First day in Adelaide

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Well, gang, I am way behind. Guide was right about connectivity. I am actually in Alice Springs sitting by the pool the night before we head to Uluru. But must catch you up. So do not be concerned about these. Will finally get caught up I hope. In the meantime I am writing it all down in my journal. The airport at Adelaide is amazing. There is this big, open tiled space out in front, and pickups are about half a block away, but it sure eases safety concerns. Alternating really large blue, white and gray tiles stretch from the baggage claim door to the street. Got into a 21 passenger coach and headed off to Cleland Wildlife Park. Spent about 40 minutes driving along windy roads up into the hills.lots of animals to see close up - Tasmanian Devils,Sleeping wombats, parrots galore, echidna(spiny anteaters), wallabies, two types of Kangaroos, emus, dingos, strange geese, and of course the favorite - the koala. I contented myself with just taking pictures of them from about six feet away. Line was too long to hold them. Bought some animal feed and went around petting the wallabies and grey kangaroos. Very soft fur and dainty mouths nibbling the food out of my hand, but boy, do they have sharp claws. They were very delicate in holding my hand, but I remsined as still as I could, those things could have caused a lot of damage. The Tasmanian Devil looks nothing like the cartoon character. It is about the size of a large possum with black fur and a sharp snout. The wombats were asleep in their red lighted glass-backed burrows. They are pretty big too. Reminded me of a pot -bellied pig from the rear. Koalas were either sleeping or chewing eucalyptus leaves in trees trunks about ten feet tall. We saw close to a dozen wild koalas in the trees as we drove down into Adelaide. It was so amazing;they were just hanging out in the crooks of the trees. I still find it hard to believe I am in Australia. Except for the accent and the landscape and the animals, it is just like home. Lots more to say about the last five days, but we leave for Uluru at 6 something tomorrow and I am bushed.

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