I got to Adelaide (or, rather ironically, "Rad"elaide) just after 6pm on Thursday and checked in to Shakespeare backpackers - it seemed as good a place as any. Although the only token of Shakespearianism seems to be funny little pictures of William himself on the bedroom doors and an ornate bookshelf in the common area with a single copy of 'a beginners guide to Shakespeare'. I settled in to the room and bagged a highly-coveted bottom bunk near to all the power sockets! (I have come to appreciate the simplest things in life since backpacking.) So charged all my electrical items and went for a well needed shower, since I have taken to being a mucky little tramp on these 2 and 3 day tours.

The following morning after what felt like a lie-in (9am) after all these early starts, I went for a stroll around the city, indulging in a spot of window shopping. They call Adelaide the city of churches and I could certainly see why, losing count of all the religious buildings. I headed back to the hostel mid-afternoon, anxious to leave some more of Adelaide to discover over the next few days, and watched a bit of TV - something I haven't really done since being in Sydney. Then later that evening I wandered outside to get some food and bumped in to Rory and Tara from the middle section of my 10 day tour. I joined them for dinner and a drink at The Marble Bar which seemed a wholly more enticing prospect than cooking something for myself with wares from Coles. The only problem being that I had to also put up with Rory's "new found friend" banging on about shape shifting lizards and him wanting to learn to walk through walls. After I had heard enough, I called it a night and left Rory to listen to his crazy tales alone.

On day two I took advantage of the free bicycles for hire in the city and went for a ride along the River Torrens with the Dutch girl from my room. We also parked up and meandered throughout the Botanic Gardens - seriously every city in Australia seems to have one! After our legs could peddle no more, we returned the bikes, and made our way back to the hostel. I was about ready for dinner by this time and then settled down to watch Indiana Jones. Before bed I packed up my bag ready to check out the following day.

I set my alarm for 8, got changed and headed out for a run along the Torrens River and through the Botanic Gardens. After a shower, I walked in to town to catch the tram to Glenelg - one of Adelaide's nearby beaches. The sun was bright and the sky blue, almost hard to believe it was winter. The rest of the afternoon I frittered away waiting to catch my bus to Melbourne later in the evening.

My original plan before coming to Adelaide was to meet some travel companions to journey along the Great Ocean Road. Unfortunately, I have been unable to meet anyone heading that way that hadn't already booked a tour or another mode of transport. Although perhaps they are just scared that they would end up unfavourably in one of these blog posts. And so after speaking to lots of other people, who generally agreed that the Great Ocean Road is best enjoyed in summer, I decided to cut my losses and leave Adelaide to soak up as much of Melbourne as I can in the last remaining days in Australia.