A day laid up in Adelaide

Adelaide was named after Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV and was founded in 1836. They do a nice white wine called Queen Adelaide which we have already tried when we had our BBQ. The indigenous Australians in this area were from the Kaurna tribe. Adelaide is a bit like Milton Keynes as it’s a designed city built on a grid system (except long and thin blocks rather than square) with wide Boulevards, large public squares and is entirely surrounded by parkland. It’s also a little like Bournemouth as most of the population are pensioners. Adelaide also has a large China town where you can get something to eat. And that’s where we headed for as soon as we had parked our car and checked in at Adelaide City Park Motel citypark@bigpond.net.au . Claire chose it as it is near the centre and has parking and it turned out to be perfect for us; they even gave us an upgrade so we have a balcony.

It has been a long drive from Melbourne, this really is a massive country; we haven’t been hammering it but we have had two stop overs to get here. It might have been coincidence but I noticed the difference the second we went through the South Australian border; the sun came out and the countryside seemed browner and drier. I can’t say how much easier it was having a satnav that worked and a destination in mind and we drove straight to our motel just like we knew where to go. This satnav stays very quiet most of the time unlike my Tom Tom at home. It will say, “Stay on this road for 53 miles” and that’s it for an hour except for the odd, “You are going over the speed limit” in an almost annoyed voice.

Our Motel is on the same block as King William Street which is the main drag all the way through the centre of Adelaide. Half way down is the Central market where we walked around but not all the stalls were open today. Likewise the trams were not on today as they have been undergoing an upgrade but they will be back on again tomorrow. They are free, and take you the length of King William Road. China town surrounds Central Market and we found a Chinese café with a long queue and you know how we Brits like a queue; we can’t resist them. I noticed that there were a good percentage of business suits either eating or in line and they must know the area being on their lunch hour. Another large percentage of Orientals which is also a good sign; we are really trying to get a good meal and getting more cautious by the day. At last we chose wisely and had a great meal and all for $22; a real bargain. Claire had her usual chicken green curry while I tried the chilli chicken; they were both served with rice and vegetables and we had green tea and vegetable rolls extra.

From there we walked the rest of the way up King William road and then turned right down Rundle Mall which is the main shopping street with no traffic. They are very well prepared for Christmas and Claire even managed to buy a couple of cheap tee shirts for herself. We had a quick beer at the end on Rundal before turning left towards the botanical gardens. Our plan was to walk through the gardens to Adelaide zoo to see our first kangaroo, but there was major roadwork’s and we had to turn back and enter the zoo from the main road. It was $26 entry fee but I managed to get mine for $18 as a student; good job I brought my OU card. We walked all around the zoo seeing all sorts of animals from around the world but guess what? No Kangaroos; I suppose it’s like us putting sheep, cows, hedgehogs and goats in our zoos but we did see a wallaby and a tree kangaroo. We have also seen two road kill kangaroo’s on our travels but no living ones yet. I live in hope and when we drive back it will be via a more inland route so maybe we have a better chance of seeing them.

From the zoo we walked across the road and across the river to the Adelaide Oval, but I was trying not to mention the cricket because I know how sensitive the locals are. We followed the river for half a block before crossing the bridge back, cutting through Adelaide University and back up Pulteney Street where our motel is at the other end. Claire had a near miss in the zoo when a large bird flew over her head making her duck and yelp, narrowly missing her in its “poop dive”. I said it’s supposed to be lucky to be hit by bird poop, but Claire didn’t see it that way and walked with her hood up for several miles after that. I couldn’t help noticing how many Orientals there are around this town; especially the university, and very few Indians, African decent or Aboriginals. I’m sure we have more Aborigines in England than are still over here in Oz.

We are having a night in tonight with our 42” tv, balcony and box of wine we bought on the way so not much to report for the next couple of days. I guess it will take us two long driving days to get back with one stop over in the middle of nowhere. On the whole we both really liked Adelaide, it’s small, not too busy and easy to navigate and see in one day; a gentle place. Not sure if we will have internet tomorrow but if we see our first Kangaroo I will find a way to tell you.