Adelaide
Oct 5th 2004, 6:01 am
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,606
Adelaide
Ive been up since 4.30 this morning! Aint jetlag grand?! 
Just wanted to pass on my impressions of Adelaide to those who are looking at going there. At this time of year it is very lush and green, and not unlike the South Downs where we live in Sussex. We took a drive up to this place called Mount Lofty and the views are stunning! You can see the whole of Adelaide spread out below you, right to the sea. It is probably a good place to visit when you first arrive as it gives you a very good idea just how compact Adelaide really is.
I have to be honest, the night we arrived we were not impressed at all, and were a bit gutted as I really wanted to walk off the plane and be instantly smitten, but that is a stupid expectation! So on the first day we drove down to an area called Hallet Cove and absolutely loved it. The houses are a bit older and therefore the plots of land seem bigger. It is quite hilly there but that doesnt detract from the area at all, we thought. We also saw a dolphin swimming just off the beach so my daughter said this was where she wanted to live! We then drove around Flagstaff Hill and Aberfoyle Park, and found a fabulous housing estate called, I think, Craigburn Estate or Craigburn Farm. All the houses looked brand new, and although the plots were smaller than Hallet Cove, it was totally lush. We explored the residential areas along the shore and loved Tennyson and West Lakes, in West Lakes there is a very nice area built all around the boating lakes called Delfin Island. It was beautiful but we are told VERY expensive. Apparently Leyton Hewitt lives there. We looked around North Haven Marina area and there were some nice areas there, but seemed a bit more industrial up there, and quite close to where all the container ships came in. We also really liked the Comorandel Valley but were concerned that we might feel a bit isolated out there as it is up in the hills..but so beautiful...the countryside really is stunning. As with everywhere in the world, we saw some areas that were totally mank, and I wouldnt even let my mother in law live there (well, I could be persuaded!
)
We spent some time going around car dealerships, and despite the fact we werent buying there and then they were all really helpful and have given us email addresses etc.. We are looking to buy a second hand mid size 4x4, hopefully a Freelander, X-Trail or Outlander and we should be able to do so for between $17-25,000 AUD's. We couldnt belive how many car dealerships there were on the A1 going out of Adelaide....guess we will head there when we arrive!
We did all the usual tourist things like Cleland Wildlife Park so we could see the Koalas and roos, and drove up to my mecca, the Jacobs Creek Estate where I indulged in some wine tasting...hic! The Barossa Valley is very pretty, and there I saw my first Huntsman while I was in the Ladies with my daughter
and I was ok, it wasnt that scary, although Charlotte screamedand ran out! They arent that bad, really! (Although I cant say Id be thrilled to have one in my bedroom!) We stayed at the Stamford Grand in Glenelg and we had a nice big refurbished room on the 9th floor with views towards the beach and jetty. Everynight we watched beautiful sunsets and I put my planespotters anorak on 
and enjoyed watching all the planes coming and going!!!! Not that impressed with Stamford, the pool area is nasty and reception area very shabby, but its a good location and Glenelg is a nice area, but I imagine very touristy and busy in the hot weather.
As for Adelaide CBD itself, LOVELY. Big wide streets, loads of parks and overall seems like a really well laid out city. We loved the park down on the Torrens near the convention centre. The city itself is very small and takes only a few minutes to drive across.
So in a nutshell, we love it can are looking forward to getting our Visas so we can get out there. We had a great time but tried not to think of it as a holiday and looked at the place as objectively and critically as we could, but we still really loved it!!!
LUCY
Just wanted to pass on my impressions of Adelaide to those who are looking at going there. At this time of year it is very lush and green, and not unlike the South Downs where we live in Sussex. We took a drive up to this place called Mount Lofty and the views are stunning! You can see the whole of Adelaide spread out below you, right to the sea. It is probably a good place to visit when you first arrive as it gives you a very good idea just how compact Adelaide really is.
I have to be honest, the night we arrived we were not impressed at all, and were a bit gutted as I really wanted to walk off the plane and be instantly smitten, but that is a stupid expectation! So on the first day we drove down to an area called Hallet Cove and absolutely loved it. The houses are a bit older and therefore the plots of land seem bigger. It is quite hilly there but that doesnt detract from the area at all, we thought. We also saw a dolphin swimming just off the beach so my daughter said this was where she wanted to live! We then drove around Flagstaff Hill and Aberfoyle Park, and found a fabulous housing estate called, I think, Craigburn Estate or Craigburn Farm. All the houses looked brand new, and although the plots were smaller than Hallet Cove, it was totally lush. We explored the residential areas along the shore and loved Tennyson and West Lakes, in West Lakes there is a very nice area built all around the boating lakes called Delfin Island. It was beautiful but we are told VERY expensive. Apparently Leyton Hewitt lives there. We looked around North Haven Marina area and there were some nice areas there, but seemed a bit more industrial up there, and quite close to where all the container ships came in. We also really liked the Comorandel Valley but were concerned that we might feel a bit isolated out there as it is up in the hills..but so beautiful...the countryside really is stunning. As with everywhere in the world, we saw some areas that were totally mank, and I wouldnt even let my mother in law live there (well, I could be persuaded!
) We spent some time going around car dealerships, and despite the fact we werent buying there and then they were all really helpful and have given us email addresses etc.. We are looking to buy a second hand mid size 4x4, hopefully a Freelander, X-Trail or Outlander and we should be able to do so for between $17-25,000 AUD's. We couldnt belive how many car dealerships there were on the A1 going out of Adelaide....guess we will head there when we arrive!
We did all the usual tourist things like Cleland Wildlife Park so we could see the Koalas and roos, and drove up to my mecca, the Jacobs Creek Estate where I indulged in some wine tasting...hic! The Barossa Valley is very pretty, and there I saw my first Huntsman while I was in the Ladies with my daughter
and I was ok, it wasnt that scary, although Charlotte screamedand ran out! They arent that bad, really! (Although I cant say Id be thrilled to have one in my bedroom!) We stayed at the Stamford Grand in Glenelg and we had a nice big refurbished room on the 9th floor with views towards the beach and jetty. Everynight we watched beautiful sunsets and I put my planespotters anorak on and enjoyed watching all the planes coming and going!!!! Not that impressed with Stamford, the pool area is nasty and reception area very shabby, but its a good location and Glenelg is a nice area, but I imagine very touristy and busy in the hot weather. As for Adelaide CBD itself, LOVELY. Big wide streets, loads of parks and overall seems like a really well laid out city. We loved the park down on the Torrens near the convention centre. The city itself is very small and takes only a few minutes to drive across.
So in a nutshell, we love it can are looking forward to getting our Visas so we can get out there. We had a great time but tried not to think of it as a holiday and looked at the place as objectively and critically as we could, but we still really loved it!!!
LUCY
Oct 5th 2004, 6:09 am
#2
part-time Visa Angel!
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: half marathon runner!
Posts: 4,458
Re: Adelaide
Sounds like you had a great time What a great account of it all as well. I've only been to Adelaide once (and it rained 
) but wide streets and open parks is how I'd remember it as well.
What a great account of it all as well. I've only been to Adelaide once (and it rained ) but wide streets and open parks is how I'd remember it as well.
Oct 5th 2004, 7:13 am
#3
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 8,147
Re: Adelaide
hi lucy
sounds like you had a really good look round - great post!!
...the wait for the visa will be torture for you now!
sue
sounds like you had a really good look round - great post!!
...the wait for the visa will be torture for you now!
sue
