Travel: Adelaide

The minute I heard there were pandas at Adelaide Zoo I began planning and scheming. These are the only pandas in the Southern Hemisphere, and since I won’t be crossing that border any time soon, I figured crossing the state border would be worthwhile.

On the plane to Adelaide I sat next to a guy who was on his way to a job interview; he, his wife and two and a half kids were hoping to move there. The interview was for a position as a financial planner and involved a role-play to demonstrate you could build rapport with a client, explain things simply, etc. With the interview drawing closer and his nerves rising, he asked if he could do some practices with me. So I learnt about my investment style recognised my saving goals and tried my best to give him constructive feedback.

That afternoon I wandered down to the Central Market and Chinatown where I bought lollies and had my first encounter with Cibo, a local coffee chain. After googling what the heck there is to do in Adelaide on a Wednesday night, I walked across the city to a pub that had advertised an open mike night starting at 8pm. I was nice and punctual, and slowly sipped my orange juice in an attempt to validate my solitary presence as long as possible. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but pubs really aren’t a great place to go on your own! After a very uncomfortable hour of staring at my phone and an empty stage, I decided to get the hell outta there!

Thursday was the long-awaited zoo day! After a lazy morning I began my half hour walk to the zoo, stopping off on the way for some brunch at Cibo. The pandas were absolutely adorable and I got to watch them climb trees, eat bamboo, walk around and laze about for almost an hour. It’s amazing how similar to humans some animals are. The way the pandas moved was at times as if they were a person in a suit. (So I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out it was all a hoax to get people to visit Adelaide)

A few other highlights from the zoo were watching the tortoises nibble at grass, the echidnas walk, the pelicans scooping up fish, the hungry penguins waddling to the food bucket, the lions prowling ready for lunch, the cheeky meerkats and the ever-graceful but gangly giraffes. There were also some interesting displays on the history of the zoo, and its move from being a viewer-focused entertainment centre to an animal-focused conservation centre. Once I’d seen everything at the zoo, I walked around the city; across North Terrace then back across Hindley and Rundle Streets.

That night I went to the Festival Centre to see Superheroes, a contemporary piece reflecting on society (what else?!) and the apparent hopelessness of our future. The statement “If you can’t change the world, change your world” echoes throughout reflecting our inabilities as individuals with differing ideals to create a world for all that we would be happy in. The play used amazing visual imagery – choreography and video footage – which made up for what was lacking in the script.

Friday was my last day in Adelaide, and my last day of autonomy. I went to the Art Gallery of South Australia. (I love art galleries, and hope to go to all the main ones in the country; just NT, WA and TAS to go!). It had quite a good mix of history, styles and mediums. I enjoyed taking the time to look and reflect on what I was looking at; who created it, how did they do it, what inspired them, how does it inspire me?

I then went to the Migration Museum which gave insight into the experiences of migrants in South Australia, past and present. I felt a balance of pride and disgust at being an Australian; things like the White Australia and Indigenous policies definitely disgust me. Having learnt about these things throughout school, I was appreciative of the reminder and wondered whether Australians have changed much since those days. I was also disturbed to see the exhibition about the Centre for the Destitute which was housed where the Migration Museum is now. The attitudes people had towards the poor, orphaned and pregnant unmarrieds were horrible. I’m glad to say I think we have moved on from those attitudes now.

I spent the rest of the day shopping on Rundle Street Mall and went to the T Bar, a tea salon where you can try before you buy. Then I went back to my hostel to squeeze everything I’d bought into my bag. I headed to bed ready for my 5.30am taxi to the airport for my flight to Brisbane. More about that later!

It was nice to have some time to myself, which is something I don’t do all that often. I think as I get older, I’m becoming more introverted and appreciate spending time on my own. Having said that, I love spending time with friends, so my challenge is to find a happy medium!