Our train travelled through the night and we awoke travelling through the South Australian wheat fields looking green and lush in the early morning sun. We arrived in Adelaide around 10:30am and had checked into our hotel by 11:00am. We were staying at the Mantra Hindmarsh Square, which I can thoroughly recommend for anyone considering a stay in Adelaide, which I would also recommend.
After dropping our bags, we went for a walk down the Rundle Mall. Jeanette and I were really amazed. It was midday Saturday, the mall was heaving with neatly dressed people, all the shops were open and doing a brisk trade. South Australia had only had a couple of weeks lockdown and the difference between here and Melbourne is really stark.
Little arcades ran off the mall and they were also doing brisk trade. We loved the Adelaide Arcade which was built in the 1880s and still retained its lovely Victorian feel. Each of the Arcade’s shops were originally built with two levels. The ground floor was for the retail activity and the top floor was for their workshops.
I loved the Adelaide street sculptures. There were none of the Yellow Peril and other pompous monstrosities that infest Melbourne; just subjects that appeal to the normal population.
That evening Jeanette and I had dinner at a restaurant she had been wanting to try. This was Eleven. We had a fabulous evening trying their degustation menu. Really excellent food, great service and a lovely environment. I reckon it’s up there in the top five restaurants I have ever attended.
The next day we caught the tram down to Glenelg. We felt that having reached the northern most point of our trip on the Darwin Pier looking out across the Arafura Sea, we should formally complete our North South Crossing of the Continent by getting to the sea again, so we walked to the end of the Glenelg Pier and gazed southward across the waters of the St Vincents Gulf.
It had been a great journey
Hardys’ Travels 