My SECOND Home... (Adelaide (Australia))

Member Name: rachels_ratty

Product:	Adelaide (Australia)
Date:	04/01/03 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean and well kept, friendly locals, The weather!, Excellent attractions and amenities

Disadvantages: Too far away!

Let me start this by giving you all a basic guide to Adelaide. Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia. Looking at a map it's right down at the bottom of the country, not quite in the middle. To the West of the City is the Gulf of St. Vincent, and to the East are the Mount Lofty Ranges (known to Adelaidians as the Adelaide Hills). Its population is around 1.5 million which makes it Australia's fifth largest city. Adelaide lies on the Torrens River, but more about that later. This area is not plagued by bush fires like Sydney, their last major fires were 20 years ago. From reports Ive seen online however, there is talk that this summer could well bring fires again.

Geography lesson over so now its time for a bit of history! The city was named after Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV. Like Melbourne, Adelaide was NOT established as a penal colony but was founded by free citizens mainly from Britain. The first settlers were led by Captain John Hindmarsh and they landed from their ship the HMS Buffalo in Holdfast Bay (now known as Glenelg) in 1826. The surveyor-general, Colonel William Light, with these first settlers chose the site for the colony and it was he who planned the city. He did an excellent job, the city has wonderful wide streets (on an American style grid layout), squares and the whole city centre is surrounded by parks and gardens.

Adelaide has to be the most overlooked city in the whole of Australia. I have to say that this fact is a shame, because in my opinion it is a true jewel in their crown, and deserves far more attention than it actually receives. The city centre itself is only 1 mile square which means everything is well within walking distance. This is one city where the airport isnt miles out of town, the average taxi fare from the airport to the city centre is around A$15 (£4). In fact all transport links are excellent, and most importantly cheap! 2 hour public transport tickets cost A$2.70 (85 pe
nce), with day tickets costing $5.60 (£1.85) I think. These tickets are valid on all city area buses, the Obahn (an odd sort of bus that runs some of the way on rails), local area trains, and of course the tram to Glenelg. There are also 2 FREE buses which run set routes around the city centre. All buses in Adelaide run on natural gas which makes them very environmentally friendly. At the Interstate Train Terminal you can get one of those world famous huge trains to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth or Alice Springs. There's also a good bus terminal on Franklin St, where you can get State buses, Interstate services and also many tours leave from there.

Adelaide is a very familiar city. Theres just something about it that makes you think European, but on the other hand its more than obvious you are actually a long long way from home. Its scrupulously clean and tidy which is wonderful and although it has some high rise buildings, theres not nearly as many as in say Melbourne, and the wide streets really do stop any claustrophobic and closed in feelings some cities can produce.

Let me start my tour of Adelaide on KING WILLIAM STREET, the main thoroughfare through the city, and it runs on a North-South direction. Its the widest of all the streets (42m, 140ft in old money). It continues as KING WILLIAM AVENUE after crossing North Terrace and heads out over the Torrens River and into North Adelaide. All street names change as they cross King William Street, except for North and also South Terrace. I was told the reason for this; something to do with crossing the King's highway, but Im afraid I cant remember the exact reason. It was confusing to begin with for me, but I soon got the hang of things.

In the centre of the city, at the intersections with Grote Street and Wakefield Street, King William Street opens out into VICTORIA SQUARE. In the centre of this square is the obligatory statue of Queen Victoria. In the northern part of the square is
a beautiful fountain with 3 spouts representing the three rivers of South Australia which are the Murray, the Torrens and the Onkaparinga. The square is laid out with gardens, and in the Southern part of the square is the tram terminus (which runs to Glenelg).

Just to the west of Victoria Square is the CENTRAL MARKET (entrances on both Grote St and Gouger St). This place is fantastic! You can get everything here you expect from a market, fresh fruit, veg, meat, poultry, fish, cheeses, flowers, plus a wide selection of household goods, books, souvenirs, clothes etc. It also houses loads of cheap little cafes and food stands and theres also a Chinese food court. Its open Tues and Thurs till 5.30pm, Fri till 9.00pm and only till 1pm on a Sat. As I was travelling as a backpacker with limited funds, this place was a godsend to me. Everything is very cheap and it certainly kept me from starvation.

