Adelaide

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5/2

We got up early to have the free breakfast that the hotel offered, feeling rather sleepy after not a great sleep and it feeling like 5.30am to our body clocks! We had cereal and toast for breakfast and then headed out for a wander around Adelaide. We walked to the central markets first and we bought some fresh fruit and some hummus from stalls there. We had a look around the shops and stalls, and bought some food from Coles supermarket as there were communal kitchens in the hotel to use. We took our shopping back to the hotel and then used the computers in the hotel to book 2 day trips- one for the next day. We needed to get a bus for the trip tomorrow, so we headed out to find the bus stop. The stop near us didn't have the route number of the bus we needed on it, so we ended up walking around Adelaide to the main bus stop, at North Terrace, so we knew where it was, in case our bus didn't stop at our nearest stop. We got a drink and a couple more bits of shopping we forgot earlier, and then walked back to the hotel. The buildings in Adelaide are really pretty, and it seems like a lovely city. We used the computers to check the bus routes again- it does seem to stop at our nearest stop, so hopefully we would be ok! We cooked a chicken curry for dinner in the communal kitchens, then went back to our room to watch our new favourite TV show that Debbie got us hooked on- My Kitchen Rules!

6/2

Today we had our trip kayaking on a river in Port Adelaide where dolphins live. We got up early and had breakfast, and then went to (hopefully) catch our bus. Thankfully it arrived O.K and we headed to Port Adelaide, which took about 30 minutes. We didn't really know where we needed to get off, so took a guess and ended up a couple of stops too soon, but we were early, so headed down the road on foot and managed to find the tourist information centre where we were being collected. We used the facilities and had a look around at some of the leaflets in the information centre. A guy called Phil came to collect us, and we headed towards the river at Garden Island Reserve, stopping on the way to grab some drinks as it was going to be a hot day! We filled in our forms and got ourselves ready for 3 hours of kayaking- lots of sun cream and our rashies to protect from the sun. We headed up the river one way, in the direction we were told dolphins are often spotted. We almost got as far as we could go, and a little way off saw a dolphin swimming around, near a lady in a kayak. We tried to head over carefully, and saw that there was in fact a baby as well. We didn't get very close as they moved off down the river, but it was great seeing them in the wild, especially in a river. We headed back down the river, following the dolphins, but they were quite hard to keep track of, being level with them. We ended up very close to a couple of dolphins- think another one or 2 had joined the initial ones we saw. We stayed still and held our paddles out of the water, as we had been told. They were swimming right around us, and one even swum underneath our kayak, which was brilliant, a really amazing sight, being that close. After they swum away, we headed on down the river in the opposite direction towards some shipwrecks that were there. There were a couple of pretty big boats, just left decaying there. We paddled all round one of them. We saw another dolphin quite far away on the opposite bank of the river and it was slapping its tail at some seagulls! It swum off and we weren't sure which direction it went, so couldn't look for it. We slowly headed back towards the boat ramp to return our kayak, rather tired after 3 hours of it! Once everyone was back (a group had gone out in a guided trip-it was more expensive than just going on our own!), we got dropped back where we had been picked up, in port Adelaide. We had a lovely lunch of fish and chips (plus free salad bar). We headed to the maritime museum after lunch, and paid $10 each to get in. We learnt about the history of the port and people settling in Adelaide- it was one of the last places to be settled, not until 1836. There were computers with lists of names of people who migrated from Europe on the ships. I looked up, and found, a few Fairbairns and Whitmarshs who made the trip. We got the bus back to the city and spent the evening in our hotel, relaxing as we were very tired!

7/2

We got up for breakfast, then walked to the nearest bus stop for the free city loop bus, as we were going to Adelaide prison today, after finding the last one interesting. We got as close as we could to the Gaol on the bus, then walked the rest of the way. It cost us $14 each to get in to the prison, and it was a self-guided tour here. We were given some information by the receptionist and then left to walk around. The place needed a lot of TLC, it closed down in 1991, and it almost seemed as though they shut the gates when all the prisoners left, and have done nothing to it since! It was interesting, though, there was lots of information to read on the walls, plus burial sites of all the prisoners who were hanged at the jail, marked out with their initials and date of execution. We spent a few hours looking around everything and reading all the information. Once we were done, we got a drink and then walked through the city to the Royal Botanic gardens. They were lovely- very pretty and peaceful. We had a cake at the cafe, and then walked around the gardens, and sat for a while in the peace and quiet. We headed back to the hotel after this and cooked pasta pesto for dinner in the evening, using the useful communal kitchens!

