Despite our late return from Kangaroo Island the night before, day 6 of our one week holiday in Adelaide had us waking up early for our next adventure.
What were we going to do now? Well in my research earlier in the week I found Escapegoat Adventures, a mountain bike tour company with great ratings on Trip Advisor.
I have never mountain biked before but I have a friend who loves it and has spent more than a couple of lunch hours showing me Youtube videos. I’d always kinda wanted to try it as I love bike riding, but the wildness of mountain biking scares me a bit. I’ve always been cautious about sports that have an element of letting go and potentially getting hurt (hiking and yoga are more my thing!)
Well, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone! I really liked all the info on Escapegoat’s website, they sounded very considerate of all rider levels including beginners so I pitched the idea to my sister and she gamely agreed to give it a try. We booked online for their 4 hour Lofty Descents tour in Cleland Conservation Park.
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The only thing Jo and I had pre-planned before arriving in Adelaide was this very special experience visiting Adelaide’s two resident Giant Pandas at Adelaide Zoo. My sister had watched a TV segment about the Giant Pandas and really wanted to see them so we decided to gift each other the experience for our birthday (Twins! December birth date!)
Wang Wang and Fu Ni are the only Giant Pandas living in the Southern Henisphere! Why are they here? Well, they’re here to baby-make! That and help the international community to build scientific data and understanding of sustainable habitats for Giant Pandas. China have loaned Wang Wang and Fu Ni as part of the worldwide program to study the pandas’ nutritional requirements and reproductive biology. As the only pair of Giant Pandas in the Southern Hemisphere Wang Wang and Fu Ni had enabled a completely new set of scientific data highlighting the differences between hemispheres and how it affects pandas’ biology.
We were lucky to go when we did, a couple of months after they stopped the Panda Encounter indefinitely due to the breeding program.
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Our first adventure on our second (and last) day on Kangaroo Island was to go koala visiting. Despite the island being called after a different Australian animal, there is actually a huge koala population there. I saw more koalas here on one day than I have ever seen in my life!
We drove to the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where we were free to wander among the eucalyptus trees at our own leisure, our heads craned backward, eyes glued upward at the tree branches. We didn’t have to go far to spot them – in fact we saw a mum and baby in a tree along the driveway!
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We had a whole week for our trip to Adelaide so we decided to spend two of the days on a trip to Kangaroo Island – I’m so glad we did as it was the highlight of our trip!
We wanted to make the most of our time so we booked to go with Adventure Tours Australia. My sister had been on a tour with them in Western Australia and had an excellent experience so we booked on the 2 day Kangaroo Island Explorer trip which cost just over $400 – and was worth every cent!
Starting bright and early on day 1 we were picked up from our hotel by a mini-bus and then transferred at the bus interchange onto a large coach to Jervis Cove where we would get the ferry to Kangaroo Island.
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We intended to spend our third day in Adelaide making the most of the city’s free bike program, which is open to everyone, everyday. Free bikes are located all around the city at places like tourist attractions, education centres, and hotels, and can be hired for daylight hours just by providing ID. It sounded like a great way to enjoy more of the path by the River Torrens, especially as the path runs all the way from the CBD to Henley Beach via the Linear Park Trail (more information is provided on the SA Trails website and on the Bikely website).
Unfortunately, despite our grand plans it was not to be. Free bikes can’t be booked ahead, it’s first in first served so we decided we better get in early. We walked to one of the university campus bike hire locations but sadly temperature restrictions kicked in! Bikes won’t be hired out on days forecast to reach over 38 degrees. This was a disappointment as we thought we’d be able to handle the heat considering we were starting so early in the day, however it is good to have safety precautions for the Australian heat.
We decided to get the tram to Glenelg Beach and walk along the coastal path there instead of cycling. The tram was easy enough to navigate to using the Metro trip planner again. Glenelg is at the end of the line so it was obvious when we arrived – especially the fresh salty air and beach greeting as right at the tram stop.
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Our second day in Adelaide began with an early morning walk along the River Torrens. We were up and out the door before 6.30am, I was eager to start the day on a healthy note as I knew it was going to end up being pretty indulgent by the end of it. It is all about balance (and easing guilt ;-)).
We headed past Rundle Mall, and over to the Elder Park Rotunda, which was erected in 1882 – making it 101 years older than me!
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Once again I find myself doing a little belated post-holiday updating! Seems to be often the case, but that’s OK – the reminiscing is good for the soul ;-)
Over the last new year break I went on a getaway trip to Adelaide with my twin sister. While my hometown is famous for its spectacular NYE celebrations, the mega-crowds it attracts can make planning anything around town a bit of an effort, so we fancied spending the holiday out of Sydney.
We decided only a few weeks before that we’d take the trip, so I spent about a week googling ideas and asking friends for suggestions on things to do. For some reason Adelaide has a reputation for being a bit… plain. A lot of people responded with “WHY!?!?!?” when I said I was going to Adelaide for New Years. After a truly wonderful, jam packed 7 days I’m going to tell you why over the next series of blog posts! The key is to do some research ahead of time and have a rough idea of what you want to do and when. Adelaide may not be the best city to just turn up and see what’s happening – the streets are so quiet, and at times we found ourselves musing ‘where is everyone?’ in a tone on the border of FOMI (fear of missing out) and eeriness (was there an apocalypse? has the city been evacuated?)
Here’s an overview of our one week itinerary in Adelaide:
Day 1: Fly into Adelaide early, day trip to Hahndorf
Day 2: Day long Barossa Valley Wine Tour
Day 3: Tram to Glenelg Beach and a coastal walk to Henley Beach and back
Day 4 & 5: Two day tour to Kangaroo Island
Day 6: Mountain biking down Mt Lofty, picnic in the Botanic Gardens
Day 7: Panda experience at Adelaide Zoo, lunch and shopping in the city, evening flight home.
It was a jam packed week, which I’m now going to relive here, one day at a time…
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