In 2018, after more than 14 years in New Zealand, when Lil was 10, we packed the contents of our house into a container and headed back to Australia, to Adelaide.

Being a New South Welsh girl, I knew of Adelaide, but it didn’t feature as a place to visit or live.

And true story, when I was in my last senior management meeting at Weta Digital, one of the execs laughingly said, ‘Arwen is moving to the Palmerston North of Australia.’ Google will fill you in more on Palmerston North; the exec’s comment is mostly in reference to John Cleese’s remarks about the city.

Imagine our surprise upon arrival to find an incredible city, with graceful tree-lined streets chock-full of gorgeous stone houses! An amazing, generous green belt surrounding the town centre. The Adelaide Hills with beauty and history galore on one side of the city and stunning beaches on the other!

From the moment we landed, we loved Adelaide.

Kerrie & Josh came to help us settle in! Thank you, Kerrie & Josh! ❤️❤️

We found a lovely little half-house in Dulwich (they call them semi’s in Sydney), just half a block from the green belt.

We enrolled Lil into Norwood Primary. Once she was settled, off to work I went, walking from Norwood to the city, it’s quite a distance! I would love to be able to say I kept that up.

It was my first VFX producing role, and I loved it. I still do; it’s the best job in the world. To me, it’s the perfect mix of creativity, people, and numbers.

Some memories:

❖ The Adelaide Hills in Autumn.

❖ The Beaches and the great, brilliant blue expansive windswept skies!

❖ Roaming Rundle Mall with the ballet girls every Saturday between their classes.

❖ The ballet girls fitting for their first pointe shoes!

❖ The Fringe Festival, it gets HOT in Adelaide!

❖ I ruptured a disc in my spine! Thorin came down to look after Lil while I was in hospital for surgery. I’m grateful beyond words for my brother.

❖ The Barossa Valley, a gentle restorative road trip after recovering from surgery. I remember a little cafe where we found a little sunny corner, and settled in with our coffees and books, my little daughter and I, two peas.

❖ The French Crepe place, yum!

❖ Anthony got a job at The Mill! He’s moving to Adelaide!

❖ Football with Anthony, Lillian is still an avid Port Power fan!

❖ The heat! Luckily, it’s a dry heat, but even so, holy moly!!

❖ Cats! That one goes into the infamous bucket along with The Island of Dr Moreau.

❖ Anthony saved Lil, with a dead phone, she was stuck downstairs after ballet, unable to get hold of me/access up the lift. He brought her up to me, and a couple of days later gave her a portable phone charger. We miss you Anthony!

And then, just like that, our time in Adelaide ended.

Next stop Sydney, off to the big smoke!

Beach Dancing (10 year old Lillian)

Acrylic on canvas 30.5cm x 30.5cm (12×12 inches) by Arwen Munro, April 2024. Painted at The Music Box, Ambleside, West Vancouver, Canada.

Beach dancing with Lillian, we both felt lighter in Adelaide. In this painting, she is stepping into a front flip.

Have the most wonderful day! 🍂