PART THREE- THE EXPAT STORY

G’day! My hopes are that you’ve now had a chance to read though part one and two of this series documenting our expat life in South Australia. Here on this (very delayed part three) I am going to emerce you a bit with Aussie world, what fun things we did and learned from the Australian folks.

Life as an Australian can be very similar to what most coastal people live like around the world. 85% of Australians live within in 50k of the coast. So of course their lifestyle will mimic a typical “beach life.” As most of us are familiar, some of the best surfing in the world is off the coasts of Australia, some of the best diving, snorkeling and fishing as well, but that’s a given right? So I’d like to tell you more of the experiences we had that maybe aren’t as well known. What to do inland, in the cities, and “the bush” {woods} – as well as the in the ins and outs of the food/ social culture. Dive in and take notes, this is how you get the most out of living/ touring down under.

Camping. Aussies are the world champs of camping, car camping to be more specific. I don’t mean throwing a sleeping bag in the Yute (SUV) and call it good. Im talking loaded up, awnings, tents and ladders built into the car and roof racks. Camper vans loaded to the gills with gear fit for all terrain and weather. It’s next level, I’d never seen anything like it. They are ready at a drop of a hat to hit the road, especially the 4wd vehicles they could just get lost in the bush, in the most remote nooks of the country. Most importantly being lifted off the ground in most cases, you’re not having to worry about snakes and spiders (and whatever else may be lurking around). We dabbled a bit in camping, but still had a lot to learn, not to mention a ton more of equipment needed. The truadional rv/ camping sites were pretty great for children, especially. Most were complete with playgrounds, jumping pillows, some even had splash parks and cabin rentals. The one downside I will say of Aussie camping is the “booking” necessity. You really have to book out weeks if not months ahead for camp spots. Especially the really desirable unique locations. Which was hard for us, we are more of the last minute fly by the seat of our pants type. So we didn’t get in as much camping as we would have liked.

Cuisine: You all know by now this is a big deal for me. This is what we do for fun on the weekends, we love to explore new towns and snack our way through the day. To be honest, the food options were not my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, downtown Adelaide had some really yummy, posh restaurants. You could find great Asian cuisine in China town, classic seafood restaurants in the beach towns, and decent “Australian” cuisine in most places– though, i’m still not entirely sure what that is even. Pizza? Schnitzel? Both are very much beloved. Wood fire pizza can be found at nearly every restaurant, always a good choice if you can’t decide. Schnitty as they say, typically found in Germany, is pounded out chicken breast (or any meat) slightly breaded then baked. Certainly it’s not bad, it’s not game changing either. What we’re looking for was more of the family friendly, casual-quirky spots with different options of food — which just isn’t really a thing. Its more cafe culture if you will. With simple menus typically all offering the same few menu items. The closest thing they have to a bar and grill is what they call a hotel, not to be confused with an actual hotel. They don’t offer rooms 😉. We found some “hotels” to be really great, with a variety of options to suit everyone, shout out to Gilbert Street Hotel, a fan favorite of the p8 team.

Restaurant service is also something to be aware of. Most services are pay as you go. Typically you would order at the bar rather than your table, close out your tab then find a seat. They will never leave your tab open, bar or restaurant. Most of the time they will bring out your food and drinks, but anything more than that you will have to go back to the bar and order. If they do offer table service, be mindful. They will greet your table, take your order, and cash you out. A one time deal. Refills, a second drink, dessert, are all things you generally have to go back to the bar for. It can also be confusing which service they offer, its best to ask if its “table service.” when you arrive. Also to note, it is not costumery to tip, so your total is just that. Which is always a nice coming from America where its custom to tip 18%. Lastly, Im not sure if this is a Australian wide concept, or just South Australia– a booking, {reservation} is encouraged everywhere, this is important to know before planning your night out. Walk-ins can be found, but it is not always guaranteed. They will never say “about a 20 minute wait” –its either they have an open table, or they do not. They will reserve booked tables for hours on end, even if it appears the place is empty, they will assure you they are all booked. It takes some getting used to. Call ahead. Even breweries, cafes, places you would not expect. Bookings are essential. 😬

Things to do:

Vino: South Australia is known for some of the best wine in the word, with vines dating back as far as 1836. Best known for their Shiraz variety, however Grenache, Cabernet and Riesling also do very well in the variations of climate South Australia has. Barossa Valley being the most prestigious and notable vinyards, with popular names such as Penfolds, Yalumba and Seppeltsfield. Barossa is known for not only their perfect Shiraz vines but also their sprawling beautiful cellar doors. Its all about the “experience of wine tasting” when in the Barossa, aka a very fancy wino experience 👌.

