I'm in Australia! - Adelaide

Hey all,

Well OK...i've now been in Australia well over a month and i am only just getting around to writing about it!!! That just goes to prove to you what a great time i am having.

So everyone said "why are you going to Adelaide for?" especially all the aussies i met while in S E Asia. They were the most surprised by my first port of call in their home country.

Now just to set the record straight to any of you thinking of coming to Adelaide, its not just a city of churches...they have cathedrals as well..no only kidding, it has lots to offer.

Adelaide was a great start for me as the culture shock of coming back into western society for me was far greater than arriving in Bangkok several months ago. All of a sudden everyone speaks my language, i can read all the signs and nobody is spitting in the street. Adelaide got me used to being back in a western city. It's grid system and american style sinage was a surprise as i was expecting a much more English landscape from what i had been told.

Arriving in Australia i notice that all the homes are massive bungalows, hardly any house. As i move into the city, it strikes me how modern all the buildings are. I am about to spend 4 months in a country where nothing was built much more than 200 years ago!

Before i forget and for those of you that i didn't bore with this sad tale, i was accousted at customs by a dog for trying to get contraband in! First off i had forgotten that i had an orange in my handbag and if that wasn't bad enough when they checked my day pack they found Milo. 500g of the best Milo from Malaysia i tell thee. My god the way the customs officer went off at me threatening me with a $250 fine you think i was carrying kilos of coke and some of the finest heroin around. Apparently the dried milk in milo is a foot and mouth risk or something stupid like that! Like i was planning on sharing it with anyone...it would have just been me to have got sick!!!

Anyway back to Adelaide. So i arrive at Backpack OZ, my hostel for a few nights. Tired from the plane (my own fault...deciding not to sleep as the inflight entertainment and meals are so good!) and my epic city hopping of the past few days i still remain upbeat and try speaking to people. Whether it was because it was only 10am i don't know but the welcome wasn't great.

Not detered by this and due to feeling slightly alone now that i will be travelling alone for the rest of my trip (Kelly, Emily & Lucy all flew to Cairns to work their way south) I decide to busy myself and see the city. I walked solidly for the whole day and visited the Tandanya Aboriginal cultural centre and got to see a guy play the digeridoo and explain how to do it and speak about aboriginal culture and art. Next i visited the Botanical gardens. Very pretty but nothing could have prevented me from having a bit of a cry. It really hit home that i was totally alone in a brand new country on the other side of the world from home. You will all be very glad to here that things went from strength to strengh from that point. After wandering through rundal mall (the shopping area of the city) and checking out the Jam Factory of contemporary arts and crafts I made it back to the hostel and got settled in my room. As soon as i walked in a lovely English girl called Fankie said Hi and soon i was chatting with her and another one of the guys in my dorm, Lee. In true Aussie style, i was quite chuffed that my first meal in Australia was a Barbie. The hostel did a free BBQ every wednesday....result! Not only that but there was also ice cream too. In this one night i met so many people and they all made me part of this huge family that they had formed. It became obvious that some people had been there for several months and were still loving the vibe. I really could see why as i ate my barbie under the stars with everyone laughing and a bar being in the next room with cheap drinks!

With my new travelling companions, Frankie, Lee, Eddie and Will, we jumped in Eddies car and headed to Mount Lofty the following day. Armed with an eskie (cool box) of BBQ food and drinks we checked out the highest point in Adelaide. From Mount Lofty we could see across Adelaide and pin point the small city. We also made a stop in the German village of Handorf. The village was very picturesque...and amazingly authentic in its german style, even Eddie who is Dutch and spent a bit of time in Germany said so. Failing to find a BBQ (in Australia they provide free gas BBQ's in parks and nature spots for you to use...its ace!) in Mt Lofty we headed to Sterling, a small village away. Sitting amongst the teenagers kitted out in their oh so neighbours/home and away style school uniforms and large school issued rucksacks, pashing on the swings, we had a lovely BBQ.

Another day trip while in Adelaide was to the Barossa Valley wine region. Now this was a day plagued by bad luck but still an extremely fun one. Even before we reached our 1st winery, the van got a flat tyre. The driver changed it and wouldn't accept any help from us (mainly girls and the only guy was most certainly gay, so i'm not sure how much help we would have been!). We reached Jacobs creek and they had had a sewage leak and therefore couldn't let us visit. Due to all the time lost changing the tyre we had to visit a restaurant for lunch rather than the BBQ that we were suppose to have. As the driver parked up he scraped the side of the van against a tree!! The lunch was amazing however but it didn't prevent that on the way between wineries, a palate flew off the back of a lorry and into our path causing the driver to swerve off the road....nice!

All this aside, it was a great day. We visited 5 wineries and all got thoroughly drunk. I have now stood in a Jacobs creek vineyard and been to the creek itself! We were talked through the wine making process and shown the equipment used. Frankie and I had loads of fun and decide just to carryt on drinking when we got back to the hostel to make a good friday night out.

Obviously i can't take you through what did day to day in Adelaide as that would take for ages. So in a nut shell other highlights included a bike ride around the city taking in the Oval, Japenese gardens and the riding along the Torrnes river. I visited the Haighs chocolate factory...it sucked compaired to Cadbury's world and one girls i was with actually noted in the comments book that there was not enough free samples! I went to Glenelg beach several times with people from the hostel...once at nightfall and had a few drinks in the town.

I went to stay with Jodie, a girl i met while in Langkawi. She lived just two streets from the beach. It was utterly amazing to leave the house in the morning and be on the beach in under 5 minutes...a dream come true. Jodi, Gemma (friend of Jodie's who i met in Langkawi too) and I went out for Chinese in the city one evening but others were spent relaxing on her balcony sipping on wine taking in the spectacular beach views. Jodie also owned a turtle who she took out of the tank in the evenings when she was home. It would take refuge under the bean bag...strange animal! While i was there i walked from Glenelg to Brighton Beach. Compaired to many of the beaches in Thailand this beach just goes on for miles. The weather was glorious and the sand so yellow.One major difference from thailand is that the beach is straight on he road rather than having lots of beach bars! This doesn't take away from its beauty however and the contempory house along the beach front is all asthetically pleasing.

Jodie and her boyfriend Dave were so hospitable and let me treat the flat like my own...massive thanks to them.

So during my time at Backpack Oz i met lots of lovely people. Fun nights out were had at PJ O'Briens, a live music venue with an Irish bar theme, the austral...a trendy bar not far from the hostel and the terrible but cheap drinks nights at the club, church! So many others were spent staying in at the hostel, my last nighgt was particularly memorable with twister and pictonary being played by all. It really was a great atmosphere at this hostel and I was sad to leave when the time came to hit the great ocean road