Adelaide

[thatdamnwoman]

I've been invited to an event in Adelaide next June and am wondering whether to go or not. I'm not a beachy sort of person (too old, fat and pale to enjoy it any more) and would want to spend time learning about the flora and fauna and geology that make Australia what it is. I could probably afford a month there, including a fair bit of travelling around.

I spent some time in Sydney back in the early noughties and found it really dull and suburban after London. More recently I know too many people who've returned from Oz unimpressed and wondering what all the fuss is about. It's so vast it's difficult to know where to start. Does anyone know what I mean and, more importantly, the best way of ensuring that I come back feeling I've learned a lot and seen things I won't see on any other continent?

[zxcbb]

If you go to Adelaide it's not for the city. Adelaide is a small city with beautiful surrounds, that is what you visit for.

Wineries, restaurants and countryside around Clare, Barossa, Maclaren Vale. Loads of beautiful b&b's in the countryside. You can hire bicycles and ride around. Some really cool historic places in the Barossa. There's a b&b that's a museum and the rooms are converted from workshops.

Hahndorf and surrounding areas.
Monarto Zoo.
Yorke Peninsula. Even in winter it's beautiful. Stunning to walk around the beaches and surrounds and eat at the country pubs. There's a very well known bakery on the drive up to the Yorke Peninsula.
Pink lake in Clare.
Have dinner at Windy Point.

I'd go to Tasmania too, breathtaking. If you want to travel that far then try Noosa or Port Douglas too. In Port Douglas you can see the Daintree Rainforest. Interesting accomodation available there too.

[TheSandgroper]

southaustralia.com/whats-on

Ski fields? www.visitmelbourne.com/regions/high-country

Loads of wineries, of course.

[thatdamnwoman]

Penguin Island sounds fab too although I have to say that I've never had much luck with penguins. Went looking for them in New Zealand last year but it was moulting season and they were in their burrows. Saw kiwis, though.

Maybe if I concentrate on wildlife as a theme that will take me to the real Australia.

[thatdamnwoman]

Unfortunately my partner (who is self-employed and very busy at that time of year) will be at home with the dogs!

Thanks for your input, I'm making notes and have a map up. Kangaroo Island looks good.

I worked for about six months in Sydney in 2002 and managed a few trips to the obvious places – Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, the Gold Coast, Perth, inland from Sydney – but never felt at home in Sydney or felt as if I'd got to know or understand Australia, if that makes any sense. I'm someone who prefers to get to know a country by puttering around its less touristy parts and chatting to local people.

So, maxbabi, if you were starting from Adelaide and you had 4 weeks to 'do' Australia (I know that's ridiculous) where would you definitely head for and where would you not bother?

[maxbabi]

I'm from adelaide!!! Been in London for nearly 30 years.
Kangaroo Island is meant to be lovely (never got a chance to go)
My sister lives in the hills loads of flora and fauna etc. Near the koalo and kangaroo sanctuaries. Amazing apples!
She's actually coming to visit me in June maybe a house swap?

[brittanyfairies]

I visited Adelaide 4 years ago as my brother lives there. We didn't get time to visit the beach really. The wildlife park mentioned above was amazing and then my brother drove us a couple of hours down the coast to a place called Penguin Island, it was amazing. We saw little penguins and seals in their natural environment and dolphins.

We did however visit in December

[thatdamnwoman]

Thank you. I'll take a look at those places you've mentioned. And yes, I would really like to avoid Australian cities if possible!

[mencken]

you wouldn't be sitting on a beach in June in Adelaide anyway...although perhaps it would be a nice stroll. You would love Tasmania for the wildlife and landscapes (camp or caravan and go out at dusk...) but again, June isn't the time for that.

Adelaide is a nice city, (far nicer than the sprawls of Melbourne and Sydney) but Australia isn't about its cities if you come from Europe. Adelaide does have a great wildlife park at Cleland, and in some cases the best way to see the wildlife is in a park. Then you could drive to the South Australian outback - Wilpena Pound/Rawnsley bluff are wonderful and it is the right time for that. And then possibly fly to the north to see the wet tropics, again unique to Australia. There are amazing places there that I've not seen because I was there at year end but you could go.