{"id":885,"date":"2016-07-19T03:49:28","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T03:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/?p=885"},"modified":"2019-03-08T11:49:54","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T00:49:54","slug":"adelaide-gets-bad-wrap-go-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/adelaide-gets-bad-wrap-go-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should definitely visit Adelaide on your Australian adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a pretty good bet that if you\u2019re talking to someone who\u2019s dissing Adelaide<\/a>, they\u2019ve probably never actually been to Adelaide<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNah mate, wouldn\u2019t go there. Just a lot of churches isn\u2019t it? And they can\u2019t do a decent pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where did this anti-Adelaide sentiment come from? And what\u2019s with the hostility to its emerging pie industry? Adelaide has developed an unfair reputation for being a bit old, quiet and folksy. The sort of place that knits woolen cardigans and falls asleep after meals. The City of Churches moniker probably doesn\u2019t help either: there\u2019s something terribly wholesome about defining yourself by the number of churches you have.<\/p>\n

RELATED: CHECK OUT OUR GROUP TRIPS THROUGH ADELAIDE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

But all this is ignoring the vibrant, eclectic, modern Adelaide that exists just around the next sleepy corner store. Adelaide is one of the greenest cities in the world (in fact it announced last year its ambition to be the world\u2019s first wholly carbon neutral city); it\u2019s got arguably the country\u2019s most beautiful countryside within easy day-trip distance, and the city itself has an emerging art and theatre scene to rival anything you\u2019ll find in Melbourne\u2019s gritty laneways or Sydney\u2019s harbourside venues.<\/p>\n

If you want a locals\u2019-eye take on Radelaide<\/em>, here\u2019s what you should do:<\/p>\n

1. Watch a game of cricket at the Adelaide Oval<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-Oval---Michael-Coghlan\"

Image c\/o Michael Coghlan, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

Even if cricket isn\u2019t your thing, sitting \u2018on the hill\u2019 at The Adelaide Oval and enjoying a pie and a picnic is one lovely way to spend a summer afternoon. It\u2019s been headquarters of the state cricket association since 1871, and there\u2019s a definite feeling of history about the ground. It\u2019s regularly listed as a favourite of cricket players from around the world. You\u2019ll find it on War Memorial Drive, just across the river from the Festival Centre. Cricket tickets start from $30 for adults and $10 for kids.<\/p>\n

2. Enjoy a sunset at Henley Beach<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-Henley-Beach---Michelle-Robinson\"

Image c\/o Michelle Robinson, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

Most of the tourists that pass through Adelaide<\/a> head straight for Glenelg beach, but the smart ones go to Henley instead, a couple of suburbs further north. There\u2019s fantastic restaurants and cafes nearby (book a table at Estia for some of the best Greek food of your life), clean white sands, volleyball courts and a flourishing little art scene: check out the galleries popping up along Seaview Rd as well as the weekend organic market. Glenelg is the beach they put on postcards, but locals know Henley is really where the magic happens.<\/p>\n

3. Take a Barossa Valley wine tour<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-Barossa-Valley---Matt-S\"

Image c\/o Matt S, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

When you\u2019ve got a world-renowned wine region within an hour\u2019s drive of the CBD, it\u2019d be a criminal waste not to set aside a coupe of days for a proper cellar door crawl. There are oodles of B&Bs and vineyards to choose from in the Barossa (the drive down to Seppeltsfield is lovely, but Rockford and Penfolds are obviously the big names). It\u2019s best to go in with a plan and try a little from each one. Of course there are other wine regions in South Australia (the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne creek are two of our favs), but the Barossa is the big daddy of them all.<\/p>\n

4. Check out the River Torrens<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-river-Torrens---JAK-SIE-MASZ\"

Image c\/o JAK SIE MASZ, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

The Torrens runs through the heart of Adelaide<\/a>, but it never seems to generate the hype around the Yarra in Melbourne. We\u2019re not sure why. The riverfront itself is gorgeous, and there\u2019s always paddle boating, bike hire (there\u2019s a free city bike hire spot by the Hindmarsh Library), a Popeye river cruise, gondola hire for the romantics out there and a revolving calendar of cool arts and music festivals. If you\u2019re in town over a weekend, it\u2019s always worth wandering down to the riverbank in the morning to see what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

