Coal Cellar + Grill is a new restaurant opened in Hilton Adelaide recently. As the name suggested, Coal Cellar + Grill serves a lot of grill meat and uses many traditional Australia native ingredients. However We decided that the mains they serve looked more quite unique and we thought we might give the Grill a miss this time. We ordered four different entrées and three different types of mains.
Granite Island & Victor Harbor to see Penguins & Whales
This was my first time visiting Victor Harbor, a coastal town about 80 km south of Adelaide. It is a highly touristy town where many people in South Australians come to in the summer months. One of the attractions includes whale spotting and the best time to do this is around June to September as it is their mating season and they return to the more secure shoreline.
Crossing over to Northern Territory
Apparently Coober Pedy has the best filter water system in Australia due to the high mineral contents in the water. The water actually tastes quite good, much better than Adelaide. I guess the governments rather invest in good water filter system in the area than people dying. We filled up our water tank in the van with Coober Pedy’s water and chuck in some ice to make it icy.
Underground church & Kangaroo Orphanage in Coober Pedy
After dinner we went to “Josephine’s Gallery & Kangaroo Orphanage”. It is free to see the kangaroos in their backyard. We were given some fruits to feed them. Josephine explained to us that if there are any injured kangaroos or small animals that require their help, they will look after them until they are capable of surviving themselves (either by phone consultations or pick them up from rural areas). The size of area they need to look after is similar to the size of Germany.
The Underground City- Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy has a population of 1695 according to 2011 census from Wikipedia. It is 846km north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. Not only it is famous for the amount of precious opals mined here, it is also famous for underground residences called “dugouts”. It helps to avoid the heat during the day and keeps the house warm at night. The name of this town is actually from the Aboriginal word “kupa-piti” which means “white man’s holes”. Leith said the underground houses used to cost only AUD$20,000, now probably need AUD$200,000.
Nature’s reflective mirror: Lake Hart
2 hours later, we arrive at Lake Hart. It is a smaller lake in the Lake Eyre basin- a drainage basin that covers just under 1/6 of all Australia and is one of the largest in the world covering around 1.2 million square kilometers, including inland Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and part of western NSW. The actual Lake Eyre is actually not accessible by vehicles, can only been seen via helicopter. Lake Hart itself looks deep, like a real lake, where you can swim or kayak in it. However the lake is probably only 20mm deep due to the rain from 2-3 weeks ago.
Alligator Gorge- Southern Flinders Ranges
Today Laura, Jack and I are off our first real Australian Adventure- the Outback. We have been planning this trips for months and promised each other that we must go visit Uluru before we move back to New Zealand. We decided to go on our glorious adventure by joining the Groovy Grape Getaway’s 6 day Rock Patrol tour which travels from Adelaide to Alice Springs. The reviews of the tour are great on Trip advisor, the price is reasonable and the destinations are all places I wanted to go.
Kangaroo Island Day Trip: Penneshaw Farmers’ Market
On this particular Sunday morning, we headed off to Kangaroo Island for its monthly Farmer’s Market at Penneshaw. Kangaroo is the third largest island in Australia and is 112 kilometer south-west of Adelaide. The island is only 13 kilometer away from the mainland. It is one of the most expensive ferry in the world in relation to its distance and cost. SeaLink is the only company that carries passengers across commercially and charges AUD$98 return per person and AUD$188 return per vehicle. Even the locals don’t get much discounts.
Failed day trip to Barossa Valley (Due to no famous wineries)
Barossa Valley is one of the most famous wine regions in Australia. It was a fail day trip since we did not go to any famous wineries. However we did end up trying out a few food places and experience the fresh produce provided by South Australia.
Veggie Velo Food Truck: best vegetarian burger in Adelaide
Veggie Velo is the store that makes the best veggie burger in town. they opened in many location and you can track them via face book. We had them at the Market Shed on Holland Street. The burgers we ordered were “Local Lentil Burger” and “Grilled Adelaide Mushroom & Haloumi Burger” Both of them were AUD$10 each. The “Local Lentil Burger” pattie was made of organic lentils and chickpeas which was extremely filling. Mixed with my favorite raw beetroot and homemade onion jam, I can probably have this every single day.