Today we caught a flight to Adelaide, capital of the state of South Australia. It was one of the first planned cities of its time, laid out in a neat grid interspersed with green squares. This area was settled by free men (not convicts). Farming was (and is) a challenge due to minimal rainfall, but mineral wealth has enabled South Australia to survive and prosper. This week, the locals are enduring an abnormal heat wave - breaking records every day – great timing for us.
After a tour of the city, we headed up Mount Lofty to visit the Cleland Wildlife Park. Here we had another chance to get close to some of the wildlife for which Australia is famous - kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats, echidnas, bandicoots, emus, and dingoes. It is a beautiful park, but today it was HOT - 95 degrees! Pictured below: emus and echidna.
There are 63 species of kangaroos, the smallest less than a foot tall and the largest nearly 7 feet. The kangaroo with joey in pouch is about 4 feet tall; the big guy stretched out on the grass is about 6 feet tall - check out his muscular tail and shoulders. These grazing animals occupy habitats as diverse as the hot plains of central Australia to the cold dark forests of Tasmania. Today the heat sent them all in search of shade.
The koala is a nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial, feeding on the leaves of only a few types of eucalyptus leaves. It consumes as much as 2 pounds of leaves per day. It has no serious predators, but it is in danger of eating its entire favorite brand of eucalyptus trees.
The dingo is a type of wild dog that was domesticated by the Aborigines, who used them as bed warmers, camp cleaners, hunting companions and guard dogs. In the wild, they often hunt in packs.
We had dinner tonight with two local families - 6 of our group went to each family. Our family included Andrew and Emma, and their children Poppy and Ella. We had a delicious meal - lamb ragout, toasty bread, and Australian pastries for dessert. Andrew is a chef - he used to have his own restaurant and we were happy to indulge his desire to whip up a feast for a bunch of total strangers.