5. Stuff your face at the Haigh\u2019s Factory<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-Haighs---Amanda-Slater\"

Image c\/o Amander Slater, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

Haigh\u2019s chocolate is an Aussie icon. Right up there with Vegemite and laconic understatement. It\u2019s still a family-run company, and Adelaide<\/a> is it\u2019s home base. If you want to pick up a keepsake, there\u2019s a big shop in the busy Rundle Mall, but real chocoholics should make the pilgrimage our to the Haigh\u2019s Factory on Greenhill Road. You can see the chocolates being made from start to finish and taste a bunch of free samples.<\/p>\n

6. Take a day trip to Victor Harbour<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-Victor-Harbour---Andrey-Shipilov\"

Image c\/o Andrey Shipilov, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

A popular schoolies destination in November, but as long as you avoid that you can get Victor Harbour pretty much to yourself (apart from a few holidaying locals and the odd migrating humpback whale). Horse drawn carriages clip-clop along the streets in the evening, and there are a bunch of excellent cafes and markets in town (try Anchorage Caf\u00e9 for good Australian fare, and the family-friendly Country Market on the 2nd<\/sup> and 4th<\/sup> Sundays of every month, right on the beachfront lawn).<\/p>\n

7. Get your German on at Hahndorf<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-Hahndorf---Michael-Dawes\"

Image c\/o Michael Dawes, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

A little bit kitsch, but a lot of fun, Hahndorf is an olde-worlde neighbourhood that trades on its German roots (it\u2019s Australia\u2019s oldest surviving German settlement, 139 for those of your playing at home). Apart from being the best place in Adelaide to get a schnitzel and stein combo, Hahndorf is worth a visit for the Teutonic sandstone buildings, leather and wood craft stalls, lebkuchen<\/em> (that\u2019s gingerbread) and other traditional German snacks. If you\u2019re there, you may as well check out nearby Beerenberg Farm for jams, condiments and strawberry picking (when they\u2019re in season).<\/p>\n

8. Grab a bite with the locals<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-local-food---Michelle-Robinson\"

Image c\/o Michelle Robinson, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

What\u2019s your fancy? Wood-fired pizza? Try GoodLife Pizza on Hutt Street (it\u2019s cheap and cheerful and delicious, what more do you want?). Fancy Austrian-inspired cuisine? Lenzerheide or Alphutte are both world-renowned options; a little pricey but still totally worth it for a fancy night out. Vego? Head down to the Joy Discovery Vegetarian Caf\u00e9, just off Rundle Street East on Bent Street. They\u2019re known for they\u2019re knock-out curries and samosas.<\/p>\n

9. Enjoy some world-class coffee<\/h3>\n
\"Adelaide-coffee---Helen-K\"

Image c\/o Helen K, Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

Melbourne won\u2019t like to hear it, but Adelaide<\/a> gives it a serious run in the coffee-capital stakes. There\u2019s the \u201cutterly devoted to your coffee\u201d crew at Bar 9 on Glen Osmond Rd who pump out boutique percolations on an industrial scale. Or maybe the painfully hip baristas at Coffee Branch, who serve up high-quality brews to the busy city regulars. Our favourite might be the little hole-in-the-wall Fiefy\u2019s Specialty Caf\u00e9 (pronounced fee-fee): it\u2019s got an award-winning barista who came 5th<\/sup> in the World Latte Art Competition. Consistently addictive.<\/p>\n

City of Churches? Morel like City of Awesome (let’s see if that one sticks). Check out the best of Adelaide on one of our small group\u00a0adventures<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Feature image c\/o Les Haines<\/a>, Flickr\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a pretty good bet that if you\u2019re talking to someone who\u2019s dissing Adelaide, they\u2019ve probably never actually been to Adelaide. \u201cNah mate, wouldn\u2019t go there. Just a lot of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[218,66],"class_list":["post-885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-adelaide","tag-south-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1637,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885\/revisions\/1637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}