The sad recent events that marked many people’s lives and brought devastating consequences on the wildlife in many parts of Australia have been difficult to witness while feeling and being so close. However, I still had hopes that Kangaroo Island would stay untouched of the fires and it’s natural beauty and uniqueness would remain. Sadly, I received the call while waiting to board my plane in Sydney that the tour I had booked will not take place because the fires are taking over literally the whole island. The next days I followed the news in disbelief and completely helpless, seeing how day by day this beautiful place was being transformed into ashes.
As Kangaroo Island became a no option, my stay in Adelaide got an extra two days to explore, enjoy and discover.
A rather underrated city, that some locals refer to as big village, started to unfold day by day and by the end of my stay I became quite fascinated by how diverse it is and how many things you can get out of it.
Food to feed your body
My centrally located accomodation made it very convenient to just walk my way around the city and within a couple of hours have a proper feel about where everything is.
I’ve chosen to start the day with a visit to Central Market and I instantly knew that the following days will start also there. Why is that? Because it’s the best place to pick up fresh fruits and veggies, provided by local farmers and sold in a friendly environment, which by the way reminded me of St Lawrence market in Toronto, Canada.
While at Central Market, one can pick from many different cuisines , I’ve spotted South American street food stand and Hungarian bakery, just to name some.
A few steps from the market is Chinatown, it’s small but compact, bringing together all sorts of Asian restaurants and stores.
Edo Sushi is a remarkable Korean – Japanese restaurant that I liked and the kimchi I ate there, although burned my tongue, will stay in my memories for its delicious taste.
No doubts that Adelaide is perfect for food lovers or curious people that are interested to check out different varieties.
The iconic Adelaide favourite, The Original Pancake Kitchen didn’t disappoint, although unfortunately I couldn’t even try their signature pancakes cause the gigantic burger they served me with, that came together with a massive portion of chips left no space in my stomach even for a tempting pancake.
One of the days when I may have been a little too caught up with doing things and skipped a lunch, by dinner time I was really famished and also interested to check out the O’Connell street dining scene, that I heard it’s a bit more high class than the rest of the city. Not in the search of too posh or so, but for a real different vibe, Giulia, the friendly Italian traveller that I met and myself, we headed directly to Marrakech not Africa, only O’Connell street. The design and the whole decoration of the restaurant takes you though to Morocco with authentic lamps, cushions and art pieces, accompanied by Arabic music , all this providing a special vibe. The head waiter that looked after us in a typical Bangladeshi ( his origin country ) friendly manner, pointed out that all the decoration objects has been bought from Morocco and the chef is a well respected, award winning personality in the industry. Also, although I’ve noticed that in many countries if there’s a Moroccan restaurant is likely to be called Marrakech – how inspiring – the Adelaide Marrakech is not part of a chain.
Needless to say, the food has been delicious and a looot, our waiter even spoiled us with a dessert, saying: “ because you’re visiting and to have a nice Adelaide memory”. Well, that has been a fun, stomach filling Moroccan trip – with a touch of Bangladeshi generosity, Italian gesticulating and hmm maybe Hungarian hunger?! – right in Adelaide.
Culture to feed your brain
Often times museums and art galleries take the backseat while I travel because the outdoors is more appealing, but I’m glad that sometimes the culture fix gets squeezed in. I mean one day was 40 degrees, the next dropped to 16 and with just a jumper and some leggings that could count as warm clothing?! – the setting was perfect to take it easy indoors.
That being said, off we went to check out the State Library of South Australia, where between all those ancient books I found also a map of the world, that was more figureoutable than many of the words from the 3 kilos book. Not to forget, window shopping for fashionable young lady outfit has been more than inspiring and that’s an understatement. All jokes aside though, I liked the Harry Potter style environment and the collection of the books on various topics in really impressive.
Right next door is the Museum of South Australia, that holds holds collections of national and international significance.
Our last stop was at the Art Gallery of South Australia, a truly impressive place filled with stunning art collections presented in an interactive manner.
Animals and oh, the amazing outdoors to feed your soul
What I loved most about Adelaide is that it has so much green space. Lots of parks and the river Torrens, all easy to acces. I spent without realising a few hours just chilling under a tree by the river with a book in hand and some quaking ducks around me. The scenery is beautiful, peaceful and simply just fills you up with energy. Great for a morning jog, afternoon biking and evening yoga, not all in one day I guess… However, it’s a city where it’s for sure pleasant to live for a while to properly experience all the perks.
Botanic Garden
A nature oasis in the heart of the city, the botanic garden is Adelaide’s show off big park that hosts a significant diversity of flora and apparently fauna as well, having met several duck families leisurely roaming around.
Himeji Garden
To my surprise no tourist that I met in Adelaide heard about Himeji Garden. It’s true that’s it’s tiny and maybe not necessarily a must visit, but it’s pretty and peaceful and it’s a loss not checking it out.
Morialta Conservation Reserve
Just a short drive north-east Adelaide, also accessible by public transport, is located this gem that I wish I had more time to explore. Greeted by a sleeping koala, the bushwalk started in a great spirit. The scenes are spectacular and after a couple days of rain some waterfalls will be spotted too, that wasn’t the case during my visit due to the drought.
Cleland Conservation Park and Mount Lofty summit
Within the national park is located also the wildlife park, where in a safe environment the animals are being taken care of and look happy. Attention: this is not a zoo! Yes, you can say they are in capture because there’s needed to have some boundaries in order to keep a control, but the animals are in their natural habitat which is the wild, they do have plenty of space and they do get the care and attention they need to be kept healthy. From dingo to echidna, Tasmanian devil and the iconic kangaroo, you come up close with the fascinating Australian wildlife and no matter how many times you meet these special creatures it’s always an epic experience.
From the wildlife entrance there are several trails that lead to Mount Lofty summit, I doubt that any of them would be difficult, although according to Aussie standards the one I’ve taken has been steep – hahaha , the whole hike I was searching for the steep part, reached the summit without finding it – .
In any case the view from the summit is spectacular and the local cider tastes just a wee bit better from the top.
Adelaide sunsets
What I know about Australia for sure is that sunsets will take your breath away, sometimes when you expect the least. The palette of colours that appear on the sky range from dramatic colours to soft, cotton candy style and and all in between, never knowing which one will show up. Adelaide’s beaches are very nice places to watch the sun going down, but occasionally the city center can be just as good.
Whether sunset or no sunset, taking a dip and chilling on Glenelg, Adelaide’s most popular beach is not a bad idea.
On the other hand, Henley beach, the less populated version of Glenelg might be a more suitable option if crowds are not your cup of tea.
It feels like I’ve discovered just a small piece of what Adelaide really is and still don’t understand why many Aussies that I met beforehand gave me a description of Adelaide, which sounded somewhere between the lines “ it’s boring” and “there’s nothing to do there, except wineries”. Wineries, on a next occasion…
editaroundtheworld 
Recent Comments