Deeper Underground

We were able to sleep in today as our only site visit was to Victoria Fossil Cave, a mere ten minute drive from the hostel.

 

The Caves were a remarkable experience, although it didn’t start that way.  We began at the visitor’s centre and made our way through a display showroom.  It was a like a dreadful adult science fair with horrible sound effects, cheesy stuffed paper maché animals and even worse backdrops.  The reading stand notes were even hand written!  I reckon I whisked through the exhibit in record time.  

What…no cave exploration?  Fret not Bruce Wayne fans the best was yet to come.  However, it was just another lack of an internal summary/overview of the activities/logistics from our insipid host.   We reloaded on the bus and headed down the road to fulfill the rest of the tour.

There were several other interested parties, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 2 dozen folks including a couple who had a new born…literally 1 month old. Huh?  At least we had the pleasure of a true guide for our expedition courtesy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.  He was extremely knowledgeable, interacted with the group and provided great narratives.  Lessons anyone?

I also learned this element of the tour was unique to Goin South.  A component they should really market as a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) over their rivals who have a straight 6+ hour drive from the Grampians to Adelaide.

These Caves are a World Heritage Site, capturing fossils over the past 500,000 years creating stunning mega fauna species and beautiful crystals.   We are able to view sea shells in the cave ceiling since it was once part of the Ocean floor.  Check out a map to understand how far away the shoreline is now.  There were also reconstructed skeletons of extinct animal & marsupial species.

The caves were now designed to cater to guided tours with concrete laid paths, steel handrail barriers to protect the culture and electrical wiring to provide accent and showcase lighting.  As expected, it was a cool and damp place.  Yes, Batman you chose your lair wisely. 

Thylacoleo Carnifex (Marsupial Lion)

Thylacoleo Carnifex (Marsupial Lion)

We made our way through various chambers over a 400m pathway.  There were several more routes that veered off the main strip, but were restricted for archaeological staff only.  Damn, all I wanted to do was explore every nook and cranny available.  The guide also mentioned there were still kilometers of untapped/unexplored areas of the caves that they were still discovering.  Indiana Jones where are you? 

After our educational experience it was time to return to the hostel to collect our belongings to make our way to the final destination of the tour in Adelaide, which was a 3.5hr ride via farmland extraordinaire.

We arrived in Adelaide in the early evening.  Our first introduction to the capital of South Australia was a panoramic view from Mount Lofty Summit. 

Mount Loft Summit

Sonja had helped me arrange my accommodations at Hostel 109, a relatively new hostel that only accepts international travellers.  It also had rave reviews on-line so I was confident my private accommodations would be up to snuff.  Hey, I did well….I stayed in a dorm for the last two nights.

The hostel is a small outfit with only one floor of about twenty rooms.  The kitchen is an open concept layout with all the trimmings and a lounge area offset to the left from the dining area.  Toilets, laundry and showers were common share, but ample facilities in place.  There was also an internet room with four work stations along with a balcony at the front of the building.  

My room was adjacent to the kitchen, which I thought might lead to heavy traffic noise or food aromas, but neither was too much to endure.  My sleeping quarters were tight ranging about 200sf, but there was a desk, armoire and my choice of bunk beds to sleep in.  The hostel also featured comp WiFi without restrictions.

Dave’s son was running a pub crawl here in Adelaide. Anke, Iladia and I had decided to check it out.  Before meeting them I ventured out to do some exploring of the city.  Adelaide is a lot smaller than Melbourne.  The population is about 1M.  I was able to just about cover the entire city in an escapade of an hour or so.  On an early Saturday evening the town was a little sleepy even with the Fringe Festival on. I’ll post more on that later.  My first comparable that came to mind was Ottawa, minus the Government infrastructure.  Bad omen.  

I made my way over to Marble Bar to meet the girls and find out more about the crawl.  It was shortly after 9p, Dave’s son was outside the bar registering folks for the shenanigans ahead.  We were under the impression the tour started at nine, but in fact this first stop didn’t leave port until 10:30p.  The tour was $10, including one complementary drink at each of the five bars.  

I was a little skeptical of plodding along with a bunch of younglings.  I think I’m past that stage.  As I was considering the pros & cons of the crawl, two youthful girls helping out with logistics arrived.  They were given tank tops to signify their role.  To my welcome astonishment they quickly disrobed their current garb in favour of this apparel all in plain sight on the sidewalk.  Maybe participating in the crawl wasn’t such a bad idea after all. 

Upon conferring with the girls inside (minus the aforementioned detail) we mutually agreed to kibosh the crawl in large part because we were enjoying the ambiance of the current setting.  Electro house was spinning away, there was a dance floor and the place was beginning to fill in; albeit with a younger crowd that was dominated by females wearing clothes as accent pieces.  No complaints here.

After a couple of hours the vibes became a little more inconsistent.  I also recognized that the sloppy fairy would soon be making an appearance and tapping her wand on several folks.  I read up earlier about another place in the Fringe guide with a live band.  The girls agreed to check it out.

We made our way over to the Crown & Sceptre Hotel (now refurbished as a resto/bar/venue).  The crowd was a little less dense, more mature and band was tight.  They played soulful/funk/reggae beats featuring drums, bongos, trumpet, alto sax, bass and guitar.  I was in my element.

As the drinks began to flow down even quicker, I could witness several group of friends just grooving away having fun, laughs and dancing like no one was watching.  Knowing full well Saturday night back home was Turning Point for the downtown crew, I was touched by a little sadness.  I miss you all.  

Of course, this didn’t prevent me from having a good time.  The girls grew tired near the midnight hour and opted to call it a night.  As I was only a block from my hostel, I stayed a little longer.  I ended up meeting a group of friends wearing “whack job crew” t’s that were celebrating a member’s 30^th b-day.  They welcomed me with open arms and we danced the rest of the night way.  

Last song of the night…..Everyday People (Arrested Development)…happy and sad all at once.