"All right me old mucka", "I've had a look at your blog and it's pretentious crap" says my Aussie mate Jason in a way of a greeting. I knew there was a reason I'd stayed a week longer than I'd liked in the Adelaide area. Staying here just to meet up with him and welcome him home. Giving up his job, car and house to return to his hometown means he's in the 'same, same but different' position to me.
Arriving in Adelaide on a Sunday afternoon before my mate arrives, i discover Adelaide is dead. My hostel is full though and I'm lucky to get the last bed. It's full as it's the Australasian masters games - an excuse for Australians to show off. Be thankful Europe isn't closer, although perhaps i should mention that England just beat Australia in the rugby...again. :-)
It's a strange sight to see a hostel full of a noisy, boisterous, snoring older generation - i feel young for once. Perhaps Adelaide isn't dead...just old.
Me old mucka becomes a generous and considerate friend who thinks his recently obtained 4 litre car is perfectly acceptable, and who am i to argue when it's driving me round the sights. One of which is his families house boat on the Murray river. If you're not familiar with Aussie house boats, then picture that nice detached house down the road, double its size, plonk it on water, stick a hot tub on the top and a BBQ on the back, and the 34t beast becomes a dreamboat. I particularly enjoyed the storks and kites passing outside, getting stuck in the mud in the very low water and having to get out and push (seriously), nearly crashing the boat into a tree in the strong winds and having a surreal hot tub experience with the family. Cream cakes, red wine and good company helped too.
I had my thirty cough birthday here - my 4th while travelling and 2nd on this trip. Australians are a strange bunch in that they are apparently a fit, outdoor type and yet they are obsessed with gambling, drinking, eating and watching sport. I combine all of these by going to the races at the strangely familiar sounding Cheltenham racecourse. Losing money, drinking tiny schooners (but lots of them), eating rubbish and shouting at the horses - see i could be Australian. More beers, more bets - you can even do it in the pub, half-a-dozen large fresh oysters, more beer, a Mexican, and more beers...i felt great. Alas I've discovered Adelaide is full of freaks the last few days, and we meet 2 of them tonight. A girl who can barely stand but can call Jason a pill popping, drugged-up, unemployed waste of space who needs to pull his socks up...surprisingly Jas just smiles and takes it and I'm the one that doesn't. I thought i was the chilled one, but i got quite defensive and mean, and she was too drunk to notice! We're then joined by her 'love-buddy' (read between thye lines) of a friend, who's "6 foot and bullet proof", who drives a train a mile long and likes to sing Robbie Williams to us:
"I have no GIRLfriend"
I think you had to have been there...it made me cry until it hurt. Fortunately we were rescued by 3 of Jason's girl friends. More beers, yoga bombs (don't ask), laughs and a hand shake from my taxi driver end my night...i still have to check into my hostel though...
Glenelg, which has really grown on me, a nice botanic garden, a national wine centre, a small town feel, wide clean streets, Warrawong park - no platypus :-( lots of red wine, a great hostel, Jason and his nice friends and family. yup, I'm glad i stayed around for me old mucka...it's given me more pretentious crap to write about.
