adelaide is like a bigger version of deer lake, according to erin. ha! most aussies say that you only pass thru adel on your way to elsewhere. it was alright, but nothing special. the torrens river runs thru town, which offered great photo ops, walking trails, and good birding.
in kitchen at our hostel, ran into adi from israel that erin and i met 5 weeks ago in new zealand! she was super happy to see us b/c she's traveling alone. mara and i spent the day with her. went to scanty sunday market, the gorgeous botanics, and rundle mall.
been tired of eating and getting little exercise for a while now; can't exactly get the heart rate up in flip flops (aka thongs in oz) or blundies, so i dropped $180 on a rad pair of asics tigers. yay new kicks! walked around river and to north adelaide, which has nice neighbourhoods and good views of the city. here's to getting into an exercise routine...
after 2 nights in adel, we hired a car for 9 days to drive east to melbourne. first day drove a few hours south to port elliot, a pretty little town on the ocean. our hostel there was a newly-renovated country house. the nicest one we've stayed in yet. wooden interior, fireplace, new kitchen and utetnsiils! and a beauty garden out back.
next morning detoured to see mouth of the murray river and hindmarsh island. good birds there! continued on thru coorong national park with beautiful sandy beaches and globally important shorebird habitat.
spent 2nd night in robe, which everyone told us we should be sure to visit. and we have no idea why. nothing there! bares bones nothing. good thing we arrived late. early next morning, i birded around sand dunes and mallee scrub of little dip conservation area just outside town. beautiful firetail here!!! left at 10.00 to head inland to hall's gap and grampians national park, where kangaroos apparently hang out in the middle of town. mom's looking fwd to that!
1st photo is wombat crossing sign in southern aus
2nd photo is paddle boats on the river torrens in adelaide
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