To all my Australian and non-Australian friends: how well do you know your own country, and travelled to see sights without crossing its borders?
I would like to share with you a story of our road trip adventure from Melbourne to Adelaide return, with the main themes being nature and local cuisine.
Chevy and I have been traveling around Australia and particularly Melbourne regions for about 4 years and still have a lot on the list to explore. Having thought about starting our travel blog for months, only now, I’m in the right headspace to write everything down.
If you’re open to new things and love outdoor stuff, then check out our story and save it for later when ready to hit the road!As we never plan anything further than 2 days in advance, we thought that going to a festival for NYE would be a great idea and won’t require much preparation. Going opposite direction from Adelaide, to the Lardner Park, Victoria, we landed on the last day of the Beyond the Valley festival. Fresh and focused, we seem to be on a slightly different level to other guests. However, it was quite entertaining observing everyone, spending time with fam and noticing an absurdity of such event. 3-2-1 … and Happy New Year!
Waking up after a very short and cold night in the tent felt rather courageous. This was our first day of feeling in touch with the nature. We quickly pack up our stuff and got out of there to hunt for a nearest spa bath B&B.Next stop was my favourite Victoria destination – Yarra Valley. Lush green landscapes, wineries, parks and waterfalls. This time we spent most of the time indoors though, at a beautiful Airbnb near Kalorama Park, which you most definitely should stop by. Amazing lookout there too (Kalorama Park Lookout) and a café next to it, if the view is better with a cup of coffee. You should never miss Olinda Falls in the area. Not the biggest on earth, but surrounded by a lovely park with a very tall forest.
Anyway, after two lazy but very enjoyable days in Yarra Valley, we felt pumped up for an upcoming hike at Grampians! It’s a nature reserve in the West of Victoria, known for its sandstone mountains, wildflowers and wildlife, including echidnas and wallabies. Choosing the longest (of course!) hiking trail possible, called Peaks Trail, we started our 3-day hike. I’d say, even for us, very fit people, the trail was quite challenging! 5 hours of walking on the incline while carrying the overnight equipment, really made us loose most of the kilos gained over holidays! The final destination of the first day seemed luxurious - Bugiga Campsite, where we set up the tent and fell asleep straight after!
Next day was supposed to be easier, twice as much distance but not as much on the incline. But, it wasn’t without its challenges. The views were spectacular and it is a great way to clear your mind. Getting to the final destination of the day, we decided to make it a two-days hike instead. The nearby town, Halls Gap is a cosy place to wonder and stop by local ice-cream shops and a brewery. On the same day, we drove up to a town called Hamilton to stay overnight. The town is not particularly filled with attractions but has a nice big lake, pretty good fish and chips and peculiar local folk to say G’day to.
Here we are, in South Australia! Just a short drive away is an absolutely beautiful Mount Gambier. A small region, but rich on nature wonders. Drop by the information centre as they have a lot of tips and a cool museum inside. Start with the famous Blue Lake, which is really a deep sky-blue colour! Next to it, is Valley Lake which is a regular colour but opens up with a very picturesque landscape. There is a tower to climb up to near that lake, they do excursions but it’s just really all about the view and absorbing that fresh air.
A very unique garden named Umpherston Sinkhole, as per its cave-like nature, is a must-visit place. Never seen anything like this before! An actual garden in the huge meteorite hole, with beautiful trees, flowers and honeycomb attached to its cave walls. I call it a “mysteriously stunning garden”. There is a similar park nearby, Cave Garden – slightly smaller but not less unique. Just opposite to it, is an Art Gallery, they show a Volcano Movie, that is actually very interesting as you explore the biggest former volcanic area of Australia.
There is an impressive underground Engelbrecht Cave opened to public you can get a tour at. Worth checking it out and learning some interesting facts about the history of the place. That night we slept at the Pine Country caravan park - one of the nicest campsites we stayed, I think.
We were looking forward to the next stop, as it was a Coonawarra wine region, and who doesn’t like wine? As we arrived in the midday, only had time for 3 wineries. Tasting sizes are very generous there and are free, whereby you get tipsy after the first stop already :D Also there are some real colourful characters working at the wineries, eccentric intellectual ladies open to discuss politics or have a raunchy sense of humour whilst providing local healthy wine. Enjoying the delightful afternoon, we agreed on staying another day. We then hired bikes and were doing some exercise in between drinking and eating. Incredibly friendly people and beautiful surroundings, most importantly, very quiet and free of the mainstream tourism. Recommend! We also visited a town, the wineries laid next to, called Penola. It has some history to it, with old cottages to wonder around.
