Tag 72: Adelaide - The Pristine Beauty

The capital of the state of South Australia is located on the southern coast of Australia, on the Torrens River (Karrawirra Parri), which flows into the Saint Vincent Gulf here. Adelaide's city center is divided into the north and south parts and is surrounded by parks in a circular shape. It has only 22,000 inhabitants. However, since about 250 suburbs are counted as part of the city, Adelaide is the fifth largest city on the continent with a total population of almost 1.3 million. It was named after Adelheid of Saxe-Meiningen, the wife of King William IV. The cityscape is a mix of old and new world, with stone houses from the colonial era and modern buildings, beautiful green spaces and horticulture. The suburbs extend to the beautiful sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean, and the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges border the city to the east.

The city center of Adelaide can be easily explored on foot, with the free city connector buses, or by bicycle. And orientation is also easy, as the streets are laid out in a grid pattern. The center is Victoria Square (1), which was an important meeting place for Adelaide's original inhabitants, the Kaurna. They gave this place the name "Tarndanyangga" ("The Place of the Red Kangaroo"), which it officially bears again today.

Cleland Wildlife Park

"Just 25 minutes from Adelaide CBD, Cleland Wildlife Park is a great place to hand-feed animals, talk to a wildlife keeper, or have a picnic or BBQ. During a walk through the park, you can see koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, bettongs, potoroos, dingos, birds, snakes, reptiles, and even the elusive echidna.

Because the city doesn't have much to offer and this is the last chance to see Australia's famous animals, we decide to skip the city and go to Cleland Wildlife Park.

We take a taxi that takes us there in 1 hour. The park is designed in such a way that you can walk through parts of the open enclosures and get very close to the animals. Occasionally, you can pet and feed them. With sunny weather and around 25 degrees, we have the best conditions and spend 3 carefree hours. The surprise awaits us when we leave the park.

When we try to order an Uber vehicle, we are told that the waiting time is at least 1 hour and 15 minutes. Getting a taxi is equally difficult and time-consuming. The time until we have to be back at the ship suddenly becomes quite tight. At the park entrance, I hear that a couple has just ordered a taxi. The man is carrying a name tag. Maybe we could join them, as the taxi is reserved for two people only. I find the couple just as they are getting into a car. They are willing to take us with them, so we drive to the park entrance to pick up Marion. There it turns out that this is not the ordered taxi, but an Uber vehicle that was ordered by a young couple. After a short discussion, we are allowed to ride with both of them. Just in the car, the next surprise. The man of the couple left his brand new iPhone in another Uber vehicle this morning. During the next 45 minutes, the driver and the man, both Indians, discuss on an Indian dialect whether and how the iPhone could be found and handed over. However, without success. After 1 hour and 15 minutes, we finally arrive at the ship. When the driver demands additional money, we all quickly disappear into the secure port area. What an adventurous end to the excursion!