Australia > The bus ride to Adelaide

At quarter past six, the alarm goes off. I have some trouble waking up. On my phone, I see a message that the power has gone out at home. The neighbors tried to fix it. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I take a shower. Just before seven, I hand my travel bag to Caesar, the driver. Today we have a long drive ahead to Adelaide. Before leaving Grampians National Park, we make a few stops. The first is in Hills Gap at a bakery. I order a sandwich and coffee. While I eat, colorful birds come flying in for the leftovers. After breakfast, we drive to the Boroka lookout, which offers a view of the deep valley. In the distance, I see the reservoir and The Pinnacle, the rocky peak where I stood yesterday. It’s cold on the lookout platform. A strong wind makes staying there unpleasant, so I quickly return to the bus. The third and final stop in the park is at the Murrays Falls. Here you can either descend to the base of the waterfall or take an easier route to a viewpoint overlooking the falls.

Australia - A beautiful view from the Boroka lookout in the Grampians

Since I climbed yesterday, I choose the lookout. As soon as I step onto the path, I see a kangaroo in the bushes. There’s a joey in her pouch. Further along the route, kangaroos jump away as we approach. From the lookout, I look down at the Murray Falls, which lie lower in the valley. The water flows over the rocks in several streams. It’s a pity the sun is in the wrong position, causing quite a bit of backlighting. On my way back, a small snake darts away in fright. Snakes in Australia can be venomous. The one-meter-long snake quickly crawls under a rock. We leave Grampians National Park and drive east. To break up the journey, we stop in Horsham for coffee.

Australia - View of the Murrays Falls

I’m not in the mood for coffee, so I decide to walk around the town. The church at the end of the main street is closed. The layout of the town feels a bit American, with wide straight streets and plenty of parking spaces by the shops. Daily life here revolves around car use. After midday, we cross the border into the state of South Australia. Here I enter a different time zone. It is half an hour earlier. Also, it’s prohibited to bring fresh produce like fruit or nuts across the border. Vehicles are randomly checked, but we don’t have to stop. In the first town after the border, Bordertown, I order a sandwich for lunch. In the nineteenth century, this town was located between Adelaide and the gold mines. Horses could rest here and travelers could stay overnight. Nowadays it is a quiet, sleepy town. From here, it’s still three hundred kilometers to Adelaide.

Australia - The huge grain silo has a beautiful painting

The landscape outside is flat, with large grain fields on both sides of the road. Farms and large grain silos break up the landscape. On one of the tall grain silos, there is artwork depicting children. It’s funny to see. Late in the afternoon, we approach Adelaide via Mount Lofty. A long downhill road leads to the city center. Most roads in Adelaide are one-way, so it takes quite some time to cover the last few kilometers to the hotel. The IBIS hotel is centrally located in the city, one street over from Rundle Mall. A few hundred meters down the street from the hotel, there’s a Belgian café. The terrace is busy, but inside we find a free table for a pint of Belgian beer. In the evening, we walk toward Victoria Square, where most of the luxury restaurants and hotels are located. In one of the side streets is a Thai restaurant. When we ask for a table for seven, they say there’s no room. When we point toward the tables behind us, at first it’s not possible, but then they do find a spot. The Thai meal tastes excellent.