The area is famous for its cave formations of different shape, scale and depth. There is a cave that reaches around 6 km in length and it lays under a populated city! Naracoorte Caves has been assembled for public visits and is considered to be the World Heritage. That feeling of being in a cave is not comparable, as no single sound can get through it and a complete darkness lives there, which is hard to experience anywhere today. Absorbing, soothing and mysterious. Bellwether Campsite was our place for the night. Not much to say about it, quite an average experience.
Driving further, now along the cost, arriving to Robe - a lovely picturesque resort town. A great place to stay for a few days if you like white beaches and cliff views, light houses and magnificent sunsets, fishing and hiking, premium seafood and hipster-made coffees, heritage architecture and lay-back sunbathing afternoons. You will love it there!
Heavily advertised Cape Jaffa Seafood Festival, obviously caught our attention, being huge seafood fans. Very excited and looking forward to filling our bellies with high quality, freshly caught seafood, we drove there first thing in the morning. What a disappointment was to find out there were 6 wine stalls, 3 beef and cheese and only 2 seafood trucks, one of which came all the way from Robe! As we found out from a local guy, 95% of the whole seafood caught there is exported to China, as it’s what keeps them up. Whereas, people like us have to buy everything ten times the price due to the small amounts of the seafood left.
On the way up we came by Kingston – tiny town with a beautiful row of palm trees along the cost. But what is the town famous for – is a giant statue of lobster! Very random but cool for photos. That night we stayed at B&B at Mount Compass with an amazing view on a country side and horses.
Next destination was a few hours’ drive away, so we were getting very close to Adelaide. Victor Harbor – is another picturesque coastal town, but slightly bigger and more touristy. It features a horse drawn train that takes you to the Granite Island in 15 minutes. The island is literally made of a granite that sparkles on the sun and is very pretty. You can do a nice walk/hike around the island and check out cool pieces of art along the way, as well as, gorgeous natural beauty. Back to the Victor Harbor - numerous places to satisfy your hunger.
In the same day, we drove to the town called Moana, which is part of the McLaren Vale – one of the most famous wine regions in Australia that has over 160 vineyards! We lived a few minutes’ walk from the beach, which was really nice and relaxing on the hot day. The region is much greener than the rest of the South Australia as it is covered with vineyards. First place we went to in the area was d'Arenberg winery, as recommended by our hosts. The testing room with a beautiful interior design and novelty factor, made for some perfect romantic experiences, also has a museum with lots of peculiar art and a high-end kitchen. It is an original shape of a cube and has incredible landscape views from the inside. The wine is very nice too.
The area is popular for the seafood, so you should definitely choose a restaurant on the beach to go to for diner, enjoy the sunset and have a glass or two of the local wine.
Here we are, reached our final destination of the Adelaide city! You should probably not make that your main stopover, as there is not much to see around. A few main streets and a basic architecture with museums that stand out from the line of highly modern but insignificant buildings. You get nice Botanical Gardens, coffee shops, local stores and half-friendly people. We stayed at a luxury Playford hotel, so we also had some benefits like buffet breakfast, gym and pool, high rise views.
After two days of being in the city we craved for some nature again. We headed off to the Morialta Conservation Park, which is popular among locals. A good exercise to do after two days of buffet breakfasts, nice views too! Ah, the best part was - huge amount of wild blackberry trees growing along the tracks. We had lots of berries and felt incredible after, with all that vitamin C.
There are a couple of little towns with a history to visit near Adelaide. Stirling – famous for its cute shops and cafes, if you’re a fan. Another one is Hahndorf - settled by 19th-century Lutheran migrants, it’s known for its original German-style architecture and artisanal food. So, if you crave sausage and beer – it’s the place to go! My partner, though, enjoyed his vegetables and craft cheeses.
Last but not least favourite places we visited, were Mount Lofty Summit and Botanical Gardens. First - has an amazing lookout on the city of Adelaide and its surroundings. Gardens are in their unique charm and untouchable beauty. We put together a little picnic and found a secluded spot with a little fountain and scenic views to enjoy our snacks and wine. Later we browsed in the garden for a while and left high on the nature…
So, that was a perfect ending to our crazy trip, and we drove back to Melbourne in one day, as it was the time to get back to work! Some might say it’s not their type of a holiday, as we did get back home exhausted from packing our bags and moving every couple of days, sleeping in a tent half the time. But, I can surely say, that you will come back with a bag full of experiences, improved physical health, revitalised energy and inspiration for new beginnings.
Thank you for reading! 😊💕
