Day 6: Tarndanya
Nau Mai
Inanahi, i whakatangi mātou ki Tulya Wardli, Ahitereiria
There was nothing in the schedule until 3pm so we took the opportunity for a sleep in. Except for Liz, that is, who had to be online at 6.30am so she could attend a Twitter listening party in the UK. That is the glamourous life of being a highly accomplished songwriter.
Tristan and I started our day with a parikuihi kōmehomeho, a slice of parāoa panana, toasted, with pata.
Afterwards, i oma māua ki Adelaide Parklands, the figure eight-shaped strip of kākāriki that loops around Adelaide City Centre and North Adelaide. We ran along the banks of the Karrawirra Parri and passed under the Riverbank Precinct Pedestrian Bridge, a futuristic looking structure that carries foot traffic between South Adelaide and the Adelaide Oval. It is a curved, sloping, asymmetrical, post tensioned concrete bridge, its 255m length supported by two asymmetrical V piers, and clad in 3000 white glass panels. It also features the highest pumped free-falling waterfall in Australia, and has a highly impressive Google review average of 4.8 stars, from 61 reviews.
Australia’s highest pumped free-falling waterfall, at the end of the Riverbank Precinct Pedestrian Bridge.
📷 waymarking.com
We also passed the sluice gates of the historic Torrens Weir that was constructed in 1881, transforming the many muddy waterholes of the Torrens Valley into a picturesque lake.
The Torrens Weir sluice gates.
There was time for a couple of hours rest after lunch and then we headed to the venue, located on the western edge of North Adelaide, on lands the Kaurna People call Tulya Wardli. We were playing at The Gov, a classic Adelaide venue that has been described as ‘great place’, ‘great live music and family fun ambiance’, ‘the steak is amazing’, and ‘great size intimate venue’. It apparently also advertised $3 bubbles on a Friday night but then charged Level 8 Local Guide Vanessa full price for the bubbles.
The venue has a slight tropical vibe which caused Level 3 Local Guide Daniella Giannitto to proclaim it ‘perfect for salsa’ after attending a recent salsa night. Whether she was dancing or eating Tortilla chips we shall never know.
Hanging out in the green room before the show. If you look carefully you can spot the huge certificate which is The Gov’s Australian Hospitality Award for best entertainment venue, 2009.
Adelaide rock quartet Oscar the Wild joined us to play the opening set. We played with them the previous time we visited Adelaide, in 2019, and it was great to see how they had developed. Frontwoman Ruby Gazzola got the crowd thoroughly riled up with her turbulent vocal performances, and energetic saxophone interventions.
Reunited.
I was very pleased to see Adelaide trombonist John Gluyas in the crowd. John is the best trombonist and best music educator I have ever met. I learned an incredible amount from the few years we spent working together and he is sorely missed in Auckland, having moved back to Adelaide recently.
Master trombonist John Gluyas takes a mid-show selfie with the author.
We packed out quickly as we had another early morning wakeup to look forward to. Our 6.15am flight was to be the climax of this week-long sequence of increasingly early wake ups. Back at the hotel I set a brand new pair of even earlier alarms and lay back to enjoy a few hours of rest.
Kupu o te rā is oma. It means to run.
I oma ahau ki te wharepaku. I ran to the bathroom.