes us all different to one another, and in life, I feel that we all take our own time to figure relationships with places as well as people, and this is what we find ourselves doing now, as the kettle bubbles to the boil and early hints of Spring touch the lawn outside to reveal the slim yellow unfolded curves of daffodil heads preparing to flourish one more time.

So…

Best of luck to you all wherever you complete your journey in life, and I wish for you that the decisions you make are the best for you, as I hope that on reading this, you will wish for us as we grow…

Lovely piece of writing Gonga!

And as for planning for water in Adelaide - it was fantastically planned.... in the Victorian era. All our major dams date from then - and it is only now that they are becoming overloaded! A fantastic piece of work on the part of our Victorian forbears! But it doesn't say much for anything that has happened since, does it :unsure:

That was great Gonga - and very well observed. We've lived here since October and you really captured the place perfectly.

I've had several of those 'Wow' moments. Not the hyper-excited ones but the quiet, 'this really is quality of life' ones:

looking out the window at a level crossing in Belair with a koala looking straight at me;
petting a rhino at Monarto;
sitting in a friend's pool in Stonyfell, overlooking the city;
standing in the sea at Brighton, watching the sun set;
playing softball with friends in a park after a barbeque;
shooing lizards out of the garage;
making lemonade with fruit from the garden.

I could go on and on, and I have.

Whatever you decide in the future, will be right for you.

Nessa