Sandrine & Edgar in Australia: Flinders Ranges: Wilpena Pound

Monday, February 25, 2008

Flinders Ranges: Wilpena Pound

Our first long week-end in January was spent in the Flinders Ranges, 500 kms North of Adelaide, at the beginning of the outback. It was a camping trip with kangaroos everywhere not letting us sleep and eat our food! It was lots of fun though, and we did make a huge walk of 7 hours to the top of Wilpena Pound with close to 37 degrees, this was hot!! The car did not like it...

Kangaroos at night searching for food...

Where is Adelaide?

Adelaide is in South Australia. The city has been described as the "City of Churches", "Athens of the South", "The Wine State", "The Festival State" and the State of the Arts". It truly lives up to all of these titles. It has a moderate, mediterranean climate, with long, warm to hot summers and short winters. Its popultation is 1.4 million lucky souls. Adelaide is also the capital of the Wine State. A must see is the new Wine Centre, which showcases Australia's booming wine industry and is situated on the extension of North terrace. South Australia produces more than 60% of Australia's wine in 7 differnet wine districts, all of them with a special character of their own, the most famous is the Barrossa Valley.

Adelaide at night

Wherever you want to go in Adelaide is easily accessible, there is an absence of traffic jams. This is in great part thanks to the legacy of Colonel William Light, who laid the city out on a square mile grid, with quite wide boulevards. Colonel Light also surrounded the city with a buffer zone of parklands, very well preserved: leafy streets and squares are present everywhere. Culture, art and entertainment is live. Beaches figure largely in the life of Adelaide. This is not surprising when you look on a map- a long sandy coastline goes from Gulf St Vincent and down to Capre Jervis. Kangaroo Island is a main attraction.

Surfing

What is surfing but an outlet for anxiety and stress, an inlet for nature and satisfaction, a connection between you and the ocean with your board acting like some semi-conductor of magnetic and gravitational forces pulsing from the center the sprawling expanse of nature itself? Sounds a bit fluffy, huh? But stay with me on this. It’s this connection that is at the very core of the surfing experience. This connection is addictive, all-encompassing, and sometimes all-powerful. This connection enthralls many to forsake relationships, careers, and even their own health only to emerge ten years down the line, weather-beaten and alone with only memories of great waves and great times. Go surf! It is better to try it and leave, than to never try it at all...

Living in Adelaide

A Mediterranean Climate in an Affordable City Adelaide is fortunate to have four distinct seasons, with comfortable spring and autumn days, a mild wet winter, and a warm to hot, dry summer. This is a Mediterranean climate, similar to southern Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Greece. From December to February, the summer average temperature is around 28 degrees, while from June to August, Adelaide temperatures average 15 degrees. A very hot day comes along three or four times a year when it is best to travel in the early morning and then take a trip to the swimming pool or beach in the early evening. Raincoats and overcoats are not used much in Adelaide where a jacket is a better option. Adelaide’s clear night skies most of the year open the heavens to a million stars overhead, an unexpected pleasure, and one of Adelaide’s treasures.

What about the other animals?