Adelaide, South Australia, in the winter – are you mad? Is a thought that came to mind, when a midyear holiday to sunnier territories is always a more attractive proposition.
However, the lure of a ticket to see rugby’s British and Irish Lions at the famous Adelaide Oval and a chance to get together with lifelong friends made the decision easy and affirmative.
July weather in South Australia is comparable to Auckland’s cold and wet, but it’s such a great state and Adelaide a wonderful, friendly city with a comfortable, relaxed first-world standard of living and quality of life.
There’s something very modest in the South Australian character that stands out. They know they’ve got a good life, they enjoy being one of Australia’s best kept secrets; they welcome visitors with open arms, but don’t necessarily want to attract more residents. They like it the way it is. “Don’t tell anyone”.
Adelaide is a mostly flat, very well planned, set-out grid city, with the CBD’s wide boulevards easy to wander, with old and new buildings portraying different generations’ architecture can blend if thought through, and its retail and hospitality selections plentiful and varied.
The Parklands public green spaces that run through the centre of Adelaide and incorporate the Adelaide Oval and are adjacent to the CBD and River Torrens are a special public asset fully utilised by the citizens, especially when there’s an event on.
And South Australia does events, as it’s known as the Festival State (in big neon lights!), and straight after the rugby match on the walk from the stadium to the railway station, one was in full view – Illuminate Adelaide – when colourful, artistic lighting displays screen on buildings, trees and landscapes making for uplifting visuals.
If Melbourne is the Aussie city known for its residents turning out for any sporting event, then Adelaide must be the city known for its residents turning out for any festival.
There are popular well-attended festivals in South Australia throughout the year, such as the internationally acclaimed WOMADelaide and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, thoughtfully placed on the calendar to suit the climate that can swing from temperatures in the high 30s in the long hot dry summer to low single-digits during winter.
The good thing about the winter, too, is the snakes are hibernating. Well, think so. That’s what I was saying to myself and to anyone who’d listen.
Had the great fortune to stay with dear friends in the Coromandel Valley, along with other travelling cobbers, so the large, eclectic family home was once again bursting happily at the seams.
So were our waste-lines. There’s no shortage of tasty food and culinary delights in South Australia. All dietary requirements are covered. Then some.
There’s a bakery in Coromandel Valley – the elaborately entitled Bake Bakery – and that’s the first eatery we visit on a working Monday morning on the way to Hahndorf, and I find myself singing we’re all going to Boonie Doon.
This store that smells like yeasty-dough-pastry heaven is popular, with the queue extending around the shop as everyone on the way to the till has plenty of time to decide what delicious looking (and no doubt yummy) bready pastry, sweet and sour, creamed and coated creation they’re going to buy. The boys do a perfect cappuccino, too.
Coromandel Valley, in the south Adelaide hills, on the slow-incline Belair train route, is one of the first areas of South Australia that was populated by European settlers. No convicts from Mother England were sent there.
CJ – one of our hosts, with his equally-marvellous wife JJ and their beautiful family, is happily and kindly providing history commentary and pointing out sights of interests.
It’s a comfy leisurely hour’s drive through the countryside to Hahndorf, an attractive, leafy historic town settled originally by a German community in the 1800s.
We’re bunking down in a big, warm, swanky house rental for two nights, a 20-minute walk from Hahndorf’s action on a winter’s Monday and Tuesday nights.
The first evening was spent at a classy gin tasting at Ambleside Distillers, followed by schnitzel night in a bustling restaurant (the busiest in town), while Tuesday opened with a stroll around town, eating and consuming coffee, culture-ingestion and shopping, and a late afternoon wine-tasting at Sidewood vineyard paved the way for a relaxed party where more stories of yesteryear were recalled as the music playlist jogged other memories.
Wednesday was discovery day, and in McLaren Vale, a premium wine-producing area to Adelaide’s south, lies the extraordinary life-enhancing d’Arenberg Experience.
Winemaking at d’Arenberg started in 1912, with fourth-generation family owner Chester Osborn making “distinctive wines using traditional and sustainable methods both in the vineyard and the winery”, reads the supporting booklet.
For $20 entry, it’s an enjoyable feast of highly curious, eclectic and entertaining art, with a wine-tasting included that’s awakening and informative on the top floor of the magnificent d’Arenberg Cube, “inspired by the complexities and puzzles of winemaking”.
“Each of the five levels have been carefully designed to entice the senses, including features such as wine sensory room, a 360-degree video room, a contemporary art gallery, and many other tactile experiences.”
It’s not to be missed. You float out, smiling, into a vista with vines as far as the eye can see.
The final day of the weeklong trip was spent walking Adelaide city and Parklands and crossing the gentle-flowing River Torrens to first pay one’s respects to The Don, Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest cricketer of them all, at the statue of him outside Adelaide Oval.
Throughout the city and on its fringe, there are thoughtfully crafted statues of South Australia’s greats – pioneering forefathers and mothers, notable contributors and Adelaide characters, while the street art is eye-catching and fun, and lanes dedicated by name to the city’s rich musical legacy are steadily being revealed such as Paul Kelly Lane and Cold Chisel Lane, and one’s coming soon for The Angels.
Two live music venues, Memphis Slim’s and Shotgun Willie’s, are hits and definitely worth checking out for the décor alone, and a nice appropriate note to finish this Adelaide, South Australia, travel log on.
Verdict: It might have been winter, but Adelaide, South Australia, is a welcoming, laidback happy place even in the cold and wet, with oodles of alluring cuisine, interest spots and activities. It’s out of the way but easy enough to get to and that’s its beauty and convenience. Talk to the locals, too, they’ll add significantly to the journey.
- For an earlier Times’ PJ Taylor story about a recent big sporting weekend in Adelaide, read: https://www.times.co.nz/news/experiencing-the-dominant-british-and-irish-lions-stunning-adelaide/
