One thing I didn’t expect to see while visiting Adelaide’s Botanical Gardens was a museum. Then again if you were going to have a museum in a botanical gardens you would expect it to house something to do with botany and even though I didn’t have time to check it out completely I did have a quick look inside and it was stepping back in time.

As you can see the exterior of the building looks pretty new but that’s only because it was refurbished in 2009 with the help of a nice grant by the government in 2007. I’m sure in giving the grant they wanted to please locals as well as those who choose to spend their holidays 2012 and beyond.

What makes this building special is that the interior has not changed since the museum first opened in 1881, which is why I said it was almost like stepping back in time. Upon walking in and looking around you will noticed that much of them original displays and display cabinets have survived, many of them sporting the original labels.

If you’re ever in the Adelaide Botanical, Gardens you should definitely pop in to the Museum Of Economic Botany.

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In my last post I spoke about my quick trip to Adelaide’s Botanical Gardens and to tell you the truth I just didn’t have the room to display all the photos I took that day. If you haven’t read that post you should really head on over and check out The Adelaide Botanical Gardens A Great Place To Visit not just for the content but because there are some great photos there, especially the one of the Victoria Amazonica.

I’m sure that most people visit the local botanical gardens while on their holidays, especially if it happens to be spring. Being spring in Adelaide was one of the reasons why I popped in for a quick visit it our botanical gardens. I expected to see a lot of color from the many blooming flowers and I wasn’t disappointed.

Take this yellow one for example, I don’t know what it was called but I wasn’t the only one to enjoy it as it had a lot of visiting ants. Perhaps it had something besides sheer beauty that the ants enjoyed.
Not too far from this one I came across this one with the brilliant white petals. I wish I had the time to take note of the names of these flowers but like I said in the previous post time was short on that day. Still, maybe one of you guys could tell us what these flowers are called.

OK, now how about something a little more delicate like this pretty pink number.

For the last flower of the day I reckon it just has to be this little orange number. A bit weird looking but it had enough of a presence to attract a bee, but then maybe the bee didn’t have time to visit those other flowers yet.
Phew, all that photo taking sure does tucker a fellow out. Lucky for me I found this park bench in a shady spot where I could rest up a little before heading on home.

Yep, you should definitely make time to visit the Adelaide Botanical Gardens, especially if you love taking photos.

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I was on my way back from the City going down Hackney Road when I suddenly decided to stop at the Adelaide Botanical Gardens. I mentioned it last when I wrote the post on Adelaide’s Bicentennial Conservatory and I thought, it being a beautiful spring day and all, that I would stop for a little stroll around the beautiful gardens. I was only there for about a half hour or so and I was still able to take some nice photos and I simply have to go back again when I have more time.

Walking through Adelaide’s botanical gardens I couldn’t help but notice all the people quietly strolling by or even sitting on the manicured lawns just enjoying the lovely spring day. It’s no wonder that so many who choose to holiday in this beautiful city of ours stop by for a visit.

It was really a pleasure walking through the gardens even for the short period of time that was allowed me. Even though it was getting a little warm in the sunshine it’s amazing how cool it was once I got to Murdoch Avenue and yes it was name after Rupert Murdoch. As you can see from the photo on the left it’s surrounded by huge trees and so you get to walk under a canopy of leaves. The change from coming out of direct sunlight to coolness of the shady environment was quite dramatic. I walked down Murdoch Avenue until it exited and there right on the left was something I’ve never seen before, the Amazon Lily Pavilion, an energy efficient glasshouse that was built in 2007! Man, I couldn’t believe it was that long since my last visit.

Amazon Lily Pavilion

The old Victoria house which was built in 1867 used to stand in it’s place and even then it house this remarkable water lily and the guys at the botanical gardens say fit to maintain the tradition. The glasshouse itself looked pretty modern but no where near as remarkable as the Bicentennial Conservatory. Being a glasshouse and all I’d expect it to get pretty warm in summer but today it wasn’t all that bad. There are quite a few plants around the perimeter although still inside,  of the pavilion itself but I pretty well skipped that because I wanted to see what the lily itself looked like.

The first water lily I saw was beautiful but it wasn’t all that spectacular. It was the Blue Nile Lily also known as Nymphaea Caerulae and was a plant that was sacred to the Egyptians who believed that in the beginning darkness ruled the world and then then this beautiful lily rose from the abyss and when the flower opened it’s petals revealed a young sun god sitting in its golden heart who banished the darkness and allowed life to begin. Now that is what I call a dramatic entrance.

It wasn’t until I gazed to the center of the pond that I saw the center piece of the pavilion, the Victoria Amazonica.

 Victoria Amazonica

This flower just happens to be Guyana’s national flower and many say it’s an appropriate choice for a county whose name means “land of many waters. There is a particular story of a girl who fell in love with the moon and one night while gazing at her lovers reflection in a pond she slipped, fell in and drowned. The moon taking pity on her turned her into the Amazon waterlily which only blooms at night when the moon is watching over her. Strange that this particular flower was blooming in the middle of the day.

