Beachside living in Adelaide

Melbourne came and went in a flash, and we suddenly found ourselves in Adelaide, South Australia.

After debating whether we should take the scenic route here and take it slowly, we opted for a straight shot, and drove from Melbourne to Adelaide (about 773km) in one day. This time around we decided to drive on a Saturday, which was fantastic, as it meant we had all of Sunday to settle in, enjoy a bit our new home, and get ready for the work week ahead of us.

Not gonna lie, drive days are always a bit unsettling: having to pack up our lives (again) inside of our car, it's a slightly confronting experience and you're left with a feeling of not really belonging anywhere. It is also rather unsettling for Summer, who follows us around everywhere as we zoom around the house and pack it all up in the car.

Nevertheless, we made it to Adelaide. The drive was rather uneventful (thankfully), and we started a very appropriate audiobook to help pass the time: Down Under, by Bill Bryson. A great writer with witty humour and very interesting factoids, Bill talks about one of his many trips down to Australia, exploring the outback and weaves in some very interesting facts and history about this country.

Anyway, come on in, and let us show you our new place for the next 3 weeks:

In a leap of faith, we booked a place for 3 weeks in Henley Beach, a coastal suburb of Adelaide that we literally knew nothing about.

But sometimes ignorance truly is bliss & we were happily surprised by what a fun and vibrant suburb we found ourselves in. Henley Beach is an up-and-coming beach town, with lots of cafes, bars, restaurants, and a wonderful waterfront. Everything looks relatively new with lots of developments and construction sites.

Our Airbnb sat right on the beach, where we enjoyed amazing views, looking out at the ocean as we worked (what a treat!)

Much to Summer’s delight, the beaches at Henley Beach are all dog-friendly during the winter months, a concept that I wish more beaches would adopt. This, plus the very long stretches of sand & paths going both north and south meant that all three of us easily got our 10,000 steps a day, enjoying long, flat walks along the glorious coastline.

Over the 3 weeks, we got to see Henley Beach’s attractive and less attractive side. At its best, Henley Beach is perfectly still and calm: there isn’t a ripple in the water, making it perfect for whale or dolphin spotting (I luckily saw the latter!). On these gorgeous winter days there was nothing better than buying a coffee from the cafe across from us and walking along the beach, enjoying the amazing view.

However, more often than not, we met Henley Beach’s less attractive side: the area is particularly vulnerable to crazy strong winds: awesome when it's on your back, pushing you along, but much less fun when you’re walking (or running) against what feels like a brick wall. We also encountered some mega thunderstorms during our stay: an incredible thing to watch roll over the ocean but not so fun at 3am when you have a 30kg scared dog shivering between us in our queen bed.

Regardless of the weather and wind, we adored our time in Henley Beach, living so close to the water was a luxury we didn’t take for granted (although we were both too chicken to go swimming), and we enjoyed the calming effect the sea had - looking up from the laptop out into the horizon.

We also enjoyed a lot of great food in the area, notably: delicious gelato at Bottega Gelateria, surprisingly good Asian fusion at Blue Rose, and awesome yiros at Cheeky Greek.

As most people are well aware, South Australia is an absolute goldmine for wine lovers: home to 18 wine regions and it apparently has officially been named a Great Wine Capital of the World, alongside Bordeaux in France, Napa Valley in the US and Bilbao Rioja in Spain (well, there you go!).

Given we can hardly get through more than 2 wineries in a single day, it was looking unlikely we’d cover much ground in our time, however, we gave it our best shot and enjoyed a beautiful day in McLaren Vale with Summer and the Barossa Valley with my parents (more on them later).

McLaren Vale with Summer

This was our first time exploring wineries with a dog and also Summer’s first winery experience! We picked McLaren Vale purely because Google told us it had the most dog-friendly wineries and we lucked out with two awesome wineries: Alpha Box & Dice and Wirra Wirra Vineyard (once again chosen with little research beyond the fact that they had availability & were dog friendly).

Even if you don’t have a dog, I actually think choosing dog-friendly wineries is the way to go. In our experience, these wineries tend to be more friendly, down to earth and don’t take themselves so seriously: perfect for us leisure wine drinkers.

