Adelaide & Adelaide Hills:

Mandy Jackson
Apr 11, 2021
3 min read

We had a truly amazing couple of weeks in Adelaide and the surrounding Adelaide Hills. However, as a result there seems to be an awful lot to add to this blog! Because we have done so much, we have tried to mainly just add photos of our highlights to this blog for you to enjoy - Adelaide is a wonderful place to visit.

Shiloh Hills Campsite - Ironbank:

A quick recommendation - We camped at Shilho Hills Campground in Ironbank just outside Adelaide for the entire two weeks we were in Adelaide & surrounds - owners Rachel & Michael are lovely people & so helpful. Shiloh Hills is a fantastic relaxing bush setting and a very central location to explore the surrounding areas - including Adelaide City, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale wineries - https://www.shilohills.com.au

* Brandi & Dfor relaxing on their bed in the warm afternoon sun @ Shilho Hills.

Art Gallery of South Australia:

So many beautiful and interesting arty things in the one place to look at ... Mandy was in heaven.

Adelaide Botanic Gardens:

This is such a stunning old garden - old gardens are the best sort. Col loved the indoor rainforest & building ... but we really enjoyed looking at all of the garden & stopped for lunch @ the cafe by the lake, we walked through the ancient old fig trees and met a homeless guy who was taking a bath in one of the fountains - a beautiful spot to visit.

Adelaide Central Markets:

Well yum - a foodies heaven & we loved strolling around the markets, enjoying food samples & buying ourselves treats. The possibilities are endless - pastries, cakes, cheeses, pate', Turkish delight, fudge, chocolate, nuts + other fresh produce & unusual yummies from around the world.

South Australian Museum, Adelaide:

We spent a morning poking around the museum together being edumacated - interesting & well worth a visit.

Charrick Hill House & Garden:

A stunning early 1900's home on acres just outside Adelaide, full of beautiful antique furniture & paintings. The whole property was built & later donated to the City of Adelaide by Sir Edward & Lady Ursula Hayward - an extremely generous gift!

We spent an afternoon looking around the beautiful property & enjoyed afternoon tea & iced coffee in the garden Cafe ... a damn fine thing to do - just saying!

Adelaide Himeji (Japanese) Garden:

A tranquil Japanese garden in the centre of Adelaide - very pretty & worth a visit.

Adelaide Old Gaol:

This gaol gave Mandy the creeps ... but very interesting anyway.

Mt Lofty & Botanic Gardens:

The view from Mt Lofty Summit across Adelaide & out to the coast is wonderful.

Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens are very large, very pretty & very hilly - best done early in the day to avoid the heat + lovely in Autumn with the changing tree colours.

Thr Birdwood National Car Museum:

A must see if you are a vintage car enthusiast - a large & well set out museum with some truly lovely, drool worthy cars on display.

* Above is the last Holden off the Holden production line in Australia.

Artist Hans Heysen's home & Gardens - 'The Ceders':

We spent a morning looking arround the lovely gardens and doing an informative guided tour of Hans Heysens home and art studio - which has been preserved almost as it was following his death - very nice. (Photos inside the house were not allowed)

Applewood Gin Distillary:

We enjoyed a nice tasting here - but the gin was very $$$ to purchase!

Hahndorf:

To quote one german lady we met in our travels - 'Hahndorf is a circus' and although it was incredibly busy with massive crowds of people, it was also interesting & fun to explore (just reccommend you don't go on a public holiday)! We visited Hahndorf across two days & enjoyed a lovely lunch at Haus German Restaurant with good friends.

Melba's Chocolate Factory - Woodside:

Well yum! ... we were two kids in a lolly shop (literally) & spent way too many $ on copious amounts of chocolate (sorry not sharing, don't ask!)

The Green Valley Strawberry Cafe - Nairne:

Green Valley Cafe is an excellent dog friendly & sucessful family business - we stopped for lunch & it was delicious.

Barristers Block Winery - Woodside:

Winery owner & staff at Barristers Block Winery were just lovely, it is very dog friendly, the garden setting was beautiful to relax in and wine tasting was delicious!

Hahndorf Hills Winery - ChocVino Experience:

Just wonderful ... the experience of pairing quality light & dark chocolate from around the world with lovely Hahndorf Hill wines was a great learning curve & truly yummy!