United Brings Back Nonstop Flights to Adelaide
For the final stop of my trip, I traded the central business district for a morning on the water at the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary near Garden Island.
I joined the three-hour Dolphin Sanctuary Kayak Tour, where my guide, Kendall, first walked us through the basics before leading our group onto the water.
We paddled between mangrove-lined creeks and the partially submerged remains of old ships. The Garden Island ships’ graveyard contains 25 known vessels abandoned between 1909 and 1945 after they became obsolete, damaged, or no longer economical to maintain.
Farther into the mangroves, I started getting serious Florida Everglades energy, only without quite as many things I was concerned might kill me.
Kendall, who happens to be an American from Florida herself, was equal parts kayak instructor and naturalist, filling us in on dolphin behavior, conservation efforts, and the maritime history behind the wrecks as we paddled.
Then came the moment I had convinced myself probably would not happen.
I am an eternal pessimist when it comes to any wildlife activity involving the phrase “possible sighting,” but we ended up spending several minutes alongside a mother dolphin and her calf.
The pair moved back and forth through the water together, surfacing side by side, disappearing beneath us, and then looping around again.
The tour costs AU$79 per adult, lasts about three hours, and includes the necessary kayaking gear.
Between the shipwrecks, ancient mangroves, and a wild dolphin sighting I had fully talked myself out of expecting, it was a fitting way to finish a trip that consistently surprised me.
