Adelaide (Australia)

Ok, the third in the series, and this opinion is about Adelaide, South Australia, where I spent quite a bit of time in 1999.

A Little Bit of Background
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Adelaide is the principle town in the State of South Australia. South Australia actually borders all the other states and Territories, except the Australian Capital Territory, which is wholly contained within the New South Wales borders. To the West of the State, you will find the Great Victoria Desert and the Nullarbor National Park, and the Coast Road will eventually take you to Western Australia. To the Northern part of the state, you will find the Simpson Desert, and the borders with Northern Territory, and North East the town of Birdsville, just over the Queensland Border. East of South Australia, are the borders with New South Wales and Victoria.

South Australian was founded in 1836. It was a highly planned community and the population was definitely not made up of convicts! The state contains large lakes, deserts and mountains. Adelaide is on the coastline, and just off the coast lies Kangaroo Island. The Southern Ocean laps the coastline of South Australia, and here begins the great bay known as the Great Australian Bight.

Now the name of the town planner who designed Adelaide escapes me, although I have seen his statue somewhere in the city. The Central Business district is a square mile area, perfectly planned. The streets which enclose this area are North Terrace, South Terrace, East Terrace, and yes, you’ve guessed it, West Terrace. The city is surrounded by gardens on all sides. To the North of the City runs the River Torrens, with a Municipal Golf Course on the North Bank.

I’ve remembered his name “Colonel Light”..

How to get there
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You can fly from Heathrow, and it typically takes about 24 hours. You will touch down for refuelling in Singapore normally. Adelaide is about two hours flying time from Sydney.

British Airways and Qantas are part of the OneWorld Alliance, and you will often see flights advertised for about £700, including four stopovers in Australia.

Everyone who wants to gain entry to Australia must have a Visa, unless you are a New Zealander.

When you land just get a cab, if you are going to the city. This typically cost me about $30 to the CBD.

Accommodation
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I always used to stay at the Adelaide Hilton, and it was a bargain $100 per night. The reception area of the hotel is very nice, although the bedrooms were a bit dated. They were embarking on a major refurbishment programme though, starting with the executive levels, and assuming they have managed to complete the whole hotel by now, you will find this a comfortable place to stay.

A more expensive place to say is the Hyatt Regency on North Terrace. This was practically next door to my office on the first floor of the EDS Building. However, I tended not to stay here as it was closer to $200 per night.

Weather
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Adelaide is generally much warmer than Sydney and Melbourne and the humidity often felt much drier.

Time Difference
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During our winter period (Oct-Mar), there is a nine hour difference, and during our Summer Period (Mar-Oct), there is a seven hour difference, with Australia being ahead of us. These are differences to the East Coast. Adelaide is a wacky half an hour behind Sydney and Melbourne!

Currency
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The Australian Dollar. Australia only abandoned Pounds, Shilling and Pence, in 1966. There money is brightly coloured and plasticky in feel. The exchange rate is currently about $2.6 AUS to the £1 GPB.

Important Dates
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Australia Day – End of January. Lots of celebrations and fireworks, and you will need to practice the National Anthem Advance Australia Fair.

Anzac Day – 25 April Commemorating Soldiers lost in the War, Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.

Shopping
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Rundle Mall is the main pedestrianised shopping area of the town, but once again, shopping isn’t that great, not by UK standards anyway. You will find the bid department stores in Adelaide although the branches are not as chic as the Sydney branches.

Our Saturday morning haunt was the produce market on Grote Street. Here you will find bread, fruit, coffee, meats and stuff and apparently it is the largest market in the Southern Hemisphere!

Sight Seeing in Adelaide
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1. Adelaide has its own Festival Centre, close to North Terrace. This one is more angular in design, and a lot cheaper than its big brother, the Sydney Opera House. It can seat 2000 people.
2. Visit the petting Zoo, and pet a few kangaroos, wallabies and the like. There is also a large Australian bird collection.
3. Another common theme in every large Australian city is the Casino. This is also on North Terrace. The casino is housed in the old railway station.
4. The Art Gallery of South Australia contains art from all over the world including China and Europe. You can also find plenty of Australian art in here.
5. If it is social history you are after, then visit the Migration Museum. You can learn about the pioneers of the state of SA.
6. Take a Tramcar to the resort of Glenelg. The trams are about 70 years old now.

Wining and Dining
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Gosh, I mustn’t have done a lot of eating out in Adelaide, or else I always ate at the same place, as I cannot think of that many. Try the Greek restaurant on Rundle Terrace, which was one of my favourite haunts. There is a large contingent of Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants around Gouger Street, near to the Hilton. A great Irish bar on East Terrace is PJ O’Briens, and there was live music here each Friday evening. The Hilton has a top restaurant, although I hardly ever saw anyone in it during the week!

Further Afield
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Take a drive into the Adelaide Hills area, where you can take pleasant walks or visit the kangaroo park. The highest hill is Mount Lofty, and you can get a great view of the city from here.

The town of Hahndorf was settled in 1840 by the Germans. The main street has been restored and is lined with souvenir shops. You can find plenty of cuckoo clocks here!

Adelaide is surrounded by some famous wine making regions. These are the Barossa, McLaren Vale, and Clare Valley. You can visit large and boutique wineries here. Probably one of the largest is Orlando, who make the Jacobs Creek range. There is a huge German influence in the Barossa region too.

You can take a short flight to Kangaroo Island, which is Australia’s third largest Island after Tasmania and Melville Island. Kangaroo Island is about 90 miles by 20 miles across. And no prizes for guessing what kind of wildlife you might find there. You can also take a ferry. The Island has its own National Park – Flinders Chase National Park. Sea lions live on the South Coast and are not afraid of man at all.

Coober Pedy attracts the tourists, although it is about 500 miles away from Adelaide. This area is an area famous for its Opal Mining. It is in the desert and therefore the temperature regularly reaches 50 degrees Celsius. The name means “white fellow’s hole in the ground”. You may have heard about this place in that many of the buildings are underground. These dugouts were to protect the miners from the heat. There is an underground church, hotel and bank!