Due South (and a little West)

In all my discussions with other backpackers since I've been out here, I'm yet to meet someone who has stayed in Adelaide more than 2days - it appears that most people just use it as a stop-off point between the Great Ocean Road and Uluru / Perth... Which is a shame, because I thought Adelaide was great!!!

One of the girls from my dorm the previous night in Alice, was not only on the same flight down to Adelaide as me, but also staying in the same hostel as me, so we decided to travel together... When we finally arrived in Adelaide and found our hostel (quite easy but could have been easier still had we got the right bus from the airport!!) we set out to explore. On first impressions Adelaide was nice, quite small, but pretty, with a river through the centre and lots of park areas. It had struck us both as we were coming into land how green it was (but then we had just arrived from desert scenery!!) After alot of wandering, Jess was desperate for a night out in Adelaide (I was shattered, but as always, was easily persuaded!!) Therefore we headed for food and then to find a bar... only to find that Adelaide, on a Monday night - is ridiculously quiet!!!

We finally found a bar that had... well... at least 5 people in it, where we befriended the barman and were persuaded to sample a few of his cocktails! At the end of his shift, a group of us went to play pool for a few hours before grabbing a 'subway' for breakfast, and heading to a good location to watch the sunrise over the city. All good! The following morning, Jess and I decided, after a few hours of aimless wandering and sightseeing (aka shopping), that it would only be fair to check out the popular beach suburb of Glenelg...which is where we spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing, before Jess befriended more locals who persuaded us that a trip to Adelaide would not be complete without a few drinks by the beach (so much for that early night!!) So... our guides insisted on showing us around until we were dropped back off at our hostel at about 5am ready for my tour to Kangaroo Island the next day.

I headed off to Kangaroo Island (obviously bright-eyed and bushy-tailed) and managed not to show too much alarm that the first stop on our tour was a brewery!!! ARGHHH!!! A few samples, lunch, a short hike, a choppy charter boat trip later... we arrived on the Island... to find the coldest night I'd experienced in Oz yet! I actually even wimped out of a swim in the sea when we arrived at our camping spot!!! BRRRRR!!!

Our tour guide for the trip was great.. really animated about everything he was showing us, and even better an excellent cook, so we found ourselves chopping up garlic and coriander around a bush stove whilst trying various 'Bush' spices... (I guess that there's no more excuses to associate camping with burnt burgers and cheese slices ever again!!) After dinner, we headed along the beach to watch the little penguins body surfing their way onto the beach and scrambling over the rocks to their nests in the dusk - very cute! After a few quiet drinks and an attempt to learn names of everyone in our group (10 or so of us), we camped out under the stars by the beach... can't complain really can you?!

The following day we made our way to Seal Bay, to observe some sealions (and a few pups) basking on the beach, before heading to 'Little Sahara' for some sandboarding action (excellent fun, but a: it's so much easier on snow, and b: when you wipe out on snow it's not so bad if you get a mouthful of the stuff!!) Covered in sand, we decided there was only one thing for it... forget the fact that it was cold outside and we were on the south side of the island - where the water feels like it comes straight from Antarctica... we went swimming!! After the initial shock wore off, it was amazing - we even had a fur seal come up and swim among us, showing off!! After defrosting and regaining sensation to our extremities, we spent the afternoon walking before heading back for another gourmet camp meal (!!) and an ecvening of karaoke, chatting and a game or two of pool.

Our third (and last) day on the island was spent spotting koalas (we were even treated to one clambering out of a tree and following us along the path - a rarity considering how much time they spend sleeping!!!) before a few group photos at spectacular points along the coast, more seals and sealions and a swim and snorkel (on the much warmer north shore!!) before lunch. The weather was fantastic.

We arrived back in Adelaide that evening and I met up with a few friends for a relaxed night before heading off along the Great Ocean Road the following morning... next stop Melbourne!!!