Lonely Planet Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin (Regional Guide)

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Lonely Planet has been researching Australia’s dusty backroads for 32 years. This new, meticulously researched guide to Australia’s center will enrich any travels in the region, whether short excursions from Darwin, Alice or Adelaide, or epic road trips all the way from the Great Australian Bight to the Top End.

Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. This fully updated edition is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice,

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Adelaide, Australia

Adelaide, South Australia was recently granted Australia ‘s highest heritage honor with its inclusion on the National Heritage List. Named after Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV, this enchanting coastal city situated on the eastern side of Gulf St. Vincent was founded by the controversial Colonel William Light as a “planned capital” in 1836 for the only freely settled British province in Australia. A leader in world-first reforms, Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom, civil liberties and political progressivism.

Today, Adelaide is the seat of South Australia ’s government and the major commercial site of regional governmental and financial institutions. But before British settlement and “Light’s Vision,” as it was known, came along, Adelaide was mostly bushland, swamps and marshes. Its traditional owners and inhabitants were the now extinct Koruna aboriginal peoples whose already tiny population was decimated by an early 19th century smallpox epidemic. Adelaide was originally called “Tandanya” which translates as “place of the Red Kangaroo”.

Much of Adelaide ’s original vegetation has been cleared but preserved in such nearby sanctuaries as Belair National Park and Cleland Conservation Park . Adelaide is easily accessible by bicycle to native bushland hiking in the Mount Lofty Ranges . Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate with most rainfall in the winter months of June through August and little to no snowfall.

Light’s Vision — which was originally very unpopular with not only early settlers by South Australia’s first Governor — set out Adelaide in a grid, interspaced by large public squares and wide boulevards all entirely surrounded by parkland. The benefits of Light’s Vision immediately became apparent commercially and aesthetically. Adelaide had easily navigable, wide multi-lane roads from its very beginning, along with a beautiful green ring around the city center. Also from its original design, there are two sets of “ring roads” within Adelaide , the inner ring route bordering parklands and the outer route completely bypassing the inner city. Where mostly bushland had been before, now a number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. As the free settling, early European colonists and other diverse cultures began to arrive in 1836, Adelaide blossomed into a vibrant, European-style mecca that nearly two centuries later has become known throughout the world as an epicurean, artistic playground with eclectic cuisines, magnificent wines and an unparalleled arts and culture scene.

Today as a state capital, Adelaide is home to a great number of cultural institutions. But in the 1970s, after more puritanical restrictions on cultural activities all over Australia were finally being lifted, Adelaide began emerging in its own right as a capital of the arts. In these years the world-renowned Adelaide Festival of the Arts and the Fringe Festival were established. Along with “Tasting Australia,” a biennial food and wine celebration, Adelaide can also boast that is home to the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, the world’s largest Christmas parade, attracting crowds of over 400,000 and televised to millions more.

For more information on Australia, visit http://www.adelaidemicroblog.com and http://www.sydneymicroblog.com.

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Unique Adelaide: Adelaide in a Nutshell

Adelaide is a city that offers you exactly the kind of holiday you want. If you feel like relaxing, you’ll find parks and gardens and spas, if you want to party, Adelaide offers pubs, club and hip joints, if it’s shopping you’re after, the city offers abundant shops, boutiques, malls and markets. Add to this the museums and galleries and intriguing culture and history and you’ll see that Adelaide has it all. Here’s how to find everything you want.

Getting a handle on Adelaide is easy as this was a planned city of spacious boulevards, lush greenery and downtown quarters with sophisticated architecture.

This means that walking is a delight. What’s more, the downtown area is surrounded by 930 hectares of parklands. So where to go first?

Culture buffs should head to Adelaide’s North Terrace, home to most of the city’s museums and libraries. North Terrace also features public memorials, universities, historic churches and also throws in a contemporary shopping experience.

For a true heritage experience, visit Port Adelaide, some 20 minutes from the city centre. Here you’ll get a glimpse of Adelaide’s rich history through the ornate old buildings, warehouses, jetties and wharves.

If you’re after great shopping, Rundle Mall is the place to go. Opening as the country’s first pedestrian street mall in 1976, Rundle Mall now features over 600 retailers.

Every Sunday from 9am to 4pm sees Rundle Street Market offering locally made jewellery, fashion, artworks, handbags and shoes.

