May 18, 2022

Easter holidays in South Australia

Chiara Di AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC, TRAVEL Adelaide, Fleurieu Peninsula, Hahndorf, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Travel, Wanderlust 0 Comments

I was so excited to finally travel interstate over the Easter holidays to meet up with my bestie and her husband on their caravanning trip in Adelaide.

It had been more than two years since I left Western Australia due to the pandemic and it was such a great feeling walking around the airport and seeing it abuzz with so many people travelling for the weekend – reports were that it was the busiest weekend for Australian airports since pre-pandemic – exciting!

We set up camp at Belair National Park for the five nights, 30 minutes from Adelaide Airport in the south eastern foothills. I slept in their double swag which is very luxe for a single person.

Every day I woke up to the piercing sounds of birds chirping. Our mornings were spent taking a walk through one of the national park’s trails in search of koalas (we saw a couple in trees) and other native animals, our afternoons were spent playing Rummikin and card games, followed by early caravan cooked dinners and Netflix.

We also enjoyed a good amount of exploring each day. After arriving to a cheese board and First Drop’s Mother’s Milk wine, Good Friday was spent wandering a couple of beaches along the scenic Fleurieu Peninsula.

We started at Port Noarlunga, 30km south of Adelaide. The beach entry has a long jetty that extends well into the St Vincent Gulf to a snorkelling and diving reef. We walked along the beach to the river mouth and back. It was a beautiful day and the water was nice and still.

We drove a further 15km south to Port Willunga for fish and chips and a cocktail at the Port Willy Kiosk overlooking the beach. After lunch we walked down to the beach caves, which were carved out of the golden cliff edges by fisherman who used to use the space for their gear. They were right in front of the jetty ruin remnants sticking out of shore. It was a very picturesque outlook from the cave entry.

A trip to Adelaide wouldn’t be a complete without a visit to one of South Australia‘s wine regions. As we were focusing our wanders on the south of Adelaide, we visited two wineries in McLaren Vale. First up was Down the Rabbit Hole where the first glass was poured at 11am.

The winery was lined with picnic blankets and a few larger tables for tastings. There was also a double decker bus for tastings and a small play area for children. It was a nice spot to wail away a couple of hours – the Tempranillo was divine!

Next stop was Chalk Hill Wines where we ordered pinsa and arancini from Cucina di Strada to complement our Syrah and Shiraz. It was a great way to spend the afternoon on the expansive grass overlooking the valley.

It’s safe to say the next day started rather slow. I went into the city and wandered through Adelaide Botanic Gardens which features a variety of different gardens including forests, natives, roses, waterlilies and more, as well as large open spaces perfect for picnics. You will also find small turtles in the central pond.

We walked on through to the city mall, Rundle Mall, passing some beautiful state heritage buildings along the way. A pasta cook up was requested for one evening so I cooked us a chilli tuna pasta on Easter Sunday complemented by Down the Rabbit Hole Tempranillo.

Twenty minutes further into the valley of where we were caravan and camping is the German-inspired village of Hahndorf. It took me right back to Europe, exactly where I want to be right now. It’s lined with German bakeries and cafes, pubs, lolly shops, butchers, hobby stores, boutiques and more. My favourite was the Christmas shop – The German Village Shop – of course I bought a decoration!

We enjoyed Belgium hot chocolate from Bean and Bikkie Co, lollies from Humbugs and a German lunch at the German Inn.

We were still in search of wandering koalas on our final morning together but were out of luck once again on our walk. After packing, Amy and I wandered around city beaches Glenelg and and Henley, approximately 20 minutes drive from the city centre. Both had jetties, unsurprisingly, and Glenelg a ferris wheel. We enjoyed a lovely brunch at Joe’s Henley Beach, a little shack overlooking the water.

It was such a nice Easter break away and a great time with close friends. Thank you to Amy and Luke (check their journey out on Instagram – @luke.and.amy.travel) for being such great hosts and local guides.

I am definitely ready for more hotel holidays now that the world has opened up again… camping might have to be on the back-burner for a while. Time to start planning my next wander.

Until then…

LWL xxx