

I
normally prefer the bush than the beat, however I found myself
liking Adelaide. It is rated one of the greenest cities in the world,
and the inner city is surrounded by 29 different park lands
separating the inner city from the outer suburbs. Adelaide is also
home to the first solar powered bus in the world.

Cameron
and I visited Adelaide in mid February. There are many places all
through Adelaide upon which bikes are loaned out for FREE. It is and
initiative of the government. All you have to do is leave your I.D
with them and away you go. We found out about a man named Stewart who
runs free bike tours around the city every Friday providing it is not
too hot or wet. You can find him on Facebook by looking up "Adelaide Free Bike Tours". Even though we could have hired the bike from the
caravan park where we were staying, we decided that the best way to
learn about the city would be from a local.
We rode
around for about two hours. This was a big deal because I have a
healthy respect for the road traffic which is why I don't usually
ride, but in South Australia the laws favour bike riders. Vehicles
must stay 1m away from bikes on 60km/h roads or 1.5m if the speed is
higher. Riders also have the advantage of being allowed to ride on
the footpath!

As we
rode we learnt how Adelaide was a planned city, and how the idea for
the gardens were started way back in the 19
th century. The
council have had ups and downs over the years with pollution,
drought, and building damns for water to get it to look as beautiful
as it does today. There was a time period where workers were in short
supply so they got the inmates from the gaol to work and tend them.

Today
there is a variety of 29 different parks. After the ride we went for a walk
through the botanic garden. Here there is a greenhouse which
simulates growing conditions of rainforests. As we walked through,
we found what was left of the Amorphophallus Titanum or “The corpse
flower” given the name because it smells like rotting flesh. These
flowers typically only flower once in a decade although sometimes
every 3 years. The flower can reach 3m tall but only stays open some
where between 12-48 hours before it closes again. It had opened 2
weeks prior to our visit, but when it did thousands of people had
lined up to take a whiff. It was the second flower to bloom in
Adelaide within a month, the first being at Mount Lofty Botanic
Garden.


There is
much artwork to admire around the city too. A similar vibe to
Melbourne with large artworks on building walls. The council provides
scaffolding for when the artwork is being done. Some of the paintings
are long term, and some of the them are seasonal and change with the
many different festivals. There are other paintings that are
permanent but ever changing because other artists add parts over the
top to the artwork. I can't remember many names of the artists, but
one I remember is Toy Soldiers.

Another
reason Adelaide is known as a green city is because of the use of
space, and the amount that is recycled. There are apartment buildings
with herbs and planter boxes on the walls of the buildings, and many
cafes are doing the same, sourcing the herbs from the walls of the
buildings. One such place that Stewart showed us, a mural had been
made using only materials that had been found at the site. He also
told us of the use of space in empty buildings. The council has given
permission for temporary use of the building space until it is
filled. Some such temporary uses include pop-up shops or cafes where
they can build a client base, until they find somewhere more
permanent to go, or to see if the business will work. I think some
cities have much to learn from Adelaide.

The
wonderful smells that emerged while riding through the city was
tempting for lunch and afterwards we went to the International food
court. There was so much variety, and many people there so it must be
good! We settled for a Japanese Ramen soup, then afterwards found a
place to enjoy a bubble ice tea. YUM! At some point in the day
Stewart had mentioned a favourite pub of his called The Elephant
British Pub. We stumbled across this at the end of the day while
walking to the bus stop so of course quenched our thirst with a
Guiness.

We were
only in Adelaide for two nights and normally I would think this is
too long in a city, but I feel Adelaide has much more to offer so we
will be back. Perhaps we will base ourselves here for a period of
time in the future, but for now we are on a mission to the west.
- Jeni
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