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Cities & Places - ADELAIDE (South
Australia)
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Sunday, September the 1st, first day of the spring,
the plane is landing in Adelaide.
Our first contact with this continent which is so often presented
as ‘a desert’, ‘ a very hot country’,
.... Well, this day at 6 o’clock in the morning (arrival
time) it was 6 degree and raining !!!! Are we really on the
Australian ground or are we still in Belgium ? No after these
30 hours spent in the plane I am sure we are ‘down-under’.
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First step, take a taxi and find the place where
the mobilhome is waiting for us.
For me who never drove something else than a normal car, a monster
such this mobilhome for 6 persons (yes I know we are only two,
but ... it was cheap!) it is already an adventure and more than
that I had to drive on the left side of the road, no I will
not say ‘on the wrong side’ but simply on
the ‘other side’ ;-) |
| So we decided to spend the first day to become more familiar
with this ‘monster’ and we drove in the country side
around Adelaide. Along the city’s eastern border, a rim of
hills, which form the spectacular backdrop to Adelaide. An opportunity
to go to the Mt.
Lofty and its Historical Scenic View of Adelaide. |
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| At the end of the afternoon, stop, and first caravan
park of the trip, ‘Bel Air Caravan Park’. I am
asking for a ‘powered site’ (had to repeat several times
before they understood me ... ok , I have to improve my accent
:-) but finally we discovered the place. As most of the caravan
parks we visited, it was a welcoming and quite place, open to
the nature, very clean where you can perceive the ‘space’
and ‘liberty’ so often present in this country. |
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The next day the plan is to
visit Adelaide. Too many interesting places to see: the
Festival Centre,
the Botanic
Gardens, the Central market, .... but not enough time to
do everything.
We then decided to walk in the large avenues of the city
and take the time for a visit to the South
Australian Museum very well known for a fine collection
of natural and history and for one of the most impressive
collection of Aboriginal items
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The museum exhibits also a great collection of precious stones
(opals, ....) as well as ancient Egyptian artefacts. (Admission
to the museum is free)
After this short visit we are ready to move in direction of
Murray
Bridge.
It does not mean that there is nothing more to do in the
region. You can, for example, take the time to visit the Barossa
Valley vineyards where you will enjoy tasting sample of
a subtle Cabernet Sauvignon, a classic dry white Burgundy,
or a Chardonnay (Hope you will have a ‘chauffeur’
at that time :-).
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| Looking for something different. Why not spend
some time to learn more of the management of an Australian sheep
station and actually have a hands on encounter with the industry
and this combined with comfortable accommodation. A good example
where you ca n try such an experience is certainly the
Portee
Station. Located at only two hours from Adelaide but already
considered as in the Australian Outback. |
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| Bridge over the Murray
River |
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Murray Bridge little town located on the side of the famous
Murray
river.
The Murray River is starting in the Snowy Mountains of New South
Wales and for most of its length it forms the border between
New South Wales and Victoria.
Interesting to do should be to hire a houseboat and spending
few days on the river or taking a day trip (or longuer) on
a modern paddlewheeler, stopping off at some of the historic
river towns.
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An example is the Proud Mary, built to reflect the style
of the old Mississippi paddle steamers, the boutique style
passenger vessel, accommodating up to 40 passengers in 18
river view cabins, pro-vides an intimate atmosphere with personalised
service.
In 1987 Proud Australia Nature Cruises, which operates 2,
3 & 5 night cruises, dra-matically changed the focus of it's
itineraries to meet the needs of the traveller who wanted
to learn and experience more about Australia's wildlife.
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| Unique to a Proud Australia Nature Cruise, our
qualified onboard ecologist highlights the wildlife, history
and ecology on the Murray River. All cruises focus on magnificent
onshore excursions, enabling passengers to appreciate much more
of the natural wonders of Australia, the Outback - and the Murray
River. |
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For us, one of the souvenirs we keep in mind from the Murray
River region is the difficulties we had to find the caravan
park we selected in the guide. We were lost in the night,
we passed and passed again the bridge over the Murray river,
and finally asking our way to a farmer we found it. Quite
basic for a caravan park, but yes we had a site ‘somewhere
there ...’ with a view ... on this famous river.
After Murray Bridge we are still following the
Princess Hwy in the direction of Meningie. We have the Alexendrina
Lake on our right and few kilometers further it will be the
Albert lake.
After Meningie (well known for both fishing and milk industries)
there is the option to follow the Albert rd. and turn right
in the direction of Narrung to drive along the Albert the
Alexendrina Lakes.
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(next page ... Robe
- Beachport ...)
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