To Adelaide via Melbourne

At 11pm it was time to depart Perth and start the epic ‘Virgin Blue’ flight to Melbourne which we completed in 3½ hours, then into the transfer lounge waiting for the 190 aircraft to be refuelled. Then we are boarded and take off within 2 hours back towards Adelaide - 1 hour later we land in Adelaide which is 2½ hours ahead of Perth in terms of time. So with the combination of no sleep on the red eye flight, a quick nap on the chairs in the transfer lounge and the time difference my body clock is in desperate need of re-setting!! Still, getting to the YHA is very simple from the airport as the shuttle bus will drop you at their (or any other hotels) door for $10 :)
Arriving in the early morning meant that there was no room ready yet and so it was an opportunity to go and explore the city and buy enough food for the three days. I also notice that the Adelaide Fringe Festival is on and this is only second in scale to the Edinburgh Fringe with acts from all over the world descending on the city and setting up all over town ;) I have already seen a number of street entertainers who are quite brilliant including a comedian/juggler, Balloon artist, escape artist and mesmerising Indiana Jones style magic act - Just amazing and practically free - and better still it continues into March… I celebrate with an almighty big breakfast at one of the many bars ($16) in order to aid the setting of the body clock, then on to Woolworths (yep you heard me Woolworths) for good value food and spend $19 on 6 meals worth of food which should see me through to the end of my stay. The YHA has storage space for food and fridge space with labels supplied to protect your shopping from scavengers ;) It also houses a set of six fully equipped kitchens each with gas hobs and a washing station - just make sure that you clean up after yourselves!!
Central YHA is reasonable value, with dorm rooms starting around $30 a night with a YHA card (membership cost ~$40/year but the card gains you discount on your room bookings across the world and grant discount on travel and some sites). The hostel is also centrally located near to all the major attractions, while being a good place to catch up with fellow travellers. I have one of the acts staying in my room but currently he is suffering from a cold…
Adelaide on first appearance is a very green city with trees lining all the streets and parks spread around the whole city. It is also a sprawling low level city with very few multi-storey buildings centred around the shopping area of Rundle Mall/Street. Most available space within the city is plastered with high art graffiti and posters advertising acts in the fringe all combining to give the streets a patchwork quilt effect. The range of acts is mind-blowing and includes many outrageous and bizarre takes on classic forms of entertainment. Overall, I feel the next few days will be filled with some amazing sites and sounds.