Rain. Wind. Cold. A nasty day in Adelaide. I woke up
this morning because my throat was sore; it seems Cough-Girl managed to cough
her germs over to me. After breakfast, I went to Central Market to buy fresh
apples and carrots for my trip to Kangaroo Island. It’s better quality and a
lot cheaper at one of the fruit/veggie stands than in a supermarket (plus: you
can choose which fruit you want and don’t just have to buy a whole pack). After
that, the hostel managers had their first big moment because they were so very
helpful re: getting a room for Saturday and Sunday, and how to get in at
10.30pm Saturday night. I get to take my key so that I can let myself in. And
they’ll even get up early Thursday morning to make pancakes – at 6.30 am
instead of 8.30am. So nice.
I adjusted today’s program due to the weather conditions.
At North Terrace, I took photos of the Railway station, Parliament House, some
more statues and memorials, and then State Library, Museum and Gallery of South
Australia. Originally, I wanted to go inside both Museum and Gallery. But after
a wonderful 2 hour tour of the Museum, my flu/cold induced headache was so bad, that I
opted out of the Gallery tour and went to the Botanic gardens instead to get
some fresh air. Thankfully it stayed dry, so I was able to take it slow and sit
down on a bench from time to time to rest. I took a lot of pictures of various
plants that I won’t be able to identify. They all looked very pretty, though.
On the way back I went past historic Ayers House for the umpteenth time and
snapped a photo.
Unfortunately, the headache got a lot worse and
after waiting for the (free) City Loop bus for what felt like hours, I got back
to the hostel and popped some Ibuprofen. Along with several cups of tea and
some noodles in broth, I feel a lot better now. The weather is still horrible
and all the things left on my “Things to see in Adelaide”-list are outdoors, I
will hopefully manage to see all of them when I’m back in the city on Sunday.
It’s mostly parks and gardens, which are great for a Sunday because you don’t
have to pay attention to opening hours.
I’m a little worried about this cold/flu because the
Kangaroo Island trip will be all about hiking and landscapes and wildlife; not
something you want to do when you feel like spending your day in bed feeling
sorry for yourself. But I trust that my lovely pills in combination with fresh
fruits/veggies and an invigorating nature experience will get me through those
three days alive and well. Obviously, I won’t have Internet access and only
limited cell phone reception, which means there will be heaps of blog entries
and photos on Sunday. Also, if you don’t “hear” from me on your Saturday night,
I will be dead somewhere on Kangaroo Island. But I trust that the car rental
people will notify police if me and the car won’t make it back to them on
Saturday evening.
The plan for the rest of the day is to drink as much
tea as possible, stay warm and dry, plan the trip, pack my bag and then go to
bed early to get a good night’s rest. With Cough-Girl spraying more germs…
Almost forgot: The managers’ second big moment of
the day. They organized my Greyhound ticket for Monday and will also give me a “backpacker’s
card” on Sunday which means reduced fares for transportation etc.
° ° °
Museum of South Australia
I highly recommend you go there if you ever find
yourself stranded in Adelaide. It’s a nicely organized museum, not very big,
but really informative. They have a lot of material on Aboriginal peoples and
peoples of the South pacific. I especially enjoyed the exhibitions on South
Australian wildlife, fossils, and the stones/minerals section. They also have a
mammals of the world, whales and dolphins and Antarctica section. In a tiny
exhibition room you can even check out some Egyptian artifacts and mummies. Entry
is free and at 11pm, there’s a free guided tour every day (Monday to Friday).
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