My Visual Travel Experience: Adelaide

I spent 3 days in Adelaide in 2011 with my wife Kamalini. It was an enjoyable visit. Over my month's stay in Australia, I was to see several of Australia's wildlife parks, but my first one was in Adelaide - Cleland National Park - and I was absolutely impressed because nowhere else in the world had I visited a wildlife park where I had got the opportunity to touch and feed the animals.

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and has a population of approximately 1.7 million. The region was inhabited by Aborigines for more than 10,000 years. In 1836, the area was made a British colony by Governor John Hindmarsh. Colonel William Light planned the city, and the funding was done largely through wealth from agriculture and mining. In the mid 20th century, Adelaide became a manufacturing hub, largely for motor vehicles and household appliances. Adelaide is a very well planned city with a grid-like pattern. The city centre lies between North Terrace and the river Torrens. 

St Peter’s Cathedral is an Anglican church with neo Gothic twin spires. Construction of the cathedral began in the later part of the 18th century, and it was consecrated in 1904. The church’s interior is 62 meters long, and the spires rise 51 meters from the ground.

St Peter's Cathedral

High Altar, St Peter's Cathedral

Crucifixion Statue, St Peter's Cathedral

Stain Glass Windows, St Peter's Cathedral

The Art Gallery Of South Australia has an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures from Australia and around the world. Aboriginal art is also featured. There are impressive works from around Asia. 

Art Gallery of South Australia

Brueghel's Tax Collector's Office,
Art Gallery of South Australia

Carpeaux's The Negress,
Art Gallery of South Australia

Milpurrurru's Flying Foxes,
Art Gallery of South Australia

Tribe's Caprice,
Art Gallery of South Australia

Ward's Portrait of Dash,
Art Gallery of South Australia

The South Australian Museum has an impressive collection of Aboriginal artifacts, and stuffed animals. There are impressive exhibits on cultures from the Pacific islands. The museum was founded way back in 1856.

African Mammals, South Australian Museum

Fox, South Australian Museum

Pacific Islands House, South Australian Museum

Cleland National Park lies a short distance outside the city. It is a wonderful park for animal lovers, and has animals like kangaroos, emus, dingoes and koalas, as well as several types of water-birds. Visitors can touch and feed kangaroos, wallabies and emus. They can also hold koalas and get their pictures professionally taken with them. The day spent in Cleland National Park was really a high point of our visit!

Dingo, Cleland National Park

Emu, Cleland National Park

Grey Kangaroo, Cleland National Park

Koala, Cleland National Park

The Botanic Gardens are spread over an area of 50 acres and are a popular attraction of  the city. They date back to 1855. They lie in the north eastern part of the city. The gardens have the Bicentennial Conservatory, which houses a beautiful tropical rainforest.

Fountain, Botanic Gardens

Palm House, Botanic Gardens

Wollemi Palm, Botanic Gardens

Situated close the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide Zoo is an impressive zoo with a fine collection of animals from Australia and around the world. The biggest draw is the collection of giant pandas. 

Giant Panda, Adelaide Zoo

Giraffe, Adelaide Zoo

Victoria Square lies in the heart of the city, in the middle of expansive lawns. The centre of the square has a large statue of Queen Victoria of England.

Victoria Square

The War Memorial dedicated to the soldiers of South Australia who died in the world wars.

War Memorial

The Statue of Sir Donald Bradman, the legendary cricketer, lies next to the Adelaide Oval.

Statue of Sir Donald Bradman

Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street that has Adelaide’s main shopping area, with department stores, shops and restaurants. One of the highlights is Adelaide Arcade which was built in 1880 and has an impressive central dome. The street also has bronze sculptures of a group of fictitious legendary pigs, including Truffles.

Adelaide Arcade, Rundle Mall

Truffles, Rundle Mall

The Parliament House has 10 marble Corinthian columns at the front. It dates back to 1939 and took 50 years to complete!

Parliament House

Adelaide University is one of Australia’s premier educational institutes. It has a beautiful campus along North Terrace, with some impressive structures. The University's Bonython Hall is used for graduation ceremonies, examinations and lectures. The hall was completed in 1936. The hall was built with a sloping floor because the Bonython family was apparently conservative and did not want the hall to be used for dances!

Bonython Hall, Adelaide University

Elder Hall, Adelaide University

During my month in Australia in 2011, I covered all the major cities - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra - in addition to several other places. For me personally, Sydney was a favourite, but all the big cities were very interesting, with their churches, memorials, museums, urban parks and wildlife parks. Adelaide was no exception, and I enjoyed exploring the city. My wife's childhood friend, Rakhee, lives in Adelaide too, and she enjoyed meeting up with her after a long gap. All in all, an enjoyable few days!