After the library visits ….

First posted on February 28, 2014

… I took myself off to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, drawn by the buildings there rather than the plants! In particular I was drawn to ....

Palm House

Amazon Lily Pavilion

Amazon Lily pads - amazing! 

Bicentennial Conservatory

The conservatory reminded me very much of my visit to the butterfly house at Kuranda in 2011. Tropical rain forest, very humid – minus the butterflies.

Outside the Palm House was a great collection of cacti and succulents – suburban gardens will be planted with these rather than roses, camellias and the like in the not too distant future.

Because it was near the Water Lily Pavilion and it hadn’t quite closed, a few minutes to go, I nicked into the Museum of Economic Botany – what a fantastic place! I was sorry I didn’t have a lot longer there.

Fake fungi

Seeds and plants, timber and reeds. So many varieties of fungi, apples, pears and more. The seeds, timber etc were real but the perishables were models – though if placed in the supermarket you would be hard pressed to find the fake. It reminded me of the models of flowers and plants that I saw at the Natural History Museum at Harvard in 2011.

Last but not least, it was good to get up close to the waterlilies that couldn’t be seen from such close quarters when on a boat in billabongs at Kakadu.

To end the day there was more food  – half of the group met for a meal at the Dublin Hotel in Glenelg. I suppose they serve green beer on St Patrick’s Day but it was hard to see what made it an Irish pub, apart from the name. OK food, Very Slow service. I suggested that instead of leaving a tip we could throw the loose change onto the sand at the beach for some lucky prospector to find. Imagine my surprise when I later discovered at Victor Harbour that beach prospecting hasn’t gone completely out of fashion!!! 

Prospector - Victor Harbour

The Techs on Tour starting point – eating and libraries

First posted on February 28, 2014

People made their way to Glenelg, first meeting up for a Friday night “fish supper” – at Sammy’s on the Marina a more than pleasant location, excellent service, huge serves of reasonably good food, pricey enough, highly rated by the locals.

At Sammy’s on the Marina – these fish were ‘not’ on the menu!  

We planned our meeting point for Saturday morning and a number of us travelled into the city on “the Glenelg tram”. Disappointingly, this is no longer a lovely old tram but a sleek, modern, run-of-the-mill vehicle – but the service was on time and the ticketing system puts Melbourne’s to shame … although to be fair, that’s not a difficult feat.

First stop, the State Library of South Australia. Our guide was terrific and we were shown all over the many and varied parts of the library. Lots of innovative things are going on there, as they do in all libraries, but I’m afraid what I loved most were the places that many people wrongly think of today as what libraries are all about – the old stuff. The Mortlock Wing and the Circulating Library Room are gorgeous!

The Mortlock Wing, State Library of South Australia  

The Adelaide Circulating Library – It all looks very proper and intellectual

 but there’s a good collection of Mills & Boon on these shelves!  

After lunch at an Italian place in Rundle Street we went to our second library visit, the very newly opened  Adelaide City Library  in Rundle Mall. Until only two weeks previously it had been housed within the buildings of the State Library. Now it is in a shopping centre with the main entrance at street (lane!) level into a ‘library only’ lift, plus two other entrances – from the shopping centre proper and from the high-rise carpark. This was a fascinating space, essentially a rectangle but cleverly divided into a lot of functional spaces that can be re-arranged at will with movable walls, partitions, shelves. No library history here, all very high-tech with local ‘experts trying to get a break’ giving their time free to teach others their skills in return for using the facilities for their own purposes free of monetary charge – anything from using 3D printers, to film, to composing music with computers and electronic keyboards, and more. I can’t believe I didn’t take any photos of all this!

City Library lane-way entrance – photo courtesy of fellow tourist, Edith.

What I learned at the Bordertown library was that all the South Australian libraries are linked. If you live in SA you can borrow a book anywhere and return it anywhere. I saw the back end of this at the City Library – there must have been at least 20 newly arrived crates of books, DVDs, CDs, etc that had arrived from other libraries throughout the state. Glad I didn’t have to shelve the contents! And the couriers are travelling every day!

Perhaps this happens in Victoria too. I’ll learn about that when I become a pensioner in a few months time and  have to borrow books rather than buying them as I do now!

On the road to Adelaide

First posted on February 26, 2014

The second half of the trip to Adelaide, or more particularly, Glenelg, was a bit hit and miss but basically it was a good day. I was glad to watch safely from a distance when the car in front of me had to take evasive action when a big truck veered across the road. And I was definitely glad not to be involved in the mangle of vehicles at the turn-off to Tailem Bend (where I had lunch). That had happened not long before I had to negotiate around the scene – emergency vehicles were still arriving. Thankfully it looked like the humans were OK.

Former railway station, now tourist info centre

In between those two was my first unexpected bonus. After breakfast in Bordertown I dropped into the local library, attracted by its stained glass windows! The staff were welcoming and the manager on duty spent quite a bit of time chatting with me. It turned out we had a bit in common. She’d been in public libraries for 9 years but before that was at a university library in Adelaide working in health and law. So it was comparing notes plus learning a few things.

Stained Glass

Bordertown Public Library

At Murray Bridge, the bridge crosses more land than water and the rail bridge barely rates a mention.

Murray Bridge - trains left, all other traffic right

By the time I crossed the bridge, I’d pretty much left the countryside behind, with its current bounty and past history.

