Where can you cruise with ghost ships, enjoy lunch with lemurs and hand feed chocolate-coloured kangaroos all in one week with your 87-year-old mum setting the pace? Adelaide.
Our adventure began on the Port River aboard the Ghost Ship Cruise, past skeletons of decaying vessels, left to rust in the shallows. The river has a salty, industrial beauty about it – cranes and ships on one side, mangroves and wildlife on the other – then, quite suddenly, fins.
Yes, wild dolphins.
The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is home to around 30 resident bottlenose dolphins who live in the river year-round. Seeing their sleek grey bodies arc through brownish tidal water was unexpectedly moving though Mum gripped the rail like she was expecting one to leap aboard.
From river spirits to safari plains, we ventured to Monarto Safari Park. We wisely remained on the air-conditioned bus for most of it because Adelaide decided to turn the thermostat up to “roast”. Spanning more than 1,500 hectares, Monarto is the largest safari experience outside Africa and home to more than 50 species.
Despite the heat, we braved the Lemur Experience. Those wide-eyed ambassadors of Madagascar, bounded about with theatrical flair. Lemurs, of which there are over 100 species, are found naturally only in Madagascar and nowhere else on Earth which made having one sit within arm’s reach feel even more surreal. Mum, who has perfected the art of calm composure over eight decades, whispered, “They look like they’re plotting something”. Fair call.
We also stopped by the tortoise exhibit, where time seems to move at a more dignified pace. Some giant tortoises can live well over 100 years. Jonathan, the famous Seychelles giant tortoise on Saint Helena, is believed to have hatched in 1832 and is widely recognised as the oldest living land animal. Mum and the tortoises exchanged respectful nods of longevity solidarity.
Then came Kangaroo Island. If South Australia were a theatre production, Kangaroo Island would be its dramatic final act. First stop was Remarkable Rocks, and they sure do live up to the hype. Enormous granite boulders, sculpted by wind and sea for over 500 million years, patiently posing for photos.
Nearby, Admirals Arch curves gracefully over a colony of New Zealand fur seals, which despite the name, are native to South Australia as well as New Zealand.
The real show-stealer though was the wildlife park.
We hand-fed Kangaroo Island kangaroos, a subspecies known for their darker, thicker, almost chocolate-brown fur. These kangaroos are smaller and darker than their mainland cousins due to island isolation – a classic example of evolution doing its own thing. We also saw albino wallabies. Soft, snowy and pink-eyed, they are very rare in the wild due to vulnerability.
Between native icons and exotic creatures, sweeping coastlines and close encounters, the week in Adelaide had it all. The real highlight though? Sharing it with Mum. At 87, she is curious, observant, and every bit as cheeky as the lemurs.
