Adelaide Mini Guide
Adelaide is a great place to visit if you are a wine lover as it is situated between some of Australia’s main wine producing regions. This southern Australian city is relatively isolated with the closest of the other conurbations being
Melbourne which is a full day’s drive away. To get there by car you can follow national highways 1 or 8, while national highways 20 and 32 will take you to
Sydney although it is double the distance.
To get to
Sydney via the town of Mildura is a drive of more than 1,400 kilometres and Rhino’s unlimited mileage offer will come in handy should you attempt this. Adelaide has a new international airport which is well connected with world wide destinations including
Hong Kong,
Kuala Lumpur,
Auckland and
Singapore. The international airlines to use it include Cathay Pacific, Air
New Zealand and Air
Malaysia. Qantas also does international and domestic flights and other airlines which fly to locations within Australia include Jetstar and Virgin Blue.
On arrival you can pick up your Rhino rental car and the airport is only a short drive away from Adelaide city centre. Having a car will also allow you to visit the valleys of Clare and Barossa which both have vineyards as does the McLaren Vale region.
Another fantastic place with wineries which you can drive to is the Fleurieu peninsula where you can also go whale watching and see penguins. Buying wine at the wineries is a good idea as many of Adelaide’s restaurants operate a bring your own policy which can be a money saver. If wine is not your thing you can take a tour of Coopers Brewery where the local ale is produced. Adelaide city itself has various sights for tourists including the botanical gardens (entry is free) which are a very pleasant place to stroll around.
At night there is a casino to frequent at North Terrace while sports lovers should take the chance to see the world famous green caps play a test match at Adelaide Oval. A different piece of local sporting culture is Aussie Rules Football which is played at the AAMI ‘footy park’ stadium in West Lakes.
No visit to the city would be complete without sampling reputedly Australia's best tasting chocolate at Haigh's Chocolate Factory. The chocolate has been made in the factory for nearly a hundred years.
Other places to get out of the city and see Australia’s unique flora and fauna are the numerous national parks which include the Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary and Belair National Park. If heading to the beach is more your thing try West Beach which is easily accessible and has good facilities.