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