If you prefer more of the laid back vibes (like we do, hello 3 children in tow), the McLaren Vale is for you. With over 150 wineries in the Vale, you’re sure to find a place for your liking. The Vale is also known for their yummy Shiraz reds, but you are also sure to find many different varietals, (as well as coffee and beer at most venues.) This was only a quick 15 minutes from where we lived, so we frequented this area quite often. Most of the wineries “cellar doors” in this area are more family friendly, with lawn games and sprawling spacious yards to play in. The younger Instagram influencer types were also keen on these venues– though they prefer to dress monochromatic, taking photos for hourssssss while chugging bottles of rosé and not eating the massive platters they ordered— it’s for the gram’ (not here to judge). Something for everyone, like I said. Overall it’s a more chill atmosphere to sip your wine, snack on charcuterie platters while taking in the gorgeous rows of vines.

Adelaide Hills is great mix of both Barossa and The Vale, with smaller more intimate tasting rooms and cellar doors tucked in the hillside. Really, really beautiful and cozy in the fall! These three regions being the most popular in S.A, however there are additional wine regions further outside of metropolitan Adelaide. Clare, Coonawarra, Eden Valley and more. It’s an experience you must dabble in a bit if your down south.

Beer: If wine isn’t your thing, perhaps beer is? Craft breweries are becoming more and more popular in Australia, specifically South Australia being a large area on the rise with over 23 craft breweries (pales in comparison to the Seattle area, but lets not get picky). Some is better than none. What they do have on us PNWers is space, however. Acres of space for their facilities and grounds complete with play structures for children, pouncing roos in the paddock, fire places for warmth and seating all around indoor and out. Some of our (kids included) favorite places to visit were the local breweries.

Coffee: as an experience. I did cover this in part two. But it’s certainly a part of the Aussie culture. And I was completely surprised by this.

Hardships?

Covid: Traveling during a pandemic was intimidating and unnerving, largely because we were unvaccinated at the time of moving (vaccines for our age were not rolled out yet). Not only was the travel portion nail-biting, we also were aware that the vaccine may not even be available to us as expats in the coming year {this remained true}. Of course there was some hesitations, not knowing fully what was about to unfold given the grim nature of this coronavirus situation. Albeit, what was provided was truly a utopia of normalcy and safety. South Australia did such a fantastic job with shutting borders as soon as Covid hit, they were completely able to control any spread or contractions. The entire year of living there were roughly 10 cases of exposures in S.A. 10! not 10 thousand… 10 the ENTIRE year. You can imagine our giggles when we heard the sheer panic of Aussies losing their minds over 2 positive cases (in quarantine). They literally couldn’t fathom what it was like coming from a place like Seattle where positive Covid-19 cases were in tens of thousands, daily. It was very strange moving from one extreme to the other– from millions to zero in a days travel. Lucky doesn’t even cover it, it was sensational. Not only were restrictions minimal, we did not have to mask up and most importantly the girls could attend school (also unmasked). Coming from virtual schooling (at the time, remember) this was a dream for me and the children. It was exactly how school was prior to March 2019, normal, happy, FUN!

Australians did implement some Covid safety restrictions– social distancing was urged, 1.5m (or a roo apart). Washing and sanitizing of course was encourage and for periods of time you couldn’t stand and drink?– though tables sizes were never limited. For brief periods of the year (if any positive cases were known) they would limit crowds for large events, and banned singing and dancing in public locales. The one major difference and most required safeguard was their use of contact tracing. Each store, venue and location you would enter you had a to scan a QR code on your phone and sign in. In the event there was an exposure you would then be contacted and required to self quarantine for 14 days. They had pretty strict quarantine requirements in Australia, and if you did not comply you could face jail time. All things considered we were mostly unaffected by coronavirus for an entire year of a world wide pandemic and that was pretty superb.

There were a few fall backs to moving abroad during the shut downs. The most difficult being Visitors. Coming from a place like Florida (a vacation state), there was no shortage of company, we had a revolving door of people coming and going. There was no time to be lonely when we had an influx of family and friends coming to see us. We loved it and appreciated every single person who took time out of their lives to come spend it with us. Of course Australia was no different. We had a mile long list of people hoping to do the same (for obvious reasons). Not only did we have the perfect home to accommodate several guests at a time comfortably, we were expert tour guides with laundry lists of amazing places to show off to all our guests. Woefully, due to Covid, this did not happen. In fact Australias international boarders are still shut, with very limited plans on a reopening. For the first time in 5 years I actually got homesick, I missed my family and friends, I wasn’t just across the nation, I was across the world. The time change also made it very difficult to stay in touch regularly. 18.5 hour time difference between Adelaide and Seattle. This meant when the children were finally in bed and I had a few moments to myself to check in back home everyone was long asleep. Some days were harder than others and days I just really could have used my sister or bestie to hang with or my mom to tag along at the beach with. What I continued to remind myself of however, was that it was only a year. That’s it. Soak it in. Everyone back home was going to be there when we returned. Don’t waste this opportunity being lonesome, and 98% of those days, I managed just fine 😉 knowing I’d be home in a blink.

