ADL

Visit the South Australian Museum, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Arcade, or the University of Adelaide, take a scenic drive admiring the beautiful resevoir along the way to Gorge Widllife Park to see and even hold a Koala bear and/or see the kangaroos, and the National Railway Museum is for those train enthusiasts. Ride the tram to Glenelg to take a swim at the beach.

Quick Tips:

Acquire and apply sunscreen to prevent sun/wind burns and buy bug/mosquito repellent, as the flies are a constant nuisance and itching bites are aplenty. Better yet, wear long-sleeved clothing to minimize the sun and bug exposure to skin. Layer light clothing and bring a light, wind-resistant jacket, as temperatures vary from cold to hot.

Good resources are GALTA-Gay and Lesbian Tourism Australia, Gay-MART's guide to Adelaide, and Google Search=gay adelaide, MD Travel Health.

Best Way To Get Around:

Skylink Adelaide provides shuttle service to/from the airport. Adelaide Metro provides good public transportation up until about midnight. The city, as is the Adelaide Metro, is laid out in a simple grid pattern, making it easy to move about. Taxis, car rentals, bicycling and walking are other options.

Frost Bites Hotel offers a deal: a New Orleans burger with a small beer for AUD 7.90, or any meal with a small beer for a dollar extra. We both ordered the char-grilled steak burger for AUD 8.90 each. My partner added the small beer for a dollar extra.

The food was good, atmosphere was good, service was fair. Our waiter came from the Bronx, NY, for twenty years.

Monday-Tuesday, 5pm-9pm; Wednesday-Sunday, noon-3pm, 5pm-9pm

There's a small boutique style hotel above the restaurant managed by another company City Park Motel with a billboard from AUD 66 phone 8223 1444, but no one was at the reception desk, as it was closed when I went to inquire and no vacancies were available.

Railway Hotel, located about a 5 minute walk from the National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide for lunch. The selections are listed on a board to select from. There are some railroad-related memorabilia. We ordered fish and chips as well as steak and kidney pie, where the top was baked separately and added on top afterwards, along with warm chicken salad. The food was good.

Gorge Wildlife Park was more interesting and interactive than visiting a traditional large zoo. Here it's more personal and on a smaller scale, which also allows for more interaction with some of the animals.

After paying your admission fee and purchasing a bag of peanuts to feed the animals, along with any refreshments for yourself, walk along the paths to see the animals. The flies are a constant nuisance, so apply bug/mosquito repellent.

I was scared initially of holding a koala because my host was telling me stories about the koalas having fleas that would bite and that the koalas would pee on me. They are gentle creatures. The koala handler told me to give it good support at the bottom so that it would be comfortable and wouldn't try to use its paws to dig in to support itself on me. It was comfortable, feeding on its primary diet of young, tender eucalyptus leaves.

Feeding the fruit bats with peanuts and biting off pieces of an apple to feed them was interesting to watch.

There was a large aviary to walk through. The Tasmanian devil was there but was sort of a disappointment, preferring the cartoon character that it was based on.

There are dingoes, a wild dog; wallabies; wombats; kangaroos; pelicans; water dragons; swans; pheasants; peacocks; leopards; alligators; and ostriches.

Flies are a problem here; even after applying bug repellent they are all over everything.

Phone: +08 8389 2206, +08 8389 2332

Adelaide Arcade, with its impressive 19th-century Victorian architecture, is a place with two levels of shops and services. Browse, have something to eat, and people-watch.

Pulteney 431 is a gay/bi male sauna with a spa, sauna, steam room, pool, tv lounge, dark mazes and spaces, private resting areas, and snack bar. The entrance is very discreet, with only the street number showing outside.

Wednesday to Thursday, noon to1am, Friday and Saturday, noon to 3am

Phone: 08/8223 7506

The South Australia Museum contains information on the culture and history of the people from this area, including dioramas, fossils, minerals, and meteorites. Permanent exhibitions include the Pacific Gallery, Origin Energy Fossil Gallery, Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, the "In the Footsteps of Douglas Mawson" exhibit, the Biodiversity Gallery's ‘Life in the Deep’, an Ancient Egypt exhibit.

Free Entry Daily, 10am-5pm, except Good Friday and Christmas.

Phone: 61-8-8207 7500
Fax: 61-8-8207 7430

The Art Gallery of South Australia has an extensive art collection in Australia, established in 1881, which features Aboriginal Western, Asian, and European art. Several permanent exhibitions are on display, along with changing exhibits. No photography permitted.

Free entry daily, 10am-5pm, except Christmas Day.

Phone: +61 8 8207 7000
Fax: +61 8 8207 7070

Email: agsa.info@saugov.sa.gov.au

At the National Railway Museum, exhibits include buildings, operating locomotives, signals, signs, plates, switch stands, points, rolling stock with locomotives, passenger and rail cars, freight and gang vehicles, a model railroad, friends of Thomas the Tank, and even a ride on a miniature train.

