March 2, 2017

   Up to watch the sunrise, the sky was clear as the sun rose over Port Adelaide.  It is a working port which is 28 km from Adelaide, South Australia’s city center, about a 45 minute train ride. Over the last two days the ship skirted the southern edge of the Great Australia Bight, a narrow gulf along the southern coast.  This morning the howling wind of last evening had subsided to a gentle breeze of 8 km per hour. The morning temperature was about 24, no need for a windbreaker today.  By the afternoon the wind had pickup to 25 km per hour and cloud formed inland into huge white clouds.

   Also in port today was the CMV ship Astor, which arrived before Radiance of the Seas and left about 2:30 p.m. The Astor was a smaller ship just nine levels above the water and no balconies.  The Radiance of the Seas left Port Adelaide just after 6 p.m.

   We received a complimentary Spa treatment certificate from our stateroom attendant.  He also advised us yesterday that we could pickup our passports.  None of our dinner table partners had been told by their stateroom attendants or anyone else that they could pickup their passports. 

   There was a short delay for the going to the buses.  We were able to be on the same bus as Maureen and Bob.  We passed the manufacturing buildings of some of Australia’s military equipment including submarines. The driver mentioned that the poles for the electric wires were solid cement with metal sides, instead of wooden poles as in Canada.  They were invented and patented in Australia and serve the second purpose that they are termite proof.

   It took an hour to drive to Mount Lofty on the far side of the city from Port Adelaide. The driver needed to take a different route as the east side of Adelaide was barricaded to facilitate the Adelaide 400 Formula One car race. Adelaide is known as the city of churches, many we passed.  It is also known as the Festival city. From mid February to mid March it hosts the Adelaide Fringe Festival and the Adelaide Festival is also drawing crowds this week near the Convention Center.

   There were many familiar American chain names – IGA; Shell; Krispy Kreme; Dominos; KFC; McDonalds; Subway; Woolworths and Kmart – as we drove around Adelaide.

    Mount Lofty viewpoint gave a panoramic view of the seashore below for miles.  All Adelaide and its suburbs and out to Port Adelaide could be seen.  Mount Lofty was a sacred territory to the Kaurna and Peramangk people who inhabited the area. In another direction, the view showed Piccadilly Valley where the cooler climate is ideal for the growing of Chardonay grapes.  There are other wine areas in the region such as the Barossa Valley, which has some of the oldest vineyards in the country still producing fruit. The 1843 Freedom Shiraz vines are over 165 years old. Other wine regions are McLaren Vale and the Clare Valley.  Also outside of greater Adelaide is the Flinders Chase Wildlife Sanctuary where Australian animals like kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas can be seen in a more natural setting than a zoo.

    The area was named by Australian explorer Matthew Flinders in 1802, but, Adelaide was founded in 1836 when Survey General, Colonel Light, surveyed the planned city. The city was named after ruling British monarch King William’s wife. Today the population of greater Adelaide is 1.7 million and the state of South Australia’s total population is 1.9 million, which leaves just 200,000 people living in the rest of the state. Colonel Light allowed lots of room for parks, that are still accessible to everyone and development of residents or commercial buildings is not allowed on park land. The main park is Victoria Square in the city center.  Residents of Adelaide take pride in having a clean city, the fine is $530 Aus, if you do not clean up after a picnic in the park.  There are many 19th century heritage buildings in the city center as well as 20th and 21st century buildings.  The heritage building exteriors have been restored, but the interior can be modern. Some of these older buildings that we passed were Holy Trinity Church; the Catholic Archbishop’s House; St. Patrick’s Cathedral; the old Railway Station; The Old (state) Parliament Building, built of limestone and across the street Government House in its garden; Adelaide Town Hall, built in 1865 of sandstone; the Treasury Building, which like Sydney’s, is now a casino.  The original Post Office is still used as the post office.  The Adelaide Oval stadium was recently refurbished at a cost of over $500 million Australian.  In the city center the pedestrian friendly Rundle Mall is the place to shop. Some of the heritage building house students attending the University of South Australia. We were also driven past some of the sandy beaches along the Gulf of St. Vincent, around Port Adelaide on our back to the ship. 

   We returned to the ship about 1:30.  The sun was shining the wind was stronger, the temperature was about 28 C and there was cloud inland.  Looking out toward Kangaroo Island that sheltered Port Adelaide, the sea looked choppy.

   Larry spent the afternoon in the Port of Adelaide terminal building using the public free Wi-Fi to upload six days of material to the blog.  It was easy to load the written part, but frustrating to load the pictures. The Wi-Fi system slowed to a crawl every time a bus load of people returned from an excursion and opened their phone or I-pads.

  The captain announced before dinner that the ship would experience 3 to 4 meter waves during the night and he was deploying the stabilizers.

    Dinner was appetizers of Greek Tomato Feta Salad or Seafood Salad followed by slow roasted Lamb Shank with Ratatouille and green beans or Salade Nicoise (salad with tuna chunks).  The desserts chosen were Caramel Flan or Zucchini Yogurt Spice Cake.  Maureen and I decided that we would try to switch to a table of four since eight people sitting at an oval table for ten was not working too well. 

   Tonight’s entertainer was violinist, Jane Cho, who has played her repertoire of melodies on her electric violin to audiences around the world including the Sydney Olympics.

  Again tonight, clocks need to be set forward to be on Melbourne time in two days.

Steps  14,873