December 11th cont. & December 12th (Sunday)

My dates are a little mixed up because I bounce between Saskatchewan time and Australia time.  I keep forgetting we are a day ahead.  After this post hopefully I’ll get back on track.

Josh is definitely in his glory – Georgie and I can’t stop giggling about him and Fitzy and their obsession with farming.  Josh has visited so many local farmers and has plans to go touring once harvest starts and moving cattle, etc.  Josh is truly living and breathing farming.  Yesterday he helped Fitzy sort his sheep at the farm while Georgie and I hearded them with her truck – we knew it was going good until we hear the word snake from Josh.  

Josh has quizzed Georgie numerous times about the likelihood of snakes in different areas and the cost of anti-venom.  Georgie crushed Josh when she explained that each poisonous snake has it’s own anti-venom.  Once we bug Josh he says” I just don’t want to get bite by any f***g snakes on this trip”.  I think he’s thinking about how big of a bag he would have to carry if he bought each of the anti-venom’s.  But I do see where he is coming from, there are 7 out of 10 of the world's most deadliest snakes live here and I forget how many spiders and lizards/frogs Georgie said also.        

We went out for a fantastic supper with Georgie and Fitzy and a bunch of their mates Saturday evening.  The supper was in Penola at an award winning restaurant.  The meal was delicious served with tons of various kinds of wine with each course (one of the mates is a local vineyard owner and he supplied the wine for the evening).  We met lots of great people and had a great time. 

Sunday we toured out to Gerogie’s parents farm and had a visit and tour.  I finally got to see a kangaroo when we were touring the padlocks (pastures).  Josh picked up Georgie’s sisters car at the farm.  Not only do you drive on the other side of the road – but the roads are very narrow and there are tons of turn-a-bouts (I’ll take a picture).  I was a little nervous and was thinking about bailing and hopping in with Georgie and Fitzy but I rode with Josh back to town.  He proved me wrong and was a great driver.  We’ll see how today goes J    

It is a different culture here – everyone is so laid back and peaceful.  Everyone loves having a visit and a cold one (there are many types of beer here and none compare to our beer except Corona which is imported).  There are 31 vineyards with 51km of Naracoorte.  The wine is definitely stronger than ours in Canada and since there are so many vineyards you can tell by the price and marketing there is huge competition.  Beer and wine is mainly what people drink here.  Spirits are extremely expensive - a 40 of vodka costs on average about $60 plus dollars.  There is so much to see and do even in the smaller remote areas.  We are going to tour the caves by Naracoorte today. 

We hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Christmas.  We heard the weather is chilly but good for the snowmobilers.  Take care and lots of love!

P.S.  If you want to call us our number is 01161 4471 483 73  It costs $1.00 per minute to call us or $0.50 a text. 


Selling Pasties with Georgie and Her Mom:


The Famous Pasties (on average she sells 200 in an hour - it is pastry filled with meat, potatoes, carrots, turnips and onion)



Fitzy's Sheep:

Cows in the Padlock at Georgie's Parent's Farm (the cows come running after any Yute - they think we are moving them or bringing them food)

Josh Driving from the Farm Back To Naracoorte:

4 by 4ing (as a result of the abnormal rainfall for summer lots of the country roads look like this)

Seen Along One of Our Farm Tours: