No Lament For Adelaide

Sunday, May 8:  Today we left for Adelaide, and on the bus to the airport got a little Aussie slang for the day courtesy of our bus driver, who described himself as a "hoon", or leadfoot.  Roxy gave us a little background regarding Australian government.  The Queen, of course, is the figurehead but has no power, ditto the governor general, who is appointed by the Queen.  There is a prime minister and two major political parties, Labour and The Coalition.  The current prime minister is Julia Gillard, from Labour.  There are six states and two territories.
   We arrived to a beautiful, sunny day in Adelaide, where the time is 1/2 hour earlier than in Melbourne.  Our driver and guide was Graham, as we drove around Adelaide and learned the history.  Adelaide proper is a square mile, with very wide streets and lots of parks and green spaces.  Much of South Australia is desert, and it is very Mediterranean around the coastline.  We had a great drive around the city and the main thoroughfare, King William Street, which has many of the most important and cultural buildings along it.  After a stop at a lovely place for photos, we proceeded on to the Cleland Conservation Park, where we were each given a bag of food and sent off to enjoy this beautiful place, where kangaroos and emus roam free.   You can also see dingos, Tasmanian Devils, wombats. koalas, bettongs (very fast, furry, remind you of rats because of how they scurry but they aren't), echidnas (like a hedgehog), reptiles, birds and many others I can't think of just now. 

The most wonderful thing was getting right up close to the animals and touching them.  There was an opportunity to meet and greet the koalas, which was what I really wanted to do - you could go stand right next to it (it was on a branch) and stroke it while someone took your photos.  But the best was you could go to another place and actually get to hold a koala, which is what I did.  I got to hold Arthur, who was pretty huge and not a lightweight - but it was wonderful!

    That evening we were split into two groups to have dinner with two different host families in Adelaide.  My hosts were Emma and Andrew Sweet and their two adorable girls Poppy, 6 and Ella, 3.  I had brought them some gifts from Boston/New England and we had a lovely evening with them.  Andrew showed us the Southern Cross in the sky so now I can find it, though only while I am Down Under.

    The next day we did a walk through the Botannic Gardens by way of North Terrace Street, passing lots of places we may choose to see during our afternoon, which is free.  I went with another person to the S. Australia Museum to see their brilliant exhibit on Aboriginal life and history.  Then we walked around the city, and when she pooped out and went back to the hotel I kept going.  It has the feel of a smallish town, but there are some beautiful places and buildings there.  For dinner several of us met Roxy in the lobby and we walked to the Alehouse Pub - it was huge and we had a great time together.  In the morning we are off to Alice Springs and the Outback!