Gawler - Volunteer ranger at Para Wirra

Howdy partners,
Today I got up in time to be ready to be picked up by a South Australian National Wildlife Park Ranger! If that doesn't sound cool I don't know what does :-) Meryl is a friend of Heidi and offered me last week that I could come along with her for a day. So we drove to the Para Wirra Recreation Park in the Southeast of Gawler. She is one of two rangers there for six weeks now. So Meryl herself has to get used to the park. Para Wirra comes from an Aboriginal phrase meaning "river with scrub".

Port Adelaide - Dragonboats, dolphins and broken camera

G'Day ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
This weekend started very early on Saturday morning as I joined Heidi to her Dragonboat Training! I have seen some dragonboat races in Germany but have never done it myself. It actually started with me mentioning that I wanted to see the Adelaide River Dolphins and Heidi said that they sometimes see them during their training. So at 8:30am I had a paddle in my hand, a safety vest around my waist and was prepared to get wet!!!

Gawler - A dog, new houses and job-searching

Cheers everyone,
I left Kangaroo Island one week ago. Honestly, where did the time go???
Back in the CBD (Central Business District) of Adelaide I met lots of new great people in the hostel and as it is Mad-March in Adelaide a lot is on. So everyday I had something else to do and spoke to new people about the same things: where are you from, what are you doing in Australia and why are you here?

Adelaide - Beach, cleaning and concert after Clipsal 500 race

Cheerio friends,

It is VERY busy in Adelaide. The Fringe Festival (artist and fun etc), the Adelaide Festival (music) and the Clipsal 500 (V8 racing) are in town. I only got into a 10-bed-female dorm but at least it is very central. And I get to know many people in a very short time.

Together with Eva, Sébastien, Teresa, Pauline and Holly we got by tram to Glenelg where the beach of Adelaide is situated.

Adelaide - Free concert for Adelaide Festival

Hello world,

On Friday morning when I thought that my back would kill me we drove off from the camping ground at 9:15am to be too early at the ferry terminal in Penneshaw. We waited for the 10:30am ferry, boarded and were told to expect some rough sea and better sit in the back of the ferry. Luckily we really moved to the back of the ferry as it was going up and down a lot and I actually felt a bit sea-sick.

Adelaide - Guided tour through Botanical Garden

Heyho everybody,

Today I went again to the Botanical Garden with Eva. But this time we joined the daily FREE guided tour. Our guide Ron is retired and a true tree lover. He told us and two other who joined the tour so many things about the garden itself, the trees and plants. He also showed us different material he had with him about how the wood of several trees look from the inside and how they feel. Or he would have some seeds and pictures to show. In 1.5 hours he gave us so many new impressions.

Adelaide - State library and tomato festival

Cheers mates,
On Saturday morning I met Lillian and Craig (who got back to the hostel at 4am and slept in so he checked out late) who went off to the airport. So again I had to say Good-Bye to some new friends but maybe I will see Craig In Melbourne again.
Eva and I went to the State Library and had a look at the old building where we also went upstairs and had a closer look at the old books. It looked truly amazing in there.

Adelaide - Fringe Festival at night

Servus world,
After the chocolate-tasting at the Haigh's Chocolate Factory I spent the rest of the afternoon in the hostel. Eva, a 21 year old German arrived in my dorm. She just arrived in Australia and was really exhausted from the travel. I took her with me so she wouldn't feel asleep too soon. I met again with Jan and Sébastien and also a South Korean girl that I got to know two days ago joined in the common room of the hostel. Then we also spoke to a Britsh guy called Craig and together over a beer we decided to go to the Waymouth Street party. There was this street performer who balanced on two volunteers and juggled three hammers while a boy measured the noise of the audience. It was really funny.

Adelaide - Organising a trip and chocolate-tasting

G'Day everyone,

Today I slept in to get rid of all the alcohol from the wine-tasting the day before. After breakfast I went to the Visitor Information Center in the city center to get some more information about Kangaroo Island. The thing is that guided tours are quite expensive. It costs about 200 AUD or more per day! I spoke to many other backpackers in Melbourne who organized the trip themselves and saved lots of money. So I am about to do the same thing.

Adelaide - Barossa Valley wine-tasting

Prost!

On a windy and rainy morning in Adelaide (is this a normal summer here?) I got picked up at 9am (good time!) by The Taste of Barossa Valley Tour for some great wine tasting! Absolutely everyone who has done a wine tasting in Barossa Valley was completely raving about it and recommended this tour as a Must-Do while in Adelaide. After picking up 17 guests in total all around the CBD of Adelaide we headed to the Adelaide Hills through rain. Our guide Russell told us about his love to this valley and the history how this area has become a famous grape-growing and wine-producing area in Australia.

 

 

Our first stop was however something that has nothing to do with grapes or wine: The Whispering Wall!

Adelaide - Sightseeing, Art Gallery and Museum

Hi there everyone,

On Tuesday I got on my way further West in Australia to the capital of South Australia: Adelaide! I took the plane as it was the cheapest for me and I way prefer flying over getting the train or even a bus (it takes 10 hours!!!).

Anyway, I checked into the Backpack Oz at 5pm (Adelaide is half an hour behind Melbourne) and did nothing spectacular that evening.

Today I ventured out to the North of the city as this is where all the main attractions seem to be located. I started at the Adelaide Arcade which reminds me of the Block Arcade in Melbourne.