Australia First Impressions
Obviously, we have only spent a few days in Australia and so I will reserve any overwhelming statements or general characterizations until we have more time in the country. However, already there are some things I can share with you based on our experiences and first impressions.Time Zone Weirdness
On our way to Adelaide, we encountered what can only be expressed as the strangest time zone crossings of my life. Australia (and Brisbane where we landed) is three hours behind New Zealand. Nothing unusual about that - it would be like traveling from NY to LA.Where the fun began is when we boarded the plane in Brisbane for Adelaide and we were told that Adelaide is in one of the few time zones on the planet that is 30 minutes shifted from others. Ok - a little odd, but one copes. Then, as I am looking at the little screen on the plane that shows your position, speed, etc., I noticed that the time in Brisbane (in the east of Australia) is 30 minutes behind Adelaide (in the lower middle part of Australia). We are flying east to west, and the flight is about 2+ hours long, yet the time where you are going is actually 30 minutes after where you came from. Imagine flying NY to Chicago and you find out in Chicago it is currently 11:30 and in NY it is 11:00. It doesn't make sense. This is like a math problem you had in elementary school, but one where the math gets all screwed up. Indeed, as K and I tried to figure it out our flight attendant smiled and explained it to us. 1/2 of Australia abides by daylight savings time (and switch in early in March) while the other 1/2 does not abide by daylight savings time (kind of like portions of Indiana and AZ in the US). Put on top of that the 30 minute time zone differences and you have the reason why Adelaide is actually later in time than Brisbane even though there is a 2 hour flight and at least one time zone difference between the two. Strange? - well a little yes. During this time of year, Australia has at least 5 time zones operating.
Australian People
The people of Australia are not strange (well, at first impression from the sampling we have met hear and in NZ). K and I have never met a people so eager to help you. Just pause on the streets of Adelaide for a few seconds staring at your city map and I guarantee you will have some stranger pass by and ask if you need help. We've had people help us get to a phone store, people give us their tram pass, and people help give us all sorts advice on where to eat, stay, see, etc. without the slightest of hesitation. They have been amazingly giving, charming and funny (a kind of dry, witty and sometimes self-deprecating sense of humor) as a people. Curiously, however, Australians from different parts of Australia are quick to point out the faults or problems with their neighbor cities/states/regions/etc. They do this in a good natured-jab sort of a way, but you can tell they are dead serious. We went on a wine tour with a number of Australians from different parts of Australia and K and I felt as though we were in a verbal boxing match at one point between several members from competing states. They are all proud of their country (and fellow countrymen), but just as proud of their own states, regions and cities. However, there is a certain amount of good natured humor and sometimes irreverence they would expect of each other and any one that comes to visit (some proof of that forthcoming). While the NZ people were a little more stand-offish (nice but proper like their British heritage), Australians seem more relaxed and good humored.Country/City Beauty
We have so far only seen a small sampling of Australia - so more to come, but our first impressions of Australia's country side is that it has a kind of rough-hued beauty (think drier and warmer north California foothills region). The landscape in the area we have seen in South Australia (which is where Adelaide is located) is nice, but I would not call it special. Of course, we are probably being a little unfair since we just came from a place (New Zealand) that had beauty to spare. Generally speaking the country seems fairly clean (not a lot of litter or junk along the road sides). Adelaide has a bit of litter, graffiti, etc. in it just like any big city (it is a city of 1.2 million). I would call it a neat city - but not abnormally clean. It compares equally to many US cities. Again, having come from NZ where the cities were almost pristine, we are probably being a little unfair. However, we did see some trash in the streets and there is a fair amount of homelessness/begging as you would find in most big US cities so I don't think we are judging to harshly. Adelaide itself has an amazing city layout and park system which would rival or exceed any in the world - more on that in a bit - and that certainly makes up for any lack of natural beauty.Adelaide
Adelaide is Australia's 5th largest city and the capitol of South Australia (one of Australia's states). It was named for one of England's Queens (King William IV's wife). It was founded (from the perspective of Europeans) in 1836 (pretty young even by Australia standards), and unlike any other Australian big city it was not started as a prison colony (a fact that many books and two people in Adelaide have already stressed). Instead, Adelaide was started as a colony for both British and Germans looking for a new/free land and escape religious persecution (sound familiar?). Of course, an indigenous population (Aboriginal tribe called Kaurna) was here first (by many thousands of years - perhaps 50 to 75 thousand).What makes Adelaide neat is that it was all laid out and designed (by Colonel William Light - to which a number of city landmarks are named) before it was built. The design - even today - is phenomenal. The inner city is completely surrounded by several kilometers of park space. The suburbs our outside of that park space. This makes for a city that has a tremendous amount of open space, greenery, and natural beauty (some examples of the green space lining the city - including pictures from their famous Botanical Garden, Rose Garden and Torrens River area).
Green space in front of the city's many museums, government office buildings, university and leading to the Botanical Garden.
