Jan 17 Adelaide

There should have been a post before this about our stop at Kangaroo Island, but nature intervened.  Although the picture doesn't show it there was a large swell coming into the unprotected bay where we would anchor.  And there was 20+ knots of wind.  The net effect was the ship was dragging on its anchor.  On the PA the captain sounded genuinely afraid that the ship would drift into the shallows.  You can see that he's trying to power out of the problem.

 They did launch a tender and it was bouncing all around as it zoomed about.  I think I'm just as glad I didn't have to get on one.  And as I watched the swell around the tender platform, the water level was going up and down more than 10 feet.  How could they board/unboard people in that swell?  

As close to Kangaroo Island as we got.

 We proceeded on towards Adelaide, only 65nm away.  But the port couldn't take us due to other traffic and we couldn't dock until 7pm that evening.  We spent the afternoon cruising at a stately 8 knots from Kangaroo to Adelaide.  

 After dinner we were able to walk around the port neighborhood, which is about 8m from the city center.  There's a big bedroom community called North Haven right on the beach next to the port.

 One section of the beach was covered with the oval items about the size of your hand.  They were light, perhaps just clumped up fiber of some form.

 On this beach dogs could roam attended but unleashed after 8pm. We had lots of families with their dogs enjoying the evening.

 Up and out the next morning.  The rail station was directly across from the Cruise Terminal, with free service to downtown Adelaide every 30 minutes.  The trip took about 45 minutes and isn't normally free.  This section of service has just been restored following a refurbishment and they were thanking their customers.

We had no agenda in Adelaide.  We had visited in 2005 and had covered the big items then.  We were just glad to get off the ship and walk around.  We had been at sea for 8 of the last 11 days.

 Rundle Mall, the downtown shopping street

 Some of the buildings were old Victorian

 University of Adelaide

 Karrawirra Parri, the river that runs through the downtown.  Adelaide's CBD is about 1 mile square and surrounded by another half-mile belt of parkland, with more to the north.  Very pleasant city.

 Pedestrian walkway over the river at the University.  People show their enduring love by etching a padlock with their names, locking it to the bridge and throwing the key in the river.  A decade later the bridge collapses from the tons of additional weight.  That's enduring love.

 Outside the National Immigration Museum. Australia used to have a very restrictive immigration policy characterized as "two whites for every Wong" and, of course, was originally settled by British convicts.

 Street art, pigs in the trash

 Back at the port train st0ation

 Guess what gets imported through this harbor?

 As we pulled away in the evening, another dog owner out on the beach.

 Our ship, the Regatta, sailed right through a regatta taking place in the shipping channel.  One of the turns in the race was around this channel marker.