We Always Knew Adelaide Was Special!

Tuesday 29th October, 2013

There is an air of smugnesss in our city today.  Adelaide has been rated in the Lonely Planet travel guide books as the 9th favoured city to visit in the world.  No other Australian city has been placed in the top 10.

We South Australians always knew Adelaide was a great place but now the secret is out, and we just have to convince our interstate cousins to come and see for themselves.  But no, they would rather poke fun at us saying Adelaide is a backwater, just a large country town and even one of our own called it a "pissant town".

Not so long ago we were put in the top 10 as one of the most liveable cities.  

Adelaide has everything going for it.............great weather all year round, fantastic cafes with food made from local produce, friendly people, beautiful beaches with clean sand, easy to get around, well planned city with plenty of parklands and so much more.  

We have several dolphins that love to play in the Port River. Port Adelaide is only 14 kilometres from the city centre.

We are known as the Festival state and throughout the year we have plenty of Festivals going on.  Our best known are the Cabaret Festival and the Fringe Festival which is part of the Mad March festivities.  We also host the annual Tour Down Under, our own version of the Tour de France.

We are close to all the major tourist attractions.........

Adelaide Hills, 20 minutes from the city centre for apples, cherries, strawberries, vegies, wineries, wildlife parks, historic tourist towns

Hairy nosed wombat

Potaroos

McLaren Vale region is 30 minutes down the road and here you will find plenty of wineries, beaches and cafes.

Barossa Valley is an hour away for vineyards, wineries, cafes, golf courses  

Kangaroos on the golf course

Clare Valley is 90 minutes away for wineries, farming, historic mining towns.

Murray Bridge and Mannum are situated on the River Murray an hour away for river fishing or hiring a houseboat for a few days or a week of cruising down the river. 

The Riverland is a 2-3 hour drive away and here you will find plenty of oranges, fresh fruit like apricots, peaches, pears and nectarines plus lots of vineyards and wineries.  The River Murray flows through this region and is also popular for river sports like speed boats, fishing, swimming, houseboats and water skiing. 

You can catch a plane or take the ferry to Kangaroo Island. Here you will enjoy some fantastic food, great fishing, wildlife, seals and penguins and stunning scenery.

For the more adventurous you can fly to Port Lincoln or take a 7-8 hour drive and swim with the great white sharks.  By the way you are in a shark proof cage.  You can also swim with the sea lions and the tuna.

If that doesn't interest you there are plenty of places to fish, surf, swim or go further west to the Great Australian Bight to watch the whales that migrate to this area and give birth to their young during the months of May-October.

Further north we have the Flinders Ranges.  These are not my cup of tea but plenty of people love going up there. Plenty of wildlife are to be seen and also at certain times of the year, if we've had the rain, the area is covered in wildflowers.

Adelaide is also the gateway to the Outback........head north and you will eventually come across Coober Pedy, an opal mining town where the houses are built underground.  Stay a night and do some fossicking.....you could get lucky and find that elusive black opal. Keep on going and you will be in the Northern Territory and a little way up the road is Alice Springs and a bit to the west Uluru (Ayers Rock).

Black opal...the most valuable of all opal

I know I will upset some people by leaving some areas out but as you can see once you get here there is plenty for you to see and do.

If you are thinking of a holiday in Australia or coming from interstate put Adelaide on your itinerary.  In fact many people who have holidayed here are surprised at how beautiful this city is.   If you do come I don't think you will be disappointed!