While you’re in the area, drop over to Rundle Street East, one of Adelaide’s most happening thoroughfares packed with cafes, hotels, restaurants, small quirky shops, wine bars, and 10 cinema screens.

Whatever you do, don’t leave Adelaide without visiting the renowned historic Adelaide Central Market. Trading began here on Saturday 23 January 1869 when a group of market gardeners began hawking their produce.

Adelaide’s balmy climate makes al fresco dining a treat and the city boasts a

Mediterranean-style cafe culture. The best dining areas include Gouger Street, which leads to the Adelaide Central Market, Chinatown (which also offers a rich variety of Asia cuisine including Thai and Malaysian), and Rundle Street, in Adelaide’s East End.

If you’re a wine buff or just enjoy a glass or two, you’re in luck. Adelaide is the home of South Australia’s wine industry. The best place to sample the region’s fine selection of wines is the National Wine Centre at the end of North Terrace. Here the wine-tasting gallery and interactive displays will show you all about winemaking. Or head out into the Adelaide foothills to experience the vineyards first hand on a tasting and winery tour.

We’ve scratched the surface here and remember the seaside suburbs of Glenelg and Brighton await. But that’s for another article. To enjoy your stay in Adelaide, you have the choice of a wide array of Adelaide city hotels to suit every taste and budget. Two of the best Adelaide hotels are the Adelaide Paringa Motel and the Country Comfort Adelaide.

Adelaide: Land of Hills, Waves and Wine

When the early tribe’s and colonists began building Adelaide they used stone and build a solid city which has till date required little modification. It is one of the most planned city and a historic one too. Adelaide is nestled on a coastal plain between the Gulf of St. Vincent and the Adelaide Hills and is divided by the beautiful Torrens River.

Being host to many International events, a Mediterranean-style climate and stunning beaches, is reason enough for it to be the most popular destination in South Australia. Adelaide is home to sandy beaches, many of which are close to central Adelaide center, like like Aldinga Beach, Maslin Beach and Moana Beach. Popular with both locals and tourists in Adelaide, the golden beaches are the perfect place to relax and refresh and many of the beaches often feature strong waves, making them suitable for surfing.

Adelaide also has a number of excellent museums and art galleries. Adelaide is one of South Australia’s most famous wine-producing areas and Adelaide contains a wealth of wineries and vineyards, covering many thousands of hectares.

There are a variety of hotels in Adelaide and most of them are inexpensive accommodation. Most hotels in Adelaide can be found in and around Adelaide city center, which is one of the most convenient areas of Adelaide in which to stay. Hotels in Adelaide are usually near to popular tourist attractions, and also the main train and bus terminals. Other popular areas include numerous suburbs, such as North Adelaide and the coastal district of Glenelg.

Some of the areas with the highest concentrations of  hotels in Adelaide include Adelaide’s Carrington Street, Franklin Street, Gouger Street, Hindley Street, Holdfast Promenade, Jetty Road, King William Street, Lefevre Terrace, North Terrace, Rundle Street, Tynte Street and along Adelaide’s spectacular Henley Beach coastline.

Historic tourist attractions for visitors to Adelaide include Adelaide Town Hall, Parliament House, the Old Adelaide Gaol, the Magistrates Court, Adelaide’s State Library of South Australia, Ayers Historic House, Victoria Square, Adelaide University, St. Peter’s Cathedral and St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.

Other popular attractions for tourists and visitors to Adelaide and South Australia area include Adelaide whale watching tours, from the southern coastal beaches of Kings Head to Goolwa beach, Encounter Bay, Port Lincoln and Victor Harbour; the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide’s Rodney Fox Shark Experience, the Sky City Adelaide Casino, Adelaide Zoological Gardens, Cleland Wildlife Park, the Magic Mountain, Adelaide Parklands and Adelaide Botanic Gardens among many others.

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From 1915, when the first opal was discovered, until the present; the tiny Outback town of Cooder Pedy has been famous for its high quality opals and has become a tourist destination. You will be utterly amazed at the amount of interesting things there are to do and see in and around this remote town with its population of under 4000. For a small town, it packs a big wallop.

The distances that this unique town is from major cities will stun you. Roughly halfway between Alice Springs and Adelaide, the term “in the middle of nowhere” is a term that could aptly be applied to Coober Pedy. Known as the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy is the largest opal-mining town in Australia.

