leniram

I and my husband are going to tour Adelaide on late January. We will be there for 1 week.

We will visit the following places:
1. Kangaroo Island
2. Lyndoch Lavender farm
3. Migration Museum

Any more special places/activities to recommend?
We luv to cycle also. Any tips on where to rent and how much is it to rent one? Thanks

longhorn55

I don't know where you are from, but as an American we found touring the various jails in Australia a fascinating experience. So I would recommend a visit to the Adelaide Gaol. I can also recommend the South Australia Museum. Have you looked at some day trips to the wine country or to Hahndorf?

crazymina

If you're into wine, there are many lovely wineries around.

The last time I was there, I stayed at Angaston Views...a nice little home in Angaston, near the shops and restaurants.

http://www.auburntours.com.au/angastonviews.htm

sandy222

We used Auburn tours several years ago. The owner picked us up at our hotel, and we toured the wine country in his personal 1935 Auburn. He also accompanied my husband to the largest auto museum in Australia (by special request). Wonderful, wonderful day. We had lunch at one of the wineries, and tea at a quaint little tea shop.

ozgirl

leniram, where are you coming from, what are your interests apart from cycling? Museums, art gallery, wineries? I would happy to help with a few suggestions if you let me know.

fuzzylogic

The SA Museum is a good pick. It's famous for its ethnological galleries - brilliant. But also don't miss the gemstone section, and also the special exhibition about Douglas Mawson.

The SA Art Gallery is also well worth a visit.

Shame you won't be there a few weeks later to coincide with the Adelaide Festival (biennial) when what is usually a fairly quiet sort of place really comes alive.

leniram

hey, thanks for the replies , guys.

We'll be coming from Singapore. Wanted to visit Adelaide during the Chinese New Year Holidays.

We are more into animal sightseeing and discovering/understanding Aussie culture. As plant farms are absent in Singapore, we would like to visit vineyards and farms.

ozgirl

Hi again Leniram, if you want to get "up close and personal" with Australian wildlife, Cleland Conservation Park in the Adelaide Hills (about 20 mins drive from CBD) would be worth a visit. Koalas, kangaroos, birdlife etc. Also in the Adelaide Hills is Beerenberg farm which grows lots of fruits/ vegetables and sells jams, chutney etc. I believe they may have an outlet in Hanhdorf as well which is a German heritage town in the hills, quite touristy but worth a visit.
The Lyndoch lavender farm is within the Barossa Valley wine region and could easily be combined with winery visits. I live very close to the Lavender farm - have never been there but have been to plenty of the wineries!

ozgirl

sorry, that's "Hahndorf"

ggirl

There are many wineries to visit in the Barossa Valley - some favorites of ours are Rockfords and St Hallets, Jacobs Creek, where there is a new tasting room, and Seppelts. They are all a fairly easy drive north from Lyndoch, which is at the southern end of the Barossa Valley.
If you are there on a Saturday morning then you should try to visit the Barossa Farmers Market behind Vitners Restaurant (also v good) on the Angaston Road. Any local will point you in the right direction.

There are cycling tracks around Adelaide, one favorite is along the River Torrens from the City to Henley Beach and then south along the coast to Glenelg. Go to www.southaustralia.com and follow the links for specific interest and then sports for more information on cycling.

A big cycling event, The Tour Down Under, is on between the 17th and 22nd of Jan if you are here then.

Have fun.

tweety2004

If you're interested in animals and wildlife, may be you should visit the open range zoon, Monarto Zoo, which is about an hour drive from the City.
http://www.monartozp.com.au/home.php

yehlo

Monarto Zoo is brilliant, if you don't mind slight drive to get there. Also try wineries at McLaren Vale, it is about an hour out of Adelaide south along the coast. You could also go down to Victor Harbour which is about 90km out of adelaide i think, it is a little seaside sort of town, sleepy but sweet and nice beaches in the area

leniram

Heya, thanks all for the suggestions. I appreciate it.
Just an update
We'll be 5 days in Adelaide. We have booked our accomodation.

1st day - City trip
Go around Adelaide visiting museums and shops

2nd day - Wildlife tour
Kangaroo Island (whole day tour)

3rd day - Wine farm tour
Choosing between Barossa Valley and Mclaren Vale/Victoria Harbour
Please help me to decide. Ive read a penguin parade in Victoria Harbour. Is it worth visiting?

4th day - whole day cycling from the recommendation of ggirl

5th day - journey from Adelaide to Melbourne

Please keep this thread going. Thanks.

leniram

forgot to add to my previous post.

We've decided to skip the Lyndoch lavender farm. Instead, we will visit the lavender farm in Tasmania on our future trip.

JohnFitz

If you like Art then the Adelaide Gallery - next door to the Museum - is excellent. For a pretty walk enabling you to see typical Adelaide architecture go to North Adelaide which is a pleasant 10 minutes walk from the river .Parks and lovely old stone houses .Good coffee / cafes over there as well .I recommend this as the drive from the airport to the city shows you nothing of this lovely city.Roses are what come to mind when I think of Adelaide .The climate for them is perfect.There is a wonderful rose garden in the city next to the Botanical Gardens which are lovely as well .

ozgirl

Hi leniram, Victor Harbor is very pretty but it is in the general direction of where you will be headed for your Kangaroo Island tour anyway so you will still experience the coastal scenery obviously. In my experience the penguins are few and far between and mostly hidden in their burrows during the day - I don't think you would be guaranteed to see them at all unless you're really lucky.

ggirl

ozgirl is right about the penguins being hard to find during the day - the best time to see them is in the evening when they return from the sea. There are tours every evening during summer at Victor Harbor where you should see plenty of penguins; we have each time that we have gone.