Adelaide, South Australia

Bronze sculptures on Rundle Mall

G'day!

Well, it’s been a while.  I’m back in the good old U S of A. But I gotta finish up this blog or I won’t know what I've done.  I arrived into Adelaide at night and walked to Alice’s Lodge Backpackers ($20/6 female ensuite).  It feels safe to walk alone at night. Due to a miscalculation, I stayed in Adelaide for a week waiting for the Indian Pacific train to Perth which only runs once a week until September.  But it was okay, there was heaps to see.

Aboriginal grave poles - Art Gallery of SA

Adelaide is a sprawling town.  There are two free bus systems to carry tourists around the CBD.  A 1.5 km long pedestrian mall along Rundle Street/Hindley Street offers hundreds of shops, some hidden in arcades (side mini malls).   Although most of the buildings seemed to be older, everything felt well kept and clean.  That may have been due to the rain, which fell intermittently most of the time I was there.

Less government waste than tricked out CSI SUVs?

Many tourist attractions, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australia Museum, the State Library, Royal Botanical Gardens, Parliament House, and the Skytower Casino are located along North Terrace, one block up.  Both the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia are located there, so the area is bustling.

Every Australian state has a Chinese gateway except Tasmania

The Central Market is located about a km south near Victoria Square which is surrounded by modern office buildings. The Market is a compact warren of food stalls, a foodie’s paradise (with free tastes) of produce, cheese, deli meats, baked goods, nuts, coffee, and cafes.  Adjacent, “Chinatown” offers a plethora of food courts, small restaurants, grocery stores and gift shops.

The South Australia Museum is terrific.  It contains the largest collection of Aboriginal artifacts and culture anywhere.  Displays range from bush plants and their many uses to multimedia displays of children at play with their games and toys.  My other favorite display is the very extensive area about rocks, fossils, and minerals including fossilized opals.  The Ediacaran (pre-Cambrian) geologic period, declared in 2004, is the first new geologic period in 120 years.  It is named for the South Australian Ediacara Hills where the world’s oldest (600 myo) animals were found.  I also enjoyed seeing the Sheila Draper/Pacific Islands exhibit after hearing about it from my Kangaroo Valley hosts.

Oooooh, shiny!!

My favorite area in the Royal Botanic Gardens is the Santos Museum of Economic Botany.  The beautifully restored building still holds some of the original exhibits from its opening in 1879.  I wish I had access to such a resource while I was taking my horticulture courses.  Seeing the herbaria makes learning plant families much easier. 

Victorian arcade on Rundle Street

       
       
              The Amazon Waterlily Pavilion had lily pads more than a meter in diameter.  I first saw these giant lily pads in Copenhagen with twin sis, Sandy, a few years ago.  I wonder how thick and durable they are; would they make good roofing material?

South Australia makes (pre)history

         




          I also visited the Migration Museum where I learned more about Chinese and Aboriginal discrimination, massive shipments of “orphaned” British children, and the rise and fall of the While Australian Policy.  Internode provides free slow speed wifi in a variety of places but connection is iffy.  The State Library provides a good Internode internet connection but the speed is still slow.  A free 20 minute tour of the Haigh’s Chocolate Factory was interesting and netted some free samples and dark chocolate Scorched Almond seconds which were yummy but still expensive.

Avenue of Moreton Bay fig trees at Botanic Gardens

The Migration Museum

Pretty lotus seed pods