A small corner of the Botanical Park where K and I had lunch yesterday.
City green space surrounding the city and including the Torrens River.
Rose Garden - part of the Botanic Gardens area
The city itself is pretty - a mix of older structures and new modern facilities (like their new football stadium). A very livable city. Nothing that I would call particularly special or exciting from a structure standpoint - except again just the general layout of the city. Unfortunately, a few of the big things are under repair/reconstruction while we are here (Victoria Square, Rundle Mall, National Wine Centre), so that has detracted from the city a little. Here is some of the city's iconic structures.
St. Peter's Cathedral (Anglican)
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (Catholic and controversial when first erected - imagine a Catholic church in a British colony).
town hall
South Australia Museum (more below)
Art Gallery of South Australia (more below)
Ayers House (home of early premier of South Australia and English namesake of the country's famous natural landmark - Ayers Rock or Uluru).
Rundle Mall art called "Spheres" or more locally known as "The Mall's Balls" (as I said - irreverent in some cases).
Rundle Mall (shops, eateries and the iconic Adelaide center city street/walk way)
Pigs in rubbish bin sculpture also famous on the Rundle Mall (as I also said - some strangeness too)
Victoria Square from our hotel room (unfortunately not much to see since it is a bit chewed up and the Three Rivers Fountain is down for improvements)
The weather here has been great - 70's and low 80's - although a front is working its way in tonight
and we are seeing some rain and cooler temperatures for dinner.City Market
One of Adelaide's iconic areas is the Central Market. K and I have been to a lot of the world's market places, but this one ranked among the best. All sorts of fresh veggies, meat, cheese, baked goods, etc. inside of an enclosed open-air market place.
check out the Easter eggs from Haights - they are the size of hams
Museums
Yesterday afternoon, K and I spent a large part of our day in two of the famous museums in the city: South Australian Museum and Art Gallery of South Museum. Both are primarily dedicated to the history and art of the South Australian state (including Aboriginal history and work which includes more than 250 tribes) - which I think is a great way to understand the area's people and culture. City's like this should not try to compete with the Louvre or British Museum.
US Brands are everywhere - sort of
One thing that takes some getting used to in Australia is finding US brands on things that aren't US. Target, Woolworth's, Kmart, and many more are stores in Australia that have similar (one would say ripped off) signage, but have nothing to do with their US counterpart. So if you are in Australia and think you have stumbled into something that is familiar, be careful. Even when it is a different name (like Hungry Jack restaurant below), it will have striking familiarity to a US brand (in this case Burger King).
And of course, you will also see Australians take branding to new levels. If you are a bit sensitive to the rude and crude - my apologies, but here is an actual restaurant/pub sign on Rundle Street. Again, a little irreverence seems to be a part of the Australian mind set.
Adelaide Fringe Festival
Adelaide is known as the City of Churches, but she has another nickname too - City of Festivals. Some of the festivals are world renowned. We just happen to be in town for the Fringe Festival. According to local authorities, it is the second biggest fringe festival next to the one in Edinburgh (Scotland). This is carnival meets circus meets vaudeville meets the just-plain-weird. It's a mix of food, all sorts of entertainment (from the eclectic to the exotic), drink and it is a big deal in Adelaide. Our flight attendant told us it was a don't-miss-event on our flight in to Adelaide. The pictures below don't do it justice. At the center of the Fringe Festival is the "Garden of Unearthly Delights." This is a collection of small tented shows that go on in the evening. Some are comedy shows, some are dance, some are just - well - out-there-over-edge types of shows (naked women reading from books kind of weird). K and I decided to attend a comedy/music show. It was fantastic and we laughed so hard at the Irish rapper/comedian we saw, but it defies explanation. A lot of the shows, concession booths, and things we saw were that way - but everyone was laughing and having a good time.
Wine Tour
We spent today on a wine tour of the Barossa Valley - Australia's most acclaimed wine valley that is north of Adelaide (by about 60 kilometers). We had a wonderful guide - Dallas - from Taste the Barossa. He and his wife own the tour company. A wonderful guy with fantastic knowledge of the area (he was raised in the Barossa area) and a great sense of humor. Here are a couple of pictures of the wineries we visited and of the Barossa valley from a ridge overlooking the whole thing.
We also got a chance to see our first kangaroos and emus in the wild. The tour bus went through the Adelaide Hills area east of the city where the wild life is easily viewed. We learned a group of kangaroos (which is what we saw) is called a mob - there is your trivia for today. No pictures however since we were in a busy highway area and everyone else on the bus had seen plenty of kangaroo before. We were among Australians from all over the country on the tour and one Malaysian gal.
It was a fun day - very K approved - but at the end of the day, K and I both felt the wines we had in New Zealand were better. We have more wine to taste and more vineyards to see in Australia, so we will withhold final judgment for now.
Tomorrow we are off for the Great Ocean Road - the highway along the southern coast of Australia - that is supposed to be spectacular scenery. So far, we have found our experience in Australia to be spectacular.
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