Friday 25 April 2014

Semaphore, Port Adelaide

We arrived here at Adelaide Beachfront Discovery Caravan Park at Semaphore on Saturday.
On Sunday we had a drive around the city, North Adelaide, and southern beaches.
On Monday we did the Popeye Cruise, Adelaide Zoo, Cultural District and the Port of Adelaide.
Tuesday, the car was booked in to get fixed...... so we spent the day at the van park, well,  some of the day.
 The Semaphore and Fort Glanville Tourist Railway, 'Toot Toot', runs from outside the van park up along the beach two kilometres to Semaphore Jetty.
 The miniature authentic steam train return fare cost $7 per adult, $5 per child,  or $20 for a family.
 At each end of the track the engineer and guard had to manually turn the engine to make the return run.
 The foreshore is open space for picnics, walks, and even free overnight camping
 Jonnie enjoyed watching the engine being turned.
 We walked out to the end of the jetty.  There were many people fishing. The jetty was built in 1860 to provide berths for the quarantine and pilot vessels, as well as swimming baths. In 1873,the jetty was extended to 2138 feet. The baths were washed away in 1917, and the present length of the jetty is 1918 feet.

Semaphore also boasts to have the Roustabout Ferris Wheel that was used in the Elvis Presley movie 'Roustabout'. Here it is seen from the end of the jetty.
 Elvis sat in carriage number 2.
 Forty Horse Carousel is the largest working carousel in the Southern Hemisphere.
 It was built in 1928 and the wooden horses were carved in Melbourne.
 Completed in 1883, the Customs House was a boarding house that accommodated the Customs and Quarantine officers.
 It was saved from demolition in 1978.
 Semaphore Road is one of the widest in Adelaide.  We walked up one side and down the other and came across this 'air conditioned' car. In the background one can see the Timeball Tower.
 I have no idea what this piece of art is. It sits across the street from the jetty and has marine items on top of a metal sphere.
 The Timeball Tower was built in 1875 to provide ship captains to sync their chronometer to 1pm. It was decommissioned in 1932,  however was restored in 1992, and each day at 1pm a black ball is mechanically raised to the top of the tower and dropped.
 There are a lot of cafés and eating place's,  and look, we found Red Rock noodles.
 Jonnie was ever so happy.
 While we were there we experienced a total lunar eclipse,  or blood moon.
 While it wasn't as spectacular as some other parts of the world, it was still interesting to see.
 The sunsets were magic.
 There were many dolphins in the Gulf St Vincent. There was a pod of 4 or 5 dolphins playing here.

We will definitely be staying here again.





Happy Holidays
Allison

Adelaide - Cultural Area

All around Adelaide are statues and interesting art works, but along North Terrace you not only have heritage buildings,  but the Art Gallery, State Museum, and universities.
 This is not too far from the zoo.
 This gazebo is in Elder Park was built in 1882 and is made of iron.
One of the interesting sculptures.
These buildings are opposite the State Museum. I'm not sure what they are, but they look good.
This sign was in front of the museum. I remember growing up playing this game with my Mum and sister and brother while walking on the footpath.
Very interesting piece of art outside the SA Art Gallery. Not sure if I like it, but it is certainly interesting.
Jonnie thought it was a puzzle.
This water feature is made up of many cylinders. The birds liked playing in them as much as the children did.
Another water feature outside the State Library. It is made of local slate.
This on top of the Adelaide Festival Centre.  I'm not sure if it is art or if it is something functional.
Many stone art pieces can be found, and I'm sure that they have a meaning,  but couldn't find anything.




Happy travels
Allison

Adelaide Zoo

We parked in the Adelaide Festival Centre parking -$14 for the day. We walked down to Elder Park and caught the Popeye Cruise.
 This is a 40 minute round trip cruise on the Torrens River to the zoo and back.
 The commentary was good, telling us about the history and the workings of the river.
 This lock keeps the water level the same for the city.

 The peoples bridge, crosses the Torrens to the revamped Adelaide Cricket Ground.
 There were many black swans and ducks on the Torrens.
 The new entrance to the zoo is around near the Botanical Gardens. Only a short walk from the Popeye drop off.  
There are many interesting sculptures around Adelaide. This one is just outside the zoo. 
 The old elephant house. Hard to imagine that the poor elephants had to be kept in such a small cage. There are no elephants in the zoo anymore.
 We watched these two giraffes for a while, and the crazy meercats running around.
 We let Jonnie take us around, thinking he would want to see the giant pandas first,  but he wanted to see seals. We saw so many seals on Kangaroo Island,  but he still wanted to see more.

 Jonnie also wanted to go to the Australian animals section. The only animal that was out for patting was this solitary potaroo.

 The giant pandas were really cute.  There are 2 pandas and they are the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere. This is Funi, the female.
 Here is Funi eating bamboo. There is bamboo growing all around the zoo. The pandas are here as part of a conservation breeding project.  Keepers at the exhibit said that Funi was willing, but Wang Wang didn't know what to do.
 Wang Wang walking around. They were interesting to see and looked so cuddly.
This concrete one was fine to cuddle. 


 Jonnie had taken us all around the complex from the hippos to the hippos.

So we decided to have lunch before heading back on the Popeye boat and walking around the cultural area.






Happy Travels
Allison