Adelaide

Having been on the road and/or offline for a few days I am a bit behind with stuff.  Adelaide appears a very nice laid back city.  Well apart from where we were staying.  The Rockford is a good hotel with helpful staff but it is on Hindley (pronounced as in hind legs) Street surrounded by bars, clubs and a couple of strip joints.  It is certainly safe enough bit a bit lively.

It did provide the opportunity for some street photography of which more in another post.

We are now in Uluru and rushing around so it may not be immediately forthcoming.

Cleland Wildlife Park

In the hills south of Adelaide is a wildlife park dedicated to the local wildlife with Koalas, Kangaroos and other assorted wildlife.  What surprised me was just how placid Kangaroos etc are, now these guys are habituated to humans but apparently they are pretty laid back in the wild. Any way here are some pics.

Wombat -They can run at 40kph and are vicious apparently.

Where's Rod says Emu

 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 Dingo

Tasmanian Devil -only decent shot as it never stopped moving.

Cape Barren Goose

Swamp Wallabies

Grey Kangaroos

The Road to the Barossa

We left Warrnambool on the Great Ocean Road for the seven hour drive to the Barossa Valley to dark threatening skies.  Set up the satnav and off we went.  TomTom in his wisdom decided the quickest way was along back roads.  When the heavens opened we wished he hadn't, but as it began to clear the light was wonderful.  Unfortunately there were few places to stop with the right elements coming together and we had a long drive, but I did get these at a lonely crossroads.

 Later still we spotted this rainbow.  We also spotted a double rainbow but it went before we could stop.

We had a great, in both senses of the word, breakfast at Saving Grace Cafe in Casterton.

Which, like a number of small towns we passed through looked like they were still in the Fifties.

Lorne Wildlife Attack

Outside a cafe in Lorne we found a man being attacked by the local wildlife.  Snakes, Spiders..... No Cockatoos.  The were at least as aggressive as a British gull.

Who's a pretty boy?

Who's a pretty aggressive boy?

I got what I wanted!

Great Ocean Road

A feat of engineering created by men returning from WW1, almost a sort of make-work project on a grand scale.  Certainly worth it.  There are now quicker more modern roads to make the same journey, so it is mainly packed with tourists.  The wooden archway which provides its start point coming from Melbourne is on its third version and I have tried to capture part of it with the statue to the men who worked on the construction.

We stopped briefly at Airey's Inlet at the Split Point lighthouse, of which I couldn't get a decent shot, but the inlet was quite picturesque although mid-morning lighting did not do a lot to enhance it.  I would like to give a brief thanks to the person in red who stood on the horizon and gave some scale to the shot.

Our first overnight stop was Lorne which had a beautiful beach not enhanced by the cold, wind, and overcast sky.  I almost thought I was in Northumberland.

It didn't seem to bother these two.  Oh carefree childhood!

The Great Ocean Road takes a big dogleg inland through the Otway National Park and with overcast skies we spotted little to stop for, no sign of wildlife and not enough time to spend exploring I took nothing of interest.  However by the time we reached the Twelve Apostles the sun had reappeared.  I find it amazing that among the scrum below, and it was worse at times, that I managed to get any shots.  Sadly the behaviour of some of my fellow tourists left something to be desired and for once the Brits and the Americans were not the problem, it was mostly the Chinese.  Younger Chinese people were fine and and often polite, it was the older generation who seemed impolite and surly.

The Apostles, of which there are only eleven left.  The one that went must have been Judas.

Just down the road was the Grotto which attracted far less attention, but was a pretty little place.

First time I have had a Vegetarian Breakfast at 2:30pm

Cafe in Princetown a small place on the Great Ocean Road.

Banged Up

The big attraction not to be missed in Melbourne is the Old Melbourne Gaol.  The tour consists of the Watch House and the Gaol, the latter being the prison.
The tour of the Watch House consists of being processed as if having been arrested and thrown into the klink, well to some degree.  No strip search etc.  However, you are locked into a cell with a number of others and the lights are switched out.
The men's exercise yard, we are lined up against the wall.

The cell I was locked in, notice the toilet in the corner but nowhere to wash your hands.

Some were put in a padded cell.

No doors on the men's showers,

The women get a door but defaced it (Parent's Advisory: Profanity)

Mug Shots.

The Gaol was interesting, layout was based on Pentonville in London and was typical of late Victorian prisons.  It housed a notorious serial killer who had travelled from London, Frederick Bailey Deeming, who some believed may have been Jack the Ripper.  The Gaol was also the last home of Ned Kelly before his execution in 1888.

Melbourne

We liked Melbourne.  The Old Gaol was good fun and interesting but will be the subject of a separate post when I have time.  The walk along the Yarra was entertaining, particularly on the Sunday afternoon we arrived.  Rows of stalls selling street food and bands playing.  I got some interesting views of the CBD, Central Business District for those who don't speak antipodean.  I know these two are similar but I liked them both for different reasons, mainly the specular highlights in the first and the clouds in the second.

The night views were just as good

and the bar on the bridge pontoon was lively and too sophisticated for us old fogeys.

There were some interesting characters along the bank, some just relaxing

Some in animated, if unlikely, discourse

and some entertaining passersby (that is a mirror on the wall next to him).

I was not able to work out what was the purpose of this sculpture but it was certainly an interesting shape and caught the light in a pleasing manner.