Adelaide ... the Prettiest Town the Ozzies Ever Made

Sunset over Melbourne

We flew out of Auckland, where the temperature was 20 C, and landed in Melbourne where it was 41 C.  What a difference!   Melbourne, a city of some 4 million, is the business capital of Australia. Once on the ship for our third cruise, the trip to Adelaide was interesting, with 20 to 30 knot winds and 5 to 8 metre swells.  It was a lot of fun walking on the deck, especially for women wearing high heels.  It also made for an interesting art class with the ship moving up and down several metres at a time.  Fortunately, there are very good seasick pills available on board.

Melbourne Skyline at Night

Adelaide, in South Australia, possesses a mild climate like that of the Mediterranean, therefore attracting many admirers to this city. One of the more famous travelers to visit and stay for a while was Mark Twain who described this city this as: “if the rest of Australia were half as beautiful it was a fortunate country”.  Adelaide, named after King William IV’s wife, was first settled in 1836.

The early settlers of South Australia were comparable to America’s Puritans.  These rugged individualists built towns that were carved out by free settlers, not convicts, in order to create a “sober and moral society” allowing them to develop a civil code of laws and an efficient civilized city.  However, having visited a few local bars and watched as nearly everyone here bets on every sport imaginable, I’m not sure that these early settlers had achieved their goal. 

Oldest of many churches in Adelaide

Adelaide from Mount Lofty

Farm market Exchange

 

On our first day, where the temperature was 42 C (106 F for those who care) Gail escorted a tour of several museums and art galleries featuring Aboriginal art.  This was somewhat a déjà vu experience since Gail`s art class the day before featured the influence of Aboriginal art.  From seeing a variety of local art, it turns out her Aboriginal art lesson was pretty much `right on`.  We had a class of 35 students so it was a little crowded.  On the second day in Adelaide, Gail and John both escorted 4 hour tours featuring a panoramic overview of the city, from the stores, churches and museums downtown to the large number of parks, to the Mt. Lofty overlook, finally to the white sand beaches of the community. We had a chance to see everything that Adelaide has to offer, on a much cooler day (36 C). 

Adelaide Beach and Pier

 

Late this afternoon we will head off to Hobart Tasmania and have been told to expect seas much the same as the ones we experienced on our voyage here.  With the ship rocking somewhat, at least we sleep well.