Adelaide Fringe Parade

Last night an estimated 60,000 people lined some of Adelaide's streets for an entertaining and colourful introduction to this year's Fringe Festival. As usual I took lots of photos and have shown you just a few.

Adelaide Fringe

Tonight was the opening of the 2009 Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Fringe is an annual arts festival, being held this year from February 27 - March 22.

From 6pm there were short performances on 'pods' in Rundle Street by some artists promoting their shows. This was followed by a parade at 8pm and a 'party' in the park with several bands performing late into the night.

There were three pods along the street; people gathered around to watch the shows.

The Fringe Festival is the largest such event in Australia; having hundreds of performances and exhibitions. So tonight was just a sampling of these.

Terminal terminated

If you visited Adelaide on a domestic flight prior to 2006 you would have arrived here; the Adelaide Airport Domestic Terminal. Now it is being demolished, but I am not sure what plans have been made for the site. Currently the southern end is still being used for some regional airline arrivals and departures.

A new a dual international/domestic terminal was officially opened on 7th October 2005, but because of problems with the re-fuelling system it was not fully operational until 17th February 2006.

ABC Wednesdays - F for fish measurement

Is your catch legal? There is no excuse for anglers on the Glenelg Jetty to bag undersized fish as this Fish Measurement Station lists all the local species and and has a metric ruler included.

The ABC Wednesday meme was created by Denise Nesbitt. To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions click here.

Tall timber

Another shot taken yesterday at the zoo; testing the zoom capabilities of my new camera. The Adelaide Zoo has 2 giraffes in an open enclosure which makes it easy for viewing and photographing. Other giraffes are kept at the Monarto Zoo; an open range zoo about 70 km from the City.

Hide and seek

Last week I bought a new camera; so today I spent a couple of hours at the Zoo trying it out. These two playful fellows were quite entertaining.

Over the past year for this blog, I have been using a Panasonic Lumix FZ-50 (10Mp, 12x optical zoom) and I have been very happy with it. I used to have a film SLR, and have missed some of its capabilities. I have now bit the bullet and bought a DSLR - a Nikon D90 with two zoom lenses. So far I am impressed, but I have a lot to learn to get the best from it.

I have been rather busy lately and not posted as regularly as in the past; hopefully my new toy will renew my enthusiasm and commitment.

Prime location

This is CBC Corner, one of the prime locations for viewing the Clipsal 500 race. Tickets for a seat include food and beverages all day. The building on the corner is part of a private school; the Christian Brothers College.

Along this part of the track are many stately private houses; prime viewing whether they like it or not. During the four days of the event these residents' lives would certainly be disrupted.

ABC Wednesdays - E for Echidna

Echidnas are monotremes; unique mammals that lay eggs. The only other monotreme is the platypus; another Australian native animal.

I took this photo near Canberra, but there are echidnas in South Australia; I just haven't seen any in the wild to photograph yet!

The echidna's main diet is ants and termites. When an echidna smells ants or termites it uses claws on its feet to dig. It then sends its long sticky tongue into the nest and flicks it around. The insects stick to the tongue and are then drawn into the echida's tiny mouth.

The ABC Wednesday meme was created by Denise Nesbitt. To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions click here.

The culprit

This is the Torrens Weir that holds the water back to create the Torrens Lake; when it malfunctioned last week the water level dropped by about two metres. You can read more about the weir in a previous post.

Dry Dock

The untimely draining of the Torrens Lake has surely affected some businesses; Popeye and the paddle boats can not operate.

Oh well, let's make the most of it - time for a little maintenance.

Empty Torrens Lake

This is our 'beautiful' Torrens Lake looking not so pretty. A malfunctioning weir gate caused millions of litres of water to flow from the lake and out to sea. All we can wish for now is a torrential downpour! Other alternatives are being investigated but it is likely we will be looking at a dry creek bed for some time yet.

To see the Torrens Lake in better days in previous posts click here and here.

ABC Wednesday - D for drummers

The Billy Hyde Raiders Drum Corps is a local percussive drumming and marching performance group. They were formed in Adelaide in 1992; originally the John Reynolds Drum Corps.

I saw them performing at last year's Royal Adelaide Show.

The ABC Wednesday meme was created by Denise Nesbitt. To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions click here.

More Clipsal 500 Preparations

This is a photo looking west along Wakefield Road; on the left are more seating stands that have been erected and central in the photo is a pedestrian overpass ready for when this street becomes part of the Clipsal 500 racetrack.

I drew lines on a Google map to show the layout of the street circuit. The main stands and other facilities I showed on Wednesday are built alongside the part of the track that runs through Victoria Park Racecourse (no longer a racecourse). To see the official map click here.

Bus stop seating?

No this stand has not been erected to cater for an increase in bus travellers! This is a stand on the verge of Dequetteville Terrace, one of the public roads that becomes part of the Clipsal 500 street circuit in March.

ABC Wednesdays - C for Clipsal

For the past ten years the Clipsal 500 car race is held in the streets of Adelaide. Every year the stands and other facilities are erected in the parklands and along the streets. I took this photo this morning; the one below was taken in November last year.

So for nearly half a year, work associated with this event takes place in the parklands; construction of the stands and then the packing up and storing until next year . . . . I guess it keeps some people employed!

Prior to the Clipsal 500 being held here, Adelaide hosted a Formula One event for eleven years. Both of these events have generated lots of tourist dollars for the state; but due to disruptions to everyday life in and near the City are not supported by all.

So here it is; Clipsal 500 for 2009, March 19 -22 - "Bring it On!" This photo was taken during the Australia Day Parade. I am not a huge motor racing fan, but I usually go to join the party and to get some photos.

Click here and here for a look my posts of last year's event.


To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions go to the ABC Wednesdays' Anthology or to see direct links to their own sites go here using Mr Linky.

Tri-Service Half Guard of Honour

As part of Adelaide's Australia Day Celebrations, members of our Navy, Army and Air Force formed a guard of honour for the Lord Mayor of Adelaide's arrival.

Theme day: Paths and Passages

I love cycling and I especially like it away from the traffic on cycle paths like this; not only is it more peaceful it is safer too. Fortunately Adelaide has a growing number of cycle paths and marked routes on side roads.

The ever present dangers of cycling on main roads hit home last week with a report of a cyclist being hit and killed by a drunk driver; sadly he was a friend and past member of my cycling group.

This photo was taken several years ago in September in a southern suburb of Adelaide. I daresay it would look slightly different today; the trees would have grown and at present the grass would have dried off from our sweltering summer heat.

This month's City Daily Photos' theme day topic is Paths and Passages; Click here to view thumbnails for all participants