8/2

We were so tired that we decided to have a lie in today and not get up for breakfast (served between 7-9). We headed towards the Migration museum, stopping at the post office on the way for stamps and to post a couple of things. We walked to the museum, which was just off North Terrace. It was free entry, which is why we had decided to go! We looked all around the museum, and learned about the Scotsman John Stuart, who trekked, several times, across Australia, determined to find the sea at the top of Australia. He finally made it after several failed attempts and found the Tasman sea (I think it was the Tasman but may be wrong!) We learned about different people who came over on the boats. It was an interesting museum and we spent a couple of hours looking around it. We went into the city after this for a little wander around. We had Hungry Jacks for late lunch/ early dinner- which is Burger King, except the name is different, as when Burger King came to open in Australia, there was already a burger restaurant with that name, so it is randomly called Hungry Jacks! We bought a couple of donuts from a donut store, and then headed to a park and sat by the pond watching the ducks diving to the bottom! We then went back to the hotel and spent the evening in our room, tucking into our donuts!

9/2

We got up and had breakfast, which was at 8-10 on the weekends, so we could have a bit of a lie in today. We had another trip booked for today; a boat trip in Gelnelg in the afternoon. We walked into Victoria square in the city, and from there we got a tram to Glenelg. We bought a day ticket for the tram, so it covered our return journey. It took about 25 minutes to get to Glenelg, and when we arrived we had a little walk around, and walked to the beach, where there was filming going on- but we didn't know what it was. We walked along the esplanade but there wasn't much to see. We tried to find where we needed to be for our boat trip, but couldn't find it along this stretch. We walked around to a different area and saw the boat we were going on- Temptation catamaran. We had a look at some of the restaurants and shops in the marina, but we were still very early for our trip (a good 2 hours). We walked back into Gelnelg and had a look around the shops. We found a little sweet shop with a British section, which we enjoyed looking in, but didn't buy anything! We headed back to the marina to have lunch before our trip and found an Asian place to have chicken satay and a pad Thai- definitely our staple Asian dishes! We spent a while ogling at all the lovely big boats and yachts, and picking the one we would buy if we were multi millionaires! It was now time for our trip, so we headed down, ready to board our boat. It was a lovely trip, cruising along the coastline, the sea was lovely and clear. Unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins, that are sometimes spotted on this trip. On the way back to the marina, the crew put the sails up and turned the engines off, and we sailed for a while, which was lovely. We got back into the marina about 4, and had a wander around the local area, looking at an old tram that was on display. We took the tram back to the city and went back to our hotel, and had a pretty disgusting mac n cheese pasta pot for a light dinner. It was time to pack again ready to leave Adelaide.

10/2

We got up and had breakfast before we had to check out at 10. We left our bags with our hotel, as our flight wasn't until later. We went for a walk around the city and to look at the lovely buildings all round Adelaide, taking some photos. We headed into the city centre and I found somewhere to cheap to get my hair cut. We headed back to our hotel to use the computers before we left, and then got a taxi to the airport for our flight to Melbourne. We had a meal at the airport and left for Melbourne- the flight wasn't too long, but another different time zone (another half an hour forward). We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel on the outskirts of Melbourne city. Our room was basic, but fine. We didn't venture out this evening as we were up early in the morning for a tour.

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Comments

[Val Banks]

Adelaide Blog
Sarah, I've just read your Adelaide Blog (got a late pickup today!) and I recognise virtually every place you have been to! We have family in Adelaide and have been there about 3 or 4 times. We haven't been since Evie was a toddler so we are over due a trip. Hope you are having a fantatic time and look forward to hearing all about it when you get home. Keep safe and take care. Val xx