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January 1, 2008
We spent the early part of the evening on the beach, as the cloud cover had come in, the warm north wind had died, and there was a cooling of the overheated temperature. I took some photos.
Then we came home, had champagne and a baby octopus salad on the balcony at Victor Harbor, and watched the few fire works in the distance.They were nothing like this Reuters image of New Years Eve in Sydney:
On New Years day we drove to Goolwa on the River Murray for a coffee and to look at the state of the Murray River just up from the Goolwa barrages, near the Hindmarsh Island bridge. I was shocked by the low level of water near the cafe.
Gary Sauer-Thompson, Goowla Cafe Pier, 2007
Six months ago boats would pull up at the pier and the boaties would have alighted for a quick cup of coffee before returning to cruising the river with friends. But no more:
Gary Sauer-Thompson, Goolwa Aquatic Club, 2007
You could actually walk out to the middle of the river and thew water is still mid-waist.This part of the river is evaporating as there is no flow from upstream or the sea. It's a lake that is becoming a mudflat during the summer due to lack of rain the Murray-Darling Basin during the winter. The effects (less rain) from the relatively small temperature increases we have already seen are happening more quickly than they had expected.
Pity about all the Hindmarsh Island resort style housing based around the canals with their boats parked out the back door. That whole development depended on continual river flows down the River Murray.
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We stayed at home all day and watched the rain and wind. The Gold Coast official fireworks were cancelled, although some locals set off naughty backyard versions. The dog didn't even bother flinching.
We drank beer and ate ham left over from Christmas. We watched West Wing dvd's and went to bed before midnight.
As much as I love baby octopus I just can't eat them. Squid, yes. They're social creatures but as dumb as dog poo. An octopus could steal your wallet while tying its shoe laces and teachings its 500 kids to write in faultless cursive with a fountain pen.