Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
South Australian Maritime Museum
Over 150 years of maritime history are
commemorated in this Port Adelaide museum. Most of the exhibits can be found
in the 1850s Bond Store, but the museum also incorporates an 1863 lighthouse
and three vessels moored alongside Wharf No. 1, just a short walk away. The
fully rigged replica of the 16m (54-ft.) ketch
Active II
is very impressive. Allow
1
1
⁄
2
hours. Port Adelaide is approximately 30 minutes from the city center by bus.
126 Lipson St., Port Adelaide.
&
08/8207 6255.
Admission A$8.50 (US$5.50) adults, A$3.50 (US$2.30) chil-
dren, A$22 (US$14) families. Daily 10am-5pm. Closed Christmas. Bus: 151 or 153 from North Terrace in the
city (opposite Parliament House) to Stop 40 (Port Adelaide). Train: Port Adelaide.
South Australian Museum
The star attraction of this interesting museum
is the new Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery which opened in March 2000.
On display is an extensive collection of utensils, spears, tools, bush medicine,
food samples, photographs, and the like. Also within the museum is a sorry-
looking collection of stuffed native animals (sadly also including a few extinct
marsupials, including the Tasmanian Tiger); a good collection of Papua New
Guinea artifacts; and excellent mineral and butterfly collections.
If you're interested in learning even more about the exhibits, take one of the
Behind-the-Scenes Tours. The tours are conducted after museum hours and cost
A$12 (US$7.80) for adults. Allow 2 hours.
On North Terrace between the State Library and the Art Gallery.
&
08/8207 7500.
Free admission. Daily
10am-5pm. Closed Good Friday and Christmas.
Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute
This place offers a great
opportunity to experience Aboriginal life through Aboriginal eyes. Exhibits
change regularly, but all give insight into Aboriginal art and cultural activities.
At noon every day there's a didgeridoo performance. A shop sells Aboriginal art
and books on Aboriginal culture, while a cafe on the premises serves up several
bush tucker (native food) items. Allow 1 hour.
253 Grenfell St.
&
08/8224 3200.
Admission A$4 (US$2.60) adults, A$3 (US$1.95) children 13 and under,
A$10 (US$6.50) families. Daily 10am-5pm. Bus: City Loop.
THE FLORA & THE FAUNA
Adelaide Zoo
To be honest, if you've experienced the wonderful Mel-
bourne Zoo, or even Taronga Zoo in Sydney, it's probably not worth your while
coming here. But if this is going to be your only chance to see a kangaroo in cap-
tivity, then plan a visit. Of course, other Australian animals live at the zoo, too,
and the nicely landscaped gardens and lack of crowds make it a pleasant place
for an entertaining stroll. The zoo houses the only pygmy blue-tongue lizard in
captivity in Australia, a species thought to be extinct since the 1940s, until a
specimen was discovered inside the belly of a dead snake. Allow 1 hour.
Frome Rd.
&
08/8267 3255.
Admission A$15 (US$9.75) adults, A$8 (US$5.20) children. Daily 9:30am-5pm.
Bus: 272 or 273 from Currie St. to bus stop 2 (5 min.).
Botanic Gardens
You'll feel like you're at the heart of the city when you stroll
through the huddles of office workers having picnic lunches on the lawns. High-
lights include a broad avenue of Moreton Bay figs, duck ponds, giant water lilies,
an Italianate garden, a palm house, and the Bicentennial Conservatory—a glass
dome full of rainforest species. You might want to have lunch in the
Botanic
Gardens Restaurant
(
&
08/8223 3526
) surrounded by bird song and lush veg-
etation, in the center of the park; it's open daily from 10am to 5pm.
North Terrace.
&
08/8222 9311.
Free admission. Mon-Fri 8am-sundown; Sat-Sun 9am-sundown.
Kids