The other downside to moving abroad during a global pandemic was travel. We had many plans to travel not only within country but also out, Thailand and New Zealand being at the topmost of our lists. Visiting Australias 5 other states was even arduous if not impossible with the inter-borders being shut so frequently. Even so being a direct neighbor to Victoria we were never able to actually step foot. Their numbers were on the rise as the year went on and the risks of borders being shut made it difficult to plan. Not only risking the closed borders and possibly getting stuck, but also taking a chance that you may have to quarantine for two weeks upon return (imagine not being able to step foot in Oregon or your neighboring state! having to self isolate for two weeks after visiting just a mere 200 miles away) . This just wasn’t in the cards for us with work, school and three kids in tow. Instead we fully took advantage of traveling within our bubble of South Australia, trust me we were not deprived of beauty and adventure. We covered nearly the entirety of the state, north, south, east and west and loved every minute of it. South Australia has a growing reputation for tourism in the last few years, thanks to Instagram (I presume) being a highly photographed locale– credit does goes to their beautiful clear waters, gorgeous coastlines, pink lakes and high rise mountain ranges. South Australia has three main peninsulas along the south border, Fleurieu (pronounced Floo-ree-oh) which is the closest to Adelaide about an hour from city proper, Yorke being second closest, about 2 hours from Adelaide and last, Eyre (pronounced Ehr) which is about 7 hours from Adelaide. Each peninsula offering different beauty, things to do and see. You would need to spend a significant amount of time in S.A if you were planning to do all three. Some of the most note worthy places we visited in the peninsulas was Coffin Bay, which is best known for their mouth watering seafood, specifically oysters and breath taking blue waters. The beaches in Coffin Bay National Park and Lincoln National Park were some (if not THE) most beautiful beaches I have ever witnessed. Not only were they beyond striking, but exceptionally QUIET. Pictured below, me walking in the national park with not a soul to be seen for miles and miles (us girls may or may not have skinny dipped ☺️), once in a lifetime right?

Yorke Peninsulas most notable spots in my opinion are Moonta Bay, Whatascowie Brewery, Yorketown; well known for several Pink Lakes and for obvious reasons, Port Hughes. South beach in Port Hughes is a TOP NOTCH beach with miles of pristine coast lines and shallow waters (great for shark visibility) paddle boarding and small kiddos.

We did get the opportunity to leave South Australia (once) when Covid numbers were null between S.A and the Northern Territory. This was a trip for the books, providing exactly what we wanted for a vacation within country. It was just as I pictured Northern Australia to be like. Hot, humid, tropical, bugs the size of your palm, crocs, crikey! It was epic. I highly, highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself down under and looking for something a bit different than beautiful touristy surf towns.

Wildlife: This has to be one of the top questions we got about our travels in Oz. “Was everything there actually trying to kill you?” Ehhh.. no.. but also kind of. Prior to us arriving Colin did a lot of solo hiking to pass the time before we got there. Along his “bush walking” adventures he came across several deadly snakes. There was one particular Eastern Brown snake encounter that was pretty scary. This just so happens to be one of the most common snakes found in Australia, (also one of the top deadliest snakes in the world). Adventuring with three toddling children we had to be a bit more cautious about our daily adventures. As most of you know we love to hike as a family, but hiking in the “bush” was much different then the states. (Deadly snakes and spiders to be specific). As much as we stressed to stay on path, no running through the bushes they just didn’t get it well enough–so in good faith, we just couldn’t risk it. At least in the spring and summer months when they are active. Luckily the beach trail in front of our house was very safe and snake free. We didn’t see too many really hideous spiders or insects thankfully. Red back spiders are very common around the south, similar to a black widow here. We spotted these frequently, however just keep your distance or squash them and you’re all good, anti-venom does exist for most spider bites thankfully. We also saw, orb spiders, mouse spiders (venomous) and a couple of huntsman spiders, (these grow to be about the size of your hand 😳), creepy, but not deadly. Somehow you just get used to it, and take extra precautions. Shake your shoes out before putting them on, check under your car door handles if you remember, be cautious when moving furniture outdoor, dark cool places are hot zones for snakes, don’t climb though bushes… just be aware and be smart.

Other than the white sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks, a few icky venomous bugs and several venomous snakes everything else was safe and completely amazing, ha. The wildlife is one of the best parts of Australia, you’ll never experience most of these animals anywhere else in the world. Koalas clinging to the tops of eucalyptus trees, kangaroos in the hills and countrysides, wombats- literally a furry ball of muscle. Emus! (so cool) in sandy beach bushes, dingos, crocodiles (only in Northern OZ) and water buffalo. We also saw bandicoots, paddled with sting rays, swam with dolphins, spied an echidna (similar to a porcupine) in the dry, and saw the most beautiful tropical birds in the world. Endless wildlife at your fingertips and witnessing them in real life is something I’ll never forgot.

Overall an experience of a lifetime. I hope to go back one day and get to see more of the beautiful country. Thanks for having us mates.