Day 7 of 10 (9 nights)  Day. 67 of 102 of the entire journey.

Back in 2018, during my first World Voyage, which included my first ever visit to Australia, I took part in a visit to Adelaide’s Cleland Wild Life Park as part of a Cunard “overland” tour, with around three nights away from the ship.  I was thrilled at the naturalness of the place, with numerous examples of wildlife in such a lovely open but secure environment.  I never thought I would ever see the place again.  Having already visited the Railway Museum at Port Adelaide in 2019, over two days, I didn’t need to go back again!  I chose to devote my one day here this time to revisiting the Cleland Site once again, this time, with much more time to wander around. 

People I spoke to suggested there might be no public transport.  Actually, there is, but catch the wrong bus to the right interchange, then you will have almost two hours to wait for the connecting bus to Cleland.  I found that out the hard way!  But, it did give me opportunity, in a garage café, to complete blogs for the last two days, over a funny tasting cup of tea. The time did not drag, and I almost finished what I was doing before it was time to return to the bus stop.

The day had started with grey overcast skies. Was this fairly long anticipated trip going to be not the bright and sunny day I had come to expect? Nevertheless, I followed the instructions of the hotel receptionist, one hour later than the suggested time. That’s why I had such a long wait for the connecting bus to Cleland. Just like in the U.K. connections can seem unnecessarily long-winded; the bus to Cleland was timed to leave minutes before the arrival of the 10.39 bus from Adelaide! Much to my delight, on the way to Cleland, the bus called at Mount Lofty, allowing 10 minutes to walk to the high viewing point from where the city of Adelaide can be seen spreading out to the horizon.

There was a full afternoon available to wander around. Immediately stepping from the bus, I noticed a kangaroo in the bushes, which led up to the pavement. By now, the dull grey sky of earlier in the day was a vivid blue.

Nevertheless, I had around three hours to wander around Cleland Wildlife Park. I had purchased a bag of animal-feed, but no wildlife seemed interested and generally scarpered away when offered what I had bought.

I’m not sure how much (or little) I actually saw, but it was wonderful to see such exotic wildlife and hear clearly natural sounds and cries of all around me, and of birds invisible in the foliage of the trees. Below is a selection of pictures taken as I walked around.

I felt as if I had seen as much as I could in the afternoon and eventually headed back to the café in good time for the 16.42 bus back to where another bus back to the city would connect perfectly. With local assistance, I would find my way back to the less than three year old hotel where I was extremely comfortable.

March in Adelaide is a month of festivals and celebration, particularly at the weekend. Several people that I met would tell me that much of this was inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe. I would find this out the day I arrived, when the Uber driver was unable to get me right to the entrance of the hotel, the road being blocked off for street performances. Feeling unexpectedly rejuvenated, I would choose to mingle anonymously with the predominantly younger than me and trendy crowds outside.

I would join a queue for some food at an Italian eatery close by, and then end up joining a party of six also out for a celebratory night. This, for me, was an unexpected pleasure, and with luck, my blog readership should increase in this far-away part of the world. I do hope so!

As I mentioned, I had been here before, in 2018 and again in 2019. Although I did not recognise the area where I was staying this time around, all of a sudden, I came across the Majestic Hotel, just yards away, and realised that I had dined at the same restaurant four years ago that I had joined the “Adelaide Mob” at last night. Some coincidence!

I am completing this blog in my last hotel of this all to brief tour, the Duxton at Perth. I shall write about today shortly. The day after tomorrow, I leave Australia for Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, Namibia, Tenerife, and back to the U.K.

Many thanks for reading, David, in the bar of the Duxton Hotel. 19.50 hrs GMT + 8