Open daily, 10am-5pm, except Christmas Day.
Admission: Adult $10, Concession $7, Children 3+ $4.50, Family $25.

Phone: (08) 8341 1690
Visit the Museum, Links to related sites
Email: info@natrailmuseum.org.au

The Feast Festival is Adelaide's annual Gay and Lesbian cultural festival, which takes place during most of November. Events and activities vary, so consult the website.

Phone: (08) 8231 2155

Email Administration: admin@feast.org.au

Shakespeare's Boys were originally scheduled for three performances, but the last performance was cancelled. That's quite a bit of effort for only two performances lasting 62 minutes each.

It's a play about a working relationship between two sex workers and a client who has an interest in both of them, leaning towards the new, young sex worker, as it reminds her of how it was when she first started with her regular sex worker eight years prior. It's somewhat erotic and other times uncomfortable to watch, like real life, but never boring.

Here is the text from the website, describing the play:

"Eighteen-year-old Peter arrives on the streets of St Kilda from the country for the first time with a dubious motive, aside from needing money. Ronnie, nearly thirty and hetero, has been making a good living hooking for almost ten years. When Ronnie's regular, George, starts showing exclusive interest in Peter, it becomes increasingly obvious to everyone that an equilibrium has been disturbed. As events unfold, the hapless men find themselves drawn into a three-way daisy chain of friendship and relationship. Shakespeare's Boys is a look at community and trust in today's climate and the perennial gulf between the sex worker and client."

Edinburgh Castle Hotel is both a hotel and a bar serving meals, with a predominately gay male clientele. There are different activities throughout the week. Tuesday is bingo night, Wednesday is male stripper night starting 9pm, and Thursday is women's night. Dancing, and snacks are available.

There's an outdoor patio area where we had our dinner of roast chicken with vegetables for $6.50 -- a deal -- and left, as Tuesday bingo was starting at 8:30pm. We came back the next night to watch the male stripper show, which happened with male and female audience participation, enjoyed by both. It was somewhat different and fun. This place is more of a social gathering, as the patrons are regulars and know each other.

Hours: Mon-Sat, 11am-midnight; Sun, 2pm-10pm.
Phone: +61 08 8410 1211
Fax: +61 08 8231 2477

Urban Cow Studio -- the name struck us as we passed by the place a couple of times, so we decided to go in and see. It has a display of artwork for sale, as well as bowls, plates, paintings and sculptures on two floors.

Mon-Thu 10am-6pm; Fri 10am-9pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12-5pm
Phone: 08 8232 6126

Hans Education Academy had a sign outside of door for Internet use, thirty minutes for AUD 1.50. So we walked in and made use of its work stations. They are apparently a language school teaching English, selling their excess Internet capacity to the public and open till 7:30pm. Coin-operated drink dispensers available.

54 Currie St, Adelaide
Phone +61 8 8231 5566, 5666
Email ricky@hanseducation.com

Adelaide Metro includes the Adelaide 0-Bahn and Glenelg Tram.

The 0-Bahn is a cheaper alternative to the rail, providing modified buses to service the suburbs on dedicated concrete tracks, guided by side rollers along the front sides of the bus. The driver doesn't steer; he only controls the pedal for speed.

Glenelg Tram provides service from downtown Adelaide to Glenelg, where you can take in the sun and beach, shop, and swim.

Service runs roughly from about 6am to midnight, depending on the line and day of the week. Fares may be purchased for a two-hour or all-day duration.

Airport service is provided by Skylink Adelaide.

Phone: 8210 1000, Toll free: 800 182 160, lines open daily from 7am to 8pm.

ADL Adelaide Airport, 1 James Schofield Drive, is located six kilometers west of the city centre and is undergoing change, as it's expanding and upgrading its facilities target for the end of 2005. There's a large car park with coin-operated pay stations, or pay a human if you prefer or don't have the proper change.

ATMs and public phones are available in both domestic and international terminals, restaurants available in domestic terminal, and there's one coffee shop in the international terminal. Qantas VIP Lounges (phone 0 8 8208 8869) are in both domestic and international terminals.

Airport ground transportation is provided by Skylink Adelaide, taxi, car rental, or private car.

Phone: (0)8 8308 9211
Fax: (0)8 8308 9311
Email: airport@aal.com.au

There are daily Didgeridoo performances at noon. There are also displays about Aboriginal culture, history, and contemporary issues. There are galleries to view artwork. Entry is $3. Classes are offered, and there is a café-restaurant. The Tandanya Shop sells quality, authentic Aboriginal art, artifacts, clothing, books and jewelry. My partner came here as a last effort to obtain a little Aboriginal art for his wall display at home.

Monday to Sunday 10am to 5pm; closed New Year's Day, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.

253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide

Phone: +61 8 8224 3200, Fax: +61 8 8224 3250

Email: tandanya@tandanya.on.net