TRAVEL
A week in South Australia Last time I was in Adelaide I was around 20yo so I was keen to revisit and also see how Kangaroo Island (KI) was recovering after the horrendous December 2019 fires. Adelaide's CBD was a delight with a well-planned grid layout, few cars and gardens encircling the city. A highlight is the central market which opened in 1870 and is a gastronomic Aladdin’s cave! There are beautifully displayed deli items, international cuisine sweets, glorious fruit and veggies and specialist coffee stalls.
Evidence of the bushfire on KI was widespread with stark white trunks of trees sticking out of metre-high regrowth. Totally destroyed were extensive blue gum plantations and investors have experimented to see if dead trees could be re-used as charcoal. We visited recovering tourist sites such Raptor Domain, fur and sea lion colonies and a traditional-method eucalyptus oil distillery. KI kangaroos are a rich red colour and furrier than our locals. A day trip to Hahndorf which was settled by Lutherans in 1839 fleeing religious persecution gave a great insight into German heritage. The Barossa Valley wine tasting was on the ‘must do’ list as was a visit to the family-owned Beerenberg company which makes those cute mini-jars of jam as well as dozens of salad dressings and marinades. We spent three days on the Murray Princess paddlewheeler – not the original but a 1986 Goolwa reconstruction. It was rather luxurious sitting in the wood-lined aft lounge watching the wheel thrashing along and relaxing with the passing parade of bird life and river scenery. We only caught a tiddler in the Catch a Carp invasive species competition as the winner was a whopping 43cm! Less than a three-hour flight from Brisbane it’s a great Aussie holiday with plenty of diversity. Ruth Hickey
YOUTH
Mobile phones ‘away for the day’ at state schools In July 2023 the Qld Government announced mobile phones and certain wearable electronic devices like smartwatches will be banned at all Qld state schools during school hours and including break times from Term 1 2024. 20
