Thulani in Adelaide - Day 6

Day 6 – 10 April 2010

There’s no place like home…

So Sunday rolled around and it was a rainy, grey, drizzly day – the perfect pyjama day!!

Daniel and Gavin made a spy headquarters out of the big box from our new bathroom vanity unit.  Of course Thulani was allowed inside to inspect.  Daniel liked the hidey hole so much that he settled inside with a pillow, blanket and his much loved dog, Snoozy Suzy and Ted Bear.

After the novelty of the box had worn off a bit, the boys showed Thulani some of their Lego. He seemed to particularly like the police station.

So after a pancake dinner (traditional weekend fare in this house), it was off for an early night, ready for school in the morning.  Thulani needed his rest too as he was due to leave us for his next family in Tasmania.  Happy travels Thulani!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 5

Day 5 – 9 April 2010

Something BIG!!

Australia is known for it’s big things. The big pineapple, the big banana, the big penguin, the big guitar, the big potato, the big prawn, the big croc, the big gumboot, the big koala, etc.  Have a look at http://www.amazingaustralia.com.au/bigthings.htm to see more big things.  So it only seemed fitting to take Thulani to see something big.

Gumeracha (pronounced Gum-u-rac-u) is a township set in the beautiful Torrens Valley region of the northern Adelaide Hills, 36 km north-east of Adelaide in South Australia.  Set in the rolling hills, the town is surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, orchards and farmland and is home to the big rocking horse.

We took Thulani to feed the kangaroos and wallabies (small kangaroo species). 

He even managed to pet a grey kangaroo who was enjoying the Autumn sun!

After all the excitement of the animals, Thulani strolled through the toy shop, having his picture taken with a number of Australian natives – wombat, koala, platypus, kangaroo and devil. 

He even hitched a ride in a kangaroo’s pouch! 

After an obligatory ride on a correctly sized rocking horse, Thulani joined us for a picnic tea before heading back home.  The windy road through the green hills was so similar to the Natal Midlands – it’s uncanny!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 4

Day 4 – 8 April 2010

School today…

Today Thulani popped into school / kindergarten with Daniel and Gavin.

Gavin (4) attends a kindergarten / child care centre that caters for children up to age 5.  Once they have turned 5 kids start school in the equivalent of Grade 0 (called Reception here).  This happens in the term after their birthday so Gavin will start school in October (Term 4) and will stay in Reception for five terms in total. 

This term the kindergarten children have been watching eggs hatch.  It has been fascinating and the poster accompanying the eggs shows each stage of the egg development.  Great from a scientific viewpoint but has seriously put me off eggs for a while!

The kindergarten is next door to Daniel’s school, Keithcot Farm Primary School. This is a public (government) school with about 600 students.  The school was built in a unique design of smaller buildings more like houses than school classrooms.  The reason for this is so that the facility is multi functional for the future.  For example, the school could easily be converted into an aged care facility if required.

Behind Keithcot Farm Primary School is a private school called Kings Baptist Grammar School that has classes for all 13 years of schooling.  Both Gavin and Daniel will be attending high school there. 

Adelaide schooling uses a unique system where government schools shares facilities with nearby private schools.  Often a government school will be built alongside a private one for this very purpose.  So Keithcot Primary shares a library, canteen, art centre and sports fields with Kings Baptist – a fabulous idea in my opinion.

So that’s the end of Thulani’s tour of schools.  Now home again with me for the more mundane (and undocumented) tasks of washing, coffee breaks, Oprah, etc.

Thulani in Adelaide - Day Three

Day 3 – 7 April 2010

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Today Thulani took part in an experiment.  Daniel and Gavin are very interested in science, particularly as their Dad (Stuart) is an electrical engineer. 

So since our lemon tree has produced madly this year (looks like the laundry grey water agrees with it), it seemed like just the right time to test the theory of making a battery out of a lemon.  The boys assembled all the necessary materials and Thulani had a front row seat.

With copper, nails, wires and a multi meter to test the theory, the experiment began.  Everyone was amazed to see that the lemon did in fact produce electricity – enough to power a calculator!!

More adventures tomorrow – see ya!

Thulani in Adelaide - Day Two

Day 2 – 6 April 2010

Dinner is Served!

Today Thulani enjoyed a traditional Aussie Sausage Sizzle. We had heard that he was DESPERATE for some meat!!  Leanne, Stuart, Daniel (6) and Gavin (4) kept him company outside on a fabulous Autumn evening. 

“We love to eat outside whenever we can and having a gas barbeque makes this a quick option when we don’t have to wait for the coals to be just right.” 

There’s less cleaning up too so Thulani didn’t have any chores to help with and could join the boys in the lounge room to watch one of their favourite shows, Scrapheap Challenge.

Then it was time for bath and bed as it’s a school night.  Sleep tight Thulani.

Thulani in Adelaide - Day 1

Day 1 – 5 April 2010

Thulani Arrives In Adelaide, Australia

 

Adelaide is a coastal city, the capital of South Australia, and the fifth-largest city in Australia. It is known as "The City of Churches". Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate where most of the rain falls in the winter months and summers are hot and dry.

The city was founded in 1836, not as a convict settlement, but as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia. Adelaide was designed in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland, making it one of the most planned cities in Australia.  For these reasons it is a fabulous place to live, easy to get around, with plenty of scrupulously clean parks and open spaces. It is relatively low rise compared to other cities and reminds us a lot of Pietermaritzburg from an architecture point of view.

On the sporting front, Adelaide hosts the Tour Down Under bicycle race, the largest cycling event outside Europe and the first event outside Europe with UCI ProTour status.

Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals - Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Adelaide Festival of Ideas, Adelaide Writers' Week and WOMADelaide to name a few - its food, wine and culture, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors – we build cars J. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010.