Port Adelaide SA maritime museum lighthouse ketch surfing

Why is it that you find a really good spot on the last day you are in a new place? Today we drove up the coast about 7km to Port Adelaide, actually it's old port Adelaide as the port is now a bit further up at what they refer to as the Outer Harbour.

Obviously, this is the old port area when sailing ships were the main transport around the country and the world. Its full of quaint and what look like well preserved stone buildings that would shave once been Harbour Master's Office, Customs House, Shipping Agents, Free and Bond Stores, Hotels and houses of ill-repute.

We paid the Maritime Museum a visit and it is delightful, if not a bit small. What they do have is a lot of fairly unbelievable artefacts of seafaring vintage. There are articles that belonged to Matthew Flinders, there are ancient medical items as used by ships' surgeons, a restored ketch and it goes on. My favourite through was a gallery of ships' figureheads, not one or two but 10 or twelve, all from the 1800s.

We followed the coast back down to our place at West Beach, looking for our perfect beach house and admiring the fabulous amenities that the various councils have provided along the waterfront and for access to the beach.

Yohoho and a bottle of Sauv Blanc. Maritime Museum. Port Adelaide

Reef the topsail me hearties! Maritime Museum. Port Adelaide

Figurehead from Claymore, 1858.  Maritime Museum. Port Adelaide

 Maritime Museum. Port Adelaide

Surfing style, c1900. Maritime Museum. Port Adelaide

Anchor from Flinders' Investigator.  Maritime Museum. Port Adelaide

Original lighthouse from Port Adelaide.