Adelaide is the capitol of the state of South Australia and was named in honor of Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. It was founded in 1836. It was originally inhabited by the Kaurna aboriginal peoples. They were eventually pushed out of the area. Silver was discovered in the area in 1841 and mines sprung up all over the state. The city began to export meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat. World War I and II resulted in post-war booms and shipbuilding and defense became valuable assets.
We docked at 8, were off the ship by 8:45. We had wanted to leave at 8:30 but were going to try to do something with the 2 other couples we had toured Antigua with and they had wanted 9. We figured an extra 15 minutes would give us time to scope things out. One of the couples was on the dock wondering why we were 15 minutes late. The other couple had told us of the change, but didn't tell them. Miscommunication! We were told the train would leave at 9, so we left without the 3rd couple. Sorry, but they were the ones who tried to change things in the first place! Taught us not to try to do group things. Going with one other couple works great, 4 can fit in one taxi.
We were on the 9 a.m. train into Adelaide, about 22 km from the port. We had bus numbers which would take us to the Cleland Wildlife Park, just outside the city. When we arrived at the train station, we decided it would be a lot easier to just take a taxi if it wasn't too expensive. It was about $8/person, well worth the saved time and effort. We had been told by a volunteer on the pier to look for an Aussie driver who would know where to go. The first cab, driver had on a turban...we skipped that one. Well, we did ask but when he pulled out a map, we moved on. Next driver didn't speak English very well, 3rd driver was Asian, so we didn't even stop. The 4th driver was out of his car saying "I'm Aussie!". We were asking for a price when the Asian driver got out of his car and started yelling that he was next in line and we should go with him. We all jumped in the Aussie's cab and got out of there! Con, which was his name, started telling us about the buildings we were passing, a nice little tour of Adelaide as we left the city. The park was about 15 min outside Adelaide, on the side of a hill, with a view of the city from certain places. I had researched the place and knew they did koala experiences from 11 to 12, with only the first 25 allowed to hold one. We headed for the koalas, and jumped in line at about 10:30. If we had missed that 9:00 train, we wouldn't have reached the park in time to be in line. By 11, there were more than 25 people lined up. Mel and I were 3rd in line. We watched the 1st 2 couples go thru the koala holding procedure, then it was our turn. They gave me a heavy corduroy jacket to wear to protect me from his long nails. The trainer had me hold my arms at my sides while she had the koala reach out and put his arms around my neck. He held on just like Koda does! Then, I could lift my arms to hold him securely. He was SO cute. I just wanted to cuddle him. But I think they want them to learn to look forward only. Every time I put my cheek down to him so he'd turn, the trainer made him look at the camera again. He licked my cheek at one point, that was cool. Trainer wasn't happy. Mel was trying to take a pic with his Blackberry, so I was waiting with my baby for several minutes. He weighed 25 pounds! And at 3 years old, he was only 1/2 grown! I didn't know that Koalas could get that big! There must be several different species since the ones everyone seems to have seen in zoos were only the size of large cats. Anyway, I was trying to pet his back, the trainer didn't want me to move my hand. They had the system down and didn't want to stray from it. Probably the best for the koalas. She always had several branches of eucalyptus to entice him to look at the camera,, which he did. Our picture came out quite cute I think! It was $25 to have one print, but we could take as many with our own camera as we wanted. I'll post a series of pics showing how the koala was passed to me when I do the Singapore Segment PhotoShow. The experience certainly made my day! And was the highlight of our trip so far. There are only a couple of places in Australia where you can actually hold the koalas. There are many where you can pet one. After holding one, we went to the pet line and were able to pet one for free. They are so cute. Hope we will get another experience of some sort in Perth.
After the koalas, we went back to the area that had kangaroos. They were just laying around every where! We had food that we'd bought at the entrance. We held it in our hands and the little ones would put their front paws on our hands to hold them up, and eat away. They were so cute. And soft! The koala had felt kind of like a sheep, with very dense fur. Not particularly soft. The kangaroos were soft. We fed and pet a few, then looked in other enclosures at dingos and at a Tasmanian Devil. There was also an aviary. Thru another gate and we were amongst a different type of kangaroo and emus! Those big birds were just standing around. They wanted our food bags, being used to being fed from the bags. I put food on my hand. Their head was about at the same level as my head. He would tilt it sideways and peck at my hand, grabbing a couple of pellets, spilling the rest on the ground. It was very funny. They didn't like being touched, but I did gently touch their back. They were very firm and oily. Funny animals. The park was a great experience. We called Con to come get us and 1/2 hr later were headed back to Adelaide.
It was about 1:00, so we had Con drop us at the market. We went to a pub where he dropped us first. It took over an hour for our food to arrive, I wasn't happy. I had almost ordered kangaroo just to see what it tasted like but having just fed some, felt it was too close to home. I did find out that it is similar to lamb, so just as well I didn't order it. I don't like lamb. After eating we went to the market. We were very disappointed. We were thinking market like the one in Melbourne. It was a craft market with few vendors. We walked the 2 long blocks pretty quickly. We did stop at one souvenir shop (I bought socks with a koala on it) and a shoe store. Our last stop was Haigh's Chocolate which Con said is the best chocolate in the universe. Most of the brochures I'd read said it is the best in Australia, so I don't know about the universe. We did some damage there then caught the HAL supplied shuttle bus back to the port. It was right there at the chocolate shop, so we saved ourselves a couple of blocks back to the train station and some distance from the train to the ship. What a great day!
On board, they were doing an Aussie BBQ on the Lido deck for dinner. It was excellent. There was a local Australian Bush Band onboard for entertainment. Mel loved the roasted pig, I went for the "shrimps on the barbie". They also had a lot of fresh fruit like lychee, which you don't find very often. Since it was a port day, there was no show in the Queen's Lounge. They show a movie on the big screen instead. That night's movie was Australia! I hadn't seen it before we left so was very happy to get the opportunity to see it. It was a wonderful film and extra special to see it in Australia! I returned to the cabin all teary eyed. Mel had a dinner plate heaping with bing cherries for me. Apparently they had forgotten to put them out for the BBQ until the very end. At that point they told people to please take a lot, they would spoil quickly. The Dining Room Manager later told us that they pay more for cherries per kilo than for filet of beef! The cherries weren't as good a CA cherries, but were good just the same.
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