A few blocks north of Victoria Square is RUNDLE MALL. This is the place to come if youre even remotely interested in the art of SHOPPING. It runs eastwards from King William street to Pultney St and is pedestrianised for its entire length. The whole street is lined with shops, and there are also many little arcades to explore, with yet more shops, cafes and food courts. Across KW street from Rundle Mall (remember i said that street names change) is HINDLEY STREET. This is known as the Downtown area; there's good restaurants here as well as some pubs and a multiplex cinema (which I did visit...I saw Bridget Jones Diary).

NORTH TERRACE is the home of the State Library (which was closed for re-furbishment when I was there), art galleries, and the MUSEUM OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. This museum houses an excellent Aboriginal collection, with various artifacts, video shows and interactive displays.

A short walk down King William Avenue brings you to the TORRENS LAKE, which leads into the TORRENS RIVER. The lake is complete with a small fountain, and t
here are boat trips available either just up to the ZOO, or as a round trip (up to the zoo and back again). The trip up to the zoo costs I think A$5 (£1.70), the round trip is $7.50 (£2.50). The boat driver I had was extremely friendly and just as interested in learning about British history as I was in learning about all things Adelaidian! I made the trip up to the zoo all on my own, just me and the boat driver. It was like having my own personal taxi service. Slightly further up King William Avenue is ST. PETER'S CATHEDRAL. This has spectacular stained glass windows.

The ZOO costs A$13 (£4.20ish) admittance and all the animals are houses in very natural settings. Next to the Zoo are the BOTANIC GARDENS. The main attractions here are the old Palm House and the Bi-centennial Conservatory which contains plants from he Asian area. Another excellent place to go and relax.

Now back to that tram. Its Adelaides only surviving tram, and the journey down to GLENELG (Adelaide's beach area) takes approximately 30 mins. The beaches here are clean and safe; this area of the coast is quite sheltered so its no good for surfers. There is a replica of the HMS Buffalo here, but its been turned into a restaurant which kind of spoils your photos. Glenelg in general is just another over-touristy place, but if souvenir shops are you're thing, then you will be spoilt for choice! There is however a good selection of pubs, most of which have outside seating, perfect for just watching the world go by. Glenelg was my favourite place to head to when the sun was shining.

The outer Adelaide area boasts way more attractions though than just Glenelg. CLELAND CONSERVATION PARK on the slopes of Mount Lofty (around 10 miles east of Adelaide) is a great place to get close ups of Koala's. Fantastic setting to learn that these pesky creatures sleep for roughly 23 hours a day, and snore at an amazing volume! The MOUNT LOFTY BOTANIC GARDENS, yes up in the Adel
aide Hills have a higher than surrounding areas rainfall so rhododendrons thrive here as do ferns. Theres also lakes (artificial) and rock gardens. The BLACKHILLS CONSERVATION PARK 8 miles to the North of the city is a Mecca for nature lovers. Here you will find some absolutely beautiful unspoilt gorges and waterfalls, lovely to walk through/past. Roughly 20 miles to the east of Adelaide is HAHNDORF, a German settlement that dates back to 1839. It retains all of its German past perfectly with half timbered houses, tree lines streets and quaint little churches with spires. The population is still mostly German or of German decent and visiting there is like stepping back in time.

In writing this I feel there is so much more I could sit here and write about Adelaide, Ive barely even scratched the surface. But, I hope Ive at least whet people's appetites and shown that there's way more to Australia than just Melbourne and Sydney.
For those of you who are interested, while there I stayed at the ADELAIDE BACKPACKERS INN on Carrington Street (just south of Victoria Square) which is THE best budget place to stay at in Adelaide. For those on a better budget than I was Adelaide has loads of hotels of all star-ratings. Theres plenty of cheap places to eat, and good pubs..

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