What was also amazing was the huge lily pads. When I first saw them from a distance I thought that they were fake but upon a closer look they were obviously real. If you want to know more about the botanical gardens you should head over to the Adelaide Botanical Gardens government web page.

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There are a lot of people who have a fascination with trains and railway lines or tracks. Some because they just love trains and others because they love to take photos of them. Not surprising when you consider they can offer wonderful photo opportunities for those bestowed with a photographic eye.

I may not be on of those lucky people but even so I do like to snap a photo or two. Perhaps you remember the photo I took of the interior of the Adelaide Railway Station? Yeah, that was a classic one wasn’t it. I really must go back there and take some more.

I took this photo just as the trains were about to go under the Montefiore Road Bridge in Adelaide. If you go to the other side of the road you get a lovely shot of Adelaide overlooking the River Torrens.

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I love our railway station because it has so much charm. The Adelaide Railway station originated in it’s present location of North Terrace in 1856. It’s actually a dead end as it’s the final stop or the start of the journey of most train trips depending where you’re heading. Wikipedia has a comprehensive history of this station for anyone who is interested.

This photo is actually of the rear of the station and I thought I would paste this rather than the front as it’s not the one most people would see. I may actually post one of the main entrance at a later date. What’s unique about the station is that it forms part of the Adelaide Casino, now better known as Sky City.

This next photo was taken from the inside and you can see from it a little of the rustic charm.

OK, this photo has nothing to do with the station other than it can be found on a wall just to the left of it and I couldn’t resist including it in this series as it was so full of vibrant colour.

This link will take you to Adelaide Metro’s website where you’ll find all the information you could possibly need in regards to timetables and such for buses and trains.

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A well known landmark in Adelaide’s Elder Park is the Rotunda which was built on the banks of the River Torrens in 1882. I assume that it was donated by the Elder family as the base of the column has stamped “Presented By Sir Thomas Elder 1881″.

I can just imagine the nine meter high  iron rotunda housing bands playing to relaxing picnickers as they listened to the music. Today it’s used for weddings, carols by candlelight and sometimes even Symphony Under The Stars.

You can take photos of the Rotunda from many angles but I’ve chosen this one as it shows the Adelaide Convention Centre in the background.

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I’ve been to the Adelaide Festival Centre on several occasions but apart from seeing several school concerts that my kids participated in the only other time was to see a Rodney Rude concert. While the concert itself was pretty funny I wonder how funny it would have been had he taken all the swear words out of it?

Now don’t get the wrong idea, the Adelaide Festival Centre has hosted many big names and this year the nine-time-Grammy award winner Natalie Cole, will be performing in the Festival Theatre on 12 and 13 June.
Although I’ve already posted some shots of the Festival Centre as seen from the River Torrens I though I would post one as seen from the other side.

Something else that I found interesting when I took this shot was something that I at first believed to be some sort of totem pole but what turned out to be a house post that was carved by two Papua New Guinea artists in 1978. Even though it was originally conceived as a public demonstration for visitors it has become a permanent public artwork. The artists that carved this out of a South Aussie pine tree were Sali Kapusa and Arnold Koski.

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The War Memorial Monument which can be found on North Terrace is a popular spot for tourists, especially those interested in war history. Opened in 1931 to commemorate all those who served in the first world war it holds significant value every year on Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November).

I love to walk the length of North Terrace as I like to consider it as Adelaide’s cultural boulevard. This is because it’s full of heaps of great examples of early South Australian architecture including Old Fowlers Lion Factoryn now The Lion Performing Arts Center, and the Anglican Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide’s oldest church, which was built in 1838.

This is a photo of the front of the monument.

This one is of the rear.

As you walk around the memorial you will see crosses that were taken from the battlefield where the soldiers died and brought back as a memorial to their great sacrifice. This is just one of them.

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If you were to walk or drive down North Terrace in Adelaide you couldn’t help but notice the old Fowler’s Lion Factory. The feature that makes it stand out from the rest of the buildings on the street is the majestic stone statue of the lion on top of the building. The appearance of the lion is definitely  one of royalty as he stands there watching over his subjects as they  move past his watchful gaze.

David and James Fowler, the men who first established D and J Fowler (Australia) Ltd in 1854, moved their retail outlet from King William St. to  this building in 1906. It seems that destiny had other plans for this building, other than the owners original plans for it.

In the 70′s up until 1998 it was the home of The Adelaide Fringe Festival. At present it houses the nightclub Fowler’s Live, the Jam Factory which is art related and has nothing to do with jam at all, as well as other venues.

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Although Adelaide is only about 6km from Adelaide airport it still may be a good idea to organize a rental car if you haven’t anyone that’s able to pick you up at the airport. Thanks to the Internet you can now Compare Car Rentals online as this can save a whole lot of time.

Since the airport upgrade to a new dual international/domestic terminal in 2005 it has received numerous awards one of which was being named the world’s second-best international airport. I have to admit, living here my whole life, that it was a vast improvement on the old airport, and it was with some pride that I can say it was voted Australia’s Capital City Airport of the Year the 2009 Australian Aviation Industry Awards in Sydney.

This photo shows the Adelaide skyline from the airport so you can see just how close it is.

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