We capped off our time in McLaren Vale at Swell Brewing Co. Taphouse & Brewery, basking in the sun, and enjoying some beers and chips to soak up all that wine. I think the pictures speak for themself, we had a great day.

Barossa Valley with Thai & Geoff

Skipping ahead a bit - whilst my parents were visiting, we decided to pop over to the Barossa (just an hour out of Adelaide) to enjoy more of the amazing wine Adelaide has to offer.

We started the morning at the Barossa Farmer's Market, where we said a quick hello to Fernando's friend from Brazil Natan & his wife Paula (yes, Fernando seems to have more friends around Australia than I do!). True to the South Australia experience, the market was small but filled with fresh, high-quality produce; from jams and chutneys to freshly baked bread and bagels, coffee, and chocolate. And yes, we bought it all.  

Once satiated, it was time to fill a different need: on to the wine. We went to three wineries: Rockford Wines, a classic Barossa favourite and home to a beautiful little cellar door housed in a historic stone building and down the road: Eperosa a much more humble winery. We stood around the barrels of wine while the winemaker took us through all the wines and his dogs played out in the field, such a fun experience!  Finally, we enjoyed some delicious pies for lunch (and yes, another glass of wine) at Pindarie.  

Just 30 minutes from Adelaide, Hahndorf is a popular tourist spot. Settled by 19th-century Lutheran migrants, it’s known for its original German-style architecture and artisanal food (Thank you, Google). We brought Summer with us and enjoyed a lovely morning walking up and down the main street. The cozy vibes were high, it seems like Hahndorf’s charm really comes to life in Winter with plenty of cozy cafes or German restaurants to get your schnitzel fill.

It’s funny spending so much time in different places with Summer, sometimes she goes relatively unnoticed and other times in feels like we’re escorting a celebrity. In Hahndorf it was the latter experience: it seemed like every second person had to stop us to let them say hello to Summer. She got so much love and attention, it certainly didn’t do any good to her already inflated ego, but given that she lives for this kind of attention it definitely made her very happy!

The quaint morning was topped off with a wonderful lunch and live blues music at the Bridgewater Inn an awesome outdoor venue by the creek. It was very family- and dog-friendly and we enjoyed a few beers and good food, listening to the music and taking in the excellent vibes.

We were once again very lucky to have my parents come and stay with us in Henley Beach. With a week to spend together, we ensured we had lots of restaurants booked to enjoy the amazing food and wine that Adelaide is known for.

And boy, did we eat.

Funnily enough, our time together in Adelaide turned into a sort of Masterchef roadshow (something that will only make sense to Aussies who have watched the TV show): we visited the Jamface stall at the Adelaide Farmers Market, owned by Poh, Mod Oz restaurant eleven co-owned by Callum Hann and finally Nido Bar, a delicious pasta bar by Laura Sharrad.

Also important to note our incredible dinner at Africola, which deserves all the hype and attention it's getting. You put your dinner in the hands of the kitchen and they deliver an array of African-inspired dishes (all suited to all dietary needs) that are all equally delicious.

As was quickly becoming a trend on this trip, we were once again regretting that we didn't have more time in Adelaide. 3 weeks came and went in a flash. Whilst we definitely feel satisfied with the amount we got to see & do, as well as with our lucky choice in Henley Beach for a home, we could have easily had another 3 weeks just to enjoy more of the amazing food and wine scene that the region has to offer.

Well, with both a ticking clock to get to the Women's World Cup games in Perth combined with our growing waistlines (thanks to all the aforementioned good food and wine): it was time to move on and cross the Nullabor!

Before we leave, below are a number of notable moments we didn't mention in the post but deserve some photos to remember, including:

• 🌮 Dinner with Fernando's childhood friend Natan & his wife Paula
• 🍻 Trying out the local breweries: Bowden Brewery & Pirate Life
• 🐷 Checking out the locals in the city
• 🎸 Alfresco music in Henley Beach
• 💐 Enjoying the beautiful botanic garden  

Odometer check:

For the nerds our there like me, here's a quick odometer check on our car: we clocked up 1,566km after driving from Melbourne to Adelaide and spending this time in Adelaide.