Our day began as a sea day but became a port day when we arrived to Adelaide, Australia at 2pm. It was hard to believe how much the temperature had gone up the closer we got to land. The Captain had said to expect high temperatures, but we did not believe that might be over 90 degrees. One good thing was that the humidity was low, much like what we have at home in California, so the 90's did not scare us.
When we were about an hour away from the pier, we began seeing more and more birds, as well as some very lazy dolphins. They were quite far away, so filming was impossible. This entire area is known for its dolphin and whale sightings. Close to the harbor is a bird sanctuary for mostly migratory birds, so we would be in for a treat when we finally docked. On sand bars, we did spot flocks of Australian pelicans, small gulls, oystercatchers, guillemots, and the always present ibis.
Entering the basin, the ship was turned around and we pulled alongside the dock and the Adelaide Cruise Terminal. This gave the port side passengers a great view of the city and the Outer Harbor Railway Station right across the road. This connects the port area with downtown Adelaide, a 40- minute ride, with tickets sold from vending machines in the station. For those who booked tours, there was only one sold today…. Adelaide Highlights for $70. Among the excursions offered tomorrow are a wildlife tour for $250, best of Adelaide for $170, wine tasting in the Barossa Valley for $200 and a drive to Hahndorf for $90 or Cleland Wildlife Park for $100. We have done several of these tours, and recommend most all of them, especially Hahndorf, the German settlement that reminded us of Carmel, California.
Because we had a bird's eye view of the gangway from our veranda, we stayed onboard and watched the tour groups go off. Also, much of the crowd was headed to the train for the ride to town. The ship is overnighting here so there was no need to be back early. All aboard will be 10:30pm tomorrow. There was also a local group of greeters, which included a kangaroo mascot. That costume must have been stifling today. A local band played Aussie music which included Waltzing Matilda of course. They entertained the disembarking guests until 3:30pm, and all of us that watched from our verandas.
Going off at 4pm, we found a ton of information in the form of maps, brochures, and even local docents who gave excellent directions. We cannot say enough about the hospitality of the Australian people….everywhere we have gone so far. One of the agents even pointed out a brochure we might like that was all about Kangaroo Island. Seems they knew we were headed there in a few days.
This afternoon we decided to take a slow hike to the sand dunes along the coastline directly across from the dock. There are park grounds with benches and signage all about dolphins in the area. Huge jagged-cut rocks line the water's edge and benches are set to watch the basin directly in front of us. One bad thing is that there is no shade. The metal benches would not be usable this afternoon. This area is the beginning of a stretch of beaches for 8 ½ km. We only got to the first beach where some locals were swimming. This area is known as Gulf St. Vincent. It was so warm we decided to turn back, since we will explore further tomorrow. Doubt we will take the train into town because we have explored there extensively on past world cruises. We shall stay local and probably end up at North Haven, a quaint marina with some shops and restaurants.
Greg and Heo had gone to town, and must have decided to stay there for dinner. So there were only five of us, with many surrounding tables empty. We love it that way, because it is not noisy to the point where we cannot hear each other talking. We all have come to the conclusion that the food so far on this trip has not been living up to our expectations. Perhaps it is due to the fact that many entrees are repeated far too often, and the quality of some of these mains are not up to par. It has been a challenge to mix and match an entrée to make it customized. Lucky for us, we have a very co-operative waiter. Then we keep our fingers crossed that not too much salt had been used, or some meals are under-seasoned. We have never had this problem before, but there may be new cooks onboard. One thing remains a constant, and that is dessert….something most all of us look forward to.
The entertainment this evening was a documentary film in the World Stage, which our tablemates feel is the same as a black-out night.
Wonder if tomorrow will be as hot as today? We shall find out soon……
Bill & Mary Ann