Haystacks, Lillimur South

Stories to tell? - Lillimur South

I was sad however that Hahndorf (one of my two aims for the day) was a miss. I remembered it, from 40+ years ago, it must be said, as a pretty little village. But now it is one more tourist trap with the usual plethora of cafés and trinket shops. The Lutheran church was the loveliest building there.

St Michael's Lutheran Church, Hahndorf

On looking to escape Hahndorf as quickly as possible, I looked for a route to Mt Lofty, my other main aim of the day. Lo and behold, I spotted Woodside on the map, within easy reach. This was the base to which my David was posted when he’d completed his Army basic training. This was my second unexpected bonus of the day – a very pleasant drive in countryside that was very different to what I’d imagined: more built up and greener, with English trees even, than I’d imagined.

The downside was that the gate guard (civilian, not Army!) told me that the base had been divided in two with one half given over as a detention centre for refugees. Worse, he was upset that the refugees were taken off base for outings. Australia’s shame. The only saving grace is that at least this base is not in the blazing heat and isolation of the Australian desert.

Leaving Woodside, I easily found the road to Mt Lofty. Another beautiful drive, apart from being tail-gated through some steep twists by a crazy P-plater. The views from the summit were extensive but distant enough from Adelaide for the city to be not terribly clear. But looking down into the valleys with vineyards in late afternoon sunshine was stunning.

Piccadilly Valley from Mt Lofty

Finally, on to Glenelg, my home for four nights. From Mt Lofty I joined the freeway at Crafers. Wow! Downhill all the way to the Glenelg turn-off. Exhilarating!!

The motel room was well set up, and not far from the beach. If it’s a picnic to have takeaway souvlaki for tea on the beach, in the company of seagulls as the sun sets, then I had a picnic!

Glenelg

Who’d have thought

First posted on 20 February, 2014

To think I was concerned I might have to cancel this road trip and fly to Adelaide because of heat and fires (real or threatened)! One third of the way to Kaniva the rain started and it kept up, off and on, all the way. And by the time I left the pub after tea, and went for a walk up and down the main street of Kaniva, I was like an ice block!

Rain at St Arnaud

Left home later than planned, traffic bad but not horrendous if I’m really honest, and I still got to Ballarat a few minutes before 10.00am for a great catch-up with library friend and colleague, Gemma. Plus, thanks to Gemma, coffee and a giant savoury scone. An excellent – and sustaining – start to my mini holiday.

First stop after Ballarat was St Arnaud, a prosperous looking town. It was “revive and survive” time so I had a good walk up and down the main street. The library is small, as country town libraries are. But it was a lovely, welcoming space with some unusual books as decorator items, thanks to a local crafty lady. Leaving the library I got rain-drenched!!

Folded pages - St Arnaud Library

On the road again, the rain eased and the clouds lifted a bit. The countryside looked quite stunning.

On the road to Warracknabeal

A couple of people correctly warned me that Donald wasn’t much of a town. It improved a bit but not enough after a series of dilapidated public housing homes welcomed you to this town. I so wanted to like Donald because there’s some get-up-and-go there in the form of a bit of industry, most notably, from my point of view, Kookas Country Cookies. So I didn’t stop.

I was getting hungry but pressed on to Warracknabeal, hoping for a late lunch at Café Pharmaccino, a café at the back of a pharmacy, recommended by my Canberra-based friend Alison. Well, Warracknabeal. What can I say?! It’s not a bad looking town but ….. it’s in a time warp. First, I thought it was past time that the town Christmas tree was removed. Next, food was well and truly not to be had at 3.30 in the afternoon. And this was not siesta time! Finally, as I was texting Alison that I bombed out at Café Pharmaccino, the sound of Christmas carols came wafting through the air. I thought I was imagining things so, in spite of rain, wound down the car window. Yes, there it was, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, May all your Christmases be White (or is that Bright?). Really,really weird!

Christmas in February!!

I headed south to Dimboola and the main route to Adelaide. I went to Dimboola to a party in my late teens – amazing that my parents let me go! I stayed in a hotel but can’t remember if it was this one ….

Change and decay in Dimboola

Tummy starting to rumble now, I didn’t stop at Nhill which looks like the life centre of the area with it’s large (for a town that size) hospital and medical centre and well kept main street. Travelling with many more B-doubles on the main road wasn’t quite so pleasant. The truckies were “well-mannered” but their size on narrow roads is intimidating and on wet roads, the spry they throw up can be almost binding.

At last, Kaniva! A clean and dry unremarkable motel with friendly proprietor. Then …. food! A meal at the local pub – the usual (OK in this case) pub food in the company of a large family group for a child’s birthday party, the uproar subsiding while they were busy eating. I ate quickly but failed to get out before the bingo began! Clickety-click, legs eleven and two fat ladies made an appearance but most of the calls were pretty ordinary.

Kaniva is bigger than I expected and has a theme of sheep grazing up and down the main street. Rather cute really

A different breed of sheep in Kaniva!

Now – am I tired enough to sleep through all the trucks rumbling by?! And the odd train, complete with horn?

On the road to Adelaide

First posted on February 13, 2014

The Victorian Library Techs are on the move again. After last year’s highly successful visit to Hobart, this time it’s staying a long weekend (20-23 Feb.) by the sea at Glenelg and visiting libraries in Adelaide city centre.

I’ve booked extra leave from work. The plan is to drive there and back, stopping along the way. For now, I’m still on alert: will the weather be OK and will the fire danger have abated? If not, I’ll catch a plane.