The Australian Outback is renowned for its unforgiving environment and searing temperatures. Cooder Pedy is no exception. With temperatures of over 100F most of the year, except in the winter when the temperature drops to the 90F range, many residents of this small town have adapted their lifestyle to accommodate those grueling mid-afternoon temperatures.

Underground homes are the norm, as opposed to the exception here. Abandoned mines have been converted to subterranean abodes that remain at a fairly constant temperature year round, negating the need for air-conditioning. Other homes have been purpose built in underground for about the same cost as a traditional above ground house. The underground world scenes in the movie “Mad Max – Beyond the Thunderdome” were filmed in one of the best known homes in Coober Pedy, Crocodile Harry’s Underground Nest.

The first church to be built underground in Coober Pedy was the little church of Saint Peter & Paul’s Catholic Church. Starting out as a non-denominational place of worship, this unique church became a reality through the sweat of the community. Other churches have since followed suit providing residents with a comfortable place to worship.

Some shops, art galleries, and hotels incorporated the underground lifestyle into their business. The Desert Cave Hotel, Comfort Inn Coober Pedy Experience Motel, Desert View Motel, Radeka’s Dugout Motel, and The Underground Motel all offer the opportunity of living underground, albeit only for the length of your visit. Radeka’s was originally an opal mine that was converted to a motel in the mid-1980s. If your taste runs to B&Bs, there are dugouts B&Bs as well.

You can stroll to the Temptation Café and have a bite to eat in one of only three underground cafes in the world. Once you leave the delightful café, you can go “noodling”, or searching for opals, in the public area. Who knows, you may find a decent opal to memorialize your visit to this amazing town…others have.

Just 110 km up the coast from Adelaide, the third largest island in Australia sits 16km off of the shore. Kangaroo Island is an incredible world away from the mainland and can’t be fully enjoyed in a day or two. Exploring this treasure with its 26 designated parks, reserves and protected areas will take an extended visit. Its few towns and small population leave a huge area untouched. If you only have a few days, decide your itinerary before you go so that no time is wasted.

With a temperate climate throughout it, stunning landscapes and miles of untouched wilderness; it is no wonder that Kangaroo Island holds a magical appeal to visitors. Accessible by plane or ferry, there is a wide range of accommodation options for visitors, from rough camping to luxury.

The largest of the parks on the island, Flinders Chase National Park occupies 17% of the island and surrounds Ravine de Casoars Wilderness Protection Area. On the western end of Kangaroo Island, the cliffs were long the cause of shipwrecks before two lighthouses were constructed in Cape Du Couedic, within Flinders National Park, & Cape Borda. Although these lighthouses are isolated, they are accessible and many visitors are drawn to the rugged, wild coast. Weir’s Cove, Admirals Arch and Remarkable Rocks are all contained within the park.

Set on Cape Bouguer, not only does Kelly Hill Conservation Park have terrific walking trails but also it is home to a magnificent network of limestone caves, the Kelly Hill Caves. Carved deep into the limestone, these caves hold a wealth of treasures. The spectacular stalagmites and stalactites; as well as the trove of fossils from animals that once lived, and currently live, on the island make the Kelly Hill Caves a wonderful place to explore.

The rare Australian Sea Lions live in a very large colony at Seal Bay. This colony is calculated to be about 10% of the world’s sea lion population. The accessibility of the sea lions allows visitors to get amazingly close to these creatures on guided tours. This amazing sanctuary was created in 1954 and the population of seals that breed here has exploded. Swimming and Fishing are strictly prohibited here so don’t be tempted.

Just off the treacherous coast of Kangaroo Island are a number of wrecks. Some of the wrecks took many lives and others took none. Three operating lighthouses make sure that dark chapter of the island’s mariner history does not repeat itself.

Agriculture, fishing, and tourism are the economic mainstays of Kangaroo Island. One restriction that visitors must adhere to is that they can bring no honey products or import bees. The island is home to the world’s only pure strain of Ligurian bees and they intend to keep it that way. It is also home to the only distillery of eucalyptus oil in South Australia.

Kangaroo Island is a multi-faceted island with delightful discoveries around every corner. It is a place you can immerse yourself in and you won’t ever want to leave.