Weekend getaways: Adelaide and McLaren Vale

It’s easy to forget the clamorous CBD ever existed when you enter the majestic Adelaide Botanical Gardens. Located on the northeastern side of the ring of parklands that encircle the city, Adelaide Botanic Garden spans 50 hectares and is home to manicured floral beds, tropical sanctuaries and blooms of all shapes, sizes and colours. Make sure to head down the avenue of Moreton Bay fig trees and check out the Amazon Waterlily Pavillion, home to the Victoria amazonica waterlily that only flowers at night. 

Walk along the tree-lined North Terrace and discover the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), home to some of Australia’s best artworks. AGSA has an impressive collection of 38,000 works, including Australia’s women artists, Asian art and the finest body of Rodin sculptures in the Southern Hemisphere. What’s more, between June 24 and September 17, AGSA will bring together works by two of the most influential artists of the 20th century – Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera – in the exhibition Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution.

Taste your way through the region with a trip to Adelaide Central Market. One of the largest undercover fresh produce markets in the Southern Hemisphere, see the market spring to fruition from Tuesday to Saturday, where there is a huge range of artisan products, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, seafood, cheese and baked goods. 

Just a forty-minute drive from Adelaide, the McLaren Vale wine region is a must-see with its sustainable wineries, rolling beaches and culinary experiences. To understand the lay of the land, join Ngarrindjeri elder Mark Koolmatrie and hit the Gemtree Eco Trail. Walk in parallel with nature as Koolmatrie regales stories of his people while exploring the past, present and future responsibilities of caring for the ecosystem. Finish up with a native food plate and an optional flight of Gemtree biodynamic wine best enjoyed against the backdrop of whistling gum and eucalyptus trees (where you can even spot the odd koala). 

Book a boozy lunch at Fuggazi, the Italo-American bar and dining room on Leigh Street in the CBD. Make sure to order the Pacific oysters with white balsamic and yuzu mignonette, and the ‘Roman Vegemite’ finger, best described as a fried sandwich with anchovy, lemon, whipped butter and, yes, vegemite – trust us on this. All the pasta dishes deserve a nod, but order the maccheroni lisci with braised cavolo nero, anchovy and chilli to feel like you are living la dolce vita. 

Hidden amongst some vines on East Terrace is the much-loved restaurant and bar, Africola. The restaurant has been somewhat of an Adelaide institution since 2014 when award-winning chef and co-owner Duncan Welgemoed opened it to bring the flavour-packed food of Africa to Adelaide. While the menu changes regularly to shift with the seasons, you’d be a fool not to order the crispy chicken tea sandwich with peri peri drippings, falafel with tahini cream or the dahl with coconut and coriander chutney. 

If you can hack the drive, stop by the Currant Shed for a picturesque lunch among a lime grove and rolling vineyards. Built in 1916, the shed prides itself on its history, seasonality and charm, and you can expect to let your tastebuds run amuck with the duck parfait with pickled onion and milk bread or confit chicken leg with taro remoulade, brussel sprouts and muntries.

Have a pre-dinner glass of vino at the elegantly intimate Leigh Street Wine Room. The hole-in-the-wall bar has a list of more than 400 minimal intervention wines, plus snacks like gnocchi fritti with Wagyu breasola, raw scallops with salted rhubarb and sicilian olives. 

Head for an afternoon at the award-winning Never Never Distilling Co. Just over a 40-minute drive from Adelaide’s CBD, the distillery is located atop Chalk Hill in the McLaren Vale region. Open seven days a week, Never Never Distilling Co. offers tasting flights, seasonal cocktails and premium gin experiences against a brag-worthy backdrop. If you’re feeling daring, try the weirder flavours, like the oyster shell or beeswax and olive gin. There is also a food truck on hand that serves sobering carb-loaded bites.

If you want to be in and among the hubbub, Crowne Plaza Adelaide is slap bang in the midst of all. The hotel in Adelaide’s CBD has more than 329 guest rooms with 20 spacious suites offering views of the city and the Adelaide Hills. With the East End, North Terrace and Rundle Mall right at your feet, you couldn’t pick a better location. What’s more, the hotel has a rooftop infinity pool and bar, gym and even offers high tea with views of the city skyline. 

If all that drinking has gone to your head while tasting the best grapes the McLaren Vale wine region can grow, consider spending a night at the Weemilah Luxury Retreat. The retreat is a perfect getaway for those looking to be near the wineries but also wanting their own private nature-based oasis with views that seamlessly flow from the vineyards to the ocean. The outside bath is a highlight and if timed perfectly, you can watch the sun crumble into the sea with a glass of wine in tow.