Adelaide

We turned in our rental car in Adelaide and were, once again, depending on public transportation to get us to where we needed to be. Fortunately, our hotel was on the main bus route, and just a few blocks from the restaurants in the city center. Our room was in a part of the hotel that was supposed to be renovated next, so it was not that great, but we only stayed there four nights. And, I did talk down the price because of that fact, so it was also a pretty good deal. Adelaide reminded us of Austin a little bit. It’s about the same size and has the same kind of laid-back atmosphere.

We spent one day getting to the Cleland Wildlife Park. Just 20 minutes from Adelaide city center, unless, of course, you are riding the bus. The bus was very convenient and inexpensive. We disembarked at the stop to make the connection to the park about 20 minutes after the last bus of the morning departed, with the next one not due for three hours. After expressing some frustration and exasperation at ourselves for not checking the bus schedule more carefully, we decided to explore the small village (very small village) while we waited. First, we had a latte and cake at the cafe, where the guy making the latte looked like he rode in the local motorcycle gang. He did make a great latte, though. Then we went next door to the post office and had a nice conversation with the post mistress there. She was planning a trip to Alaska soon and had some questions about America for us. The post offices in Australia are connected with little retail shops that seem to be locally owned, like the post office on the Waltons in the dry goods store. So, Jack and I took some time there and wrote a few postcards back home and mailed them off.

Next, on the recommendation from the cafe owner, we decided to hike to the next little village across the highway using the pedestrian bridge, approximately a kilometer up the road. The road wound up and down, up and down, up and down at 45 degree angles for quite some time. I personally think it was further than a kilometer. When we got to the sign announcing that we had arrived in the new village, there were still much more road, up and down, to go, before we would come to a shop or anything other than neighborhood houses. We decided we might not make it back in time to catch the bus to the park, so we walked back down and up, down and up, down an up, across the pedestrian bridge, until we reached the bus stop. We learned that we should check the schedules of all the connecting busses when planning an outing.

Parrot in Cleland Wildlife Park










The wait was worth it, however, as we had a great time at the park. The park is where all the pictures of us petting the kangaroos were taken. They just hang out on the grass like laid-back dogs and very slowly and carefully come up to you if they think you have any food for them. We petted a koala, fed the wallabies’, saw Tasmanian devils eating, got great pictures of dingos and tropical birds, and learned a lot of very interesting things about the different kinds of animals of Australia. All in all, it was a great trip, even though we missed the morning bus.