Christmas Down under

How ya goin'? This is the greeting we get everywhere in the Riverland! "Good, thanks" is the usual response.

We are starting to settle in a bit now and feel that the river is definately the heart of the town and we are lucky to only be a few minutes walk away from it. Many leisure boats cruise up and down the river and at the nearby "town" of Paringa the bridge opens twice a day to let through large houseboats:

We're hoping to be moving at the beginning of Feb when our stuff arrives from the UK. We have seen a house that we like and it's very close to where we are currently. See this link to have a look: http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&gs_upl=363l5644l0l6026l22l16l1l0l0l1l1223l6769l4-1.3.3.2l10l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1366&bih=673&wrapid=tlif132529585324410&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Tower+tavern+renmark&fb=1&gl=au&hq=Tower+tavern&hnear=0x6ac12b90760b3ec7:0x5033654628efc30,Renmark+SA&cid=0,0,17140514514739380181&ei=82j-Ts-MEOGTiQe_rNncBQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CAsQ_BI It's a couple of minutes to the river, about 15 minutes from my work and school (walking). It's tough to walk anywhere at the moment though as the sun is very strong and hot. They've forecast 42C on Wednesday which is hot! I think the other seasons (Autumn, Winter and Spring) will be a bit easier to manage. From the house about 5 minutes walk away is the Tower Tavern http://www.renmarkhotel.com.au/tower_tavern.htm which has a lovely outdoor decked area we can view the river from.

For Christmas we went to my bosses house and were privileged to join his family and friends for Christmas. The morning started on the river where Alex and Imogen got to sample the "donut"

Afterwards we went to Jonathan and Becky's house.

On Boxing Day we travelled to Adelaide, going via the Barossa Valley which is famed for it's wine with the likes of Jacob's Creek and Penfolds. It was very beautiful.

In Adelaide we visited the nearest sea-side which is Glenelg which was a bit breezy but warm and generally looked round Adelaide visiting the Botanic Gardens. Alex comandeered Trevor's camera and showed some promise!

On the Wednesday after Christmas we decided to explore the waterways a bit more by canoe/kayak and were lucky enough to see a couple of koalas!

Alex has been trying his luck at fishing and has caught shrimps and european carp so far. The Carp are considered a pest and cannot be returned to the river alive - so hard luck them!

Well, it's now New Years Eve and we will celebrate with a curry and some bubbly, possibly a venture into town where there is a fair.

It just remains for the Lancasters to wish everyone: 

A Very Prosperous and Happy 2012