Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Trip to Adelaide, Australia

Went to Adelaide, Australia to celebrate my birthday. Took Malaysian Airlines and it was a full flight. 4am they serve us breakfast - yogurt and cereal bar. My friend woke me up at 3am to celebrate my birthday. They bought cake to the plane. It was really fun and guess we did woke up our neighbours...ha!ha!

We arrived Adelaide 6am, aus time. We went to Hertz to get our car. According to Hertz is cheaper to rent your car from your travel agent rather walk in to HERTZ counter. They gave us Toyota Camry sport version and is red color. We check all the oils and tyres to ensure everything is in order before we drove off. We brought our own GPS.

1st destination is find our breakfast. Therefore we went to Adelaide Central Market to find food. Yummy breakfast and we ate toast bread, bacon, ham, mushroom, eggs for Aus$10.50.



You can get your nuts at NUTS BAR, Stall 76 at Adelaide Central Market.Then we went to Rundell Street to walk around. Stopby at Woolworth to buy food stuff and drinks.

Our itinery (our actual itinery are in red text) :-

Day 1 (19 Sep 2009 - 20 Sep 2009) Adelaide city
Upon arrive, pick up car at the airport and self drive to hotel for check in. free at own.
- visited adelaide central market
- rundell street
- woolworth to buy food stuff
- dinner at melbourne street at Tiger Lily for thai food. Food not that great and quite expensive.
Overnight : Freedom Adelaide Meridian Hotel, 21-37 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide.
Check in time : 12pm

How to get to Freedom Adelaide Meridien
The Hotel is in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, just over the parklands from the city centre. From the Airport you can take a taxi directly to the hotel or drive yourself to the city and take King William Street, North over the river Torrens and then turn East down Sir Edwin Smith Avenue which turns into Melbourne Street.

Day 2 (20 Sep 2009 -21 Sep 2009) Barossa Valley
One of world's most famous and historic wine regions, the Barossa, is a one-hour drive north east of Adelaide. Take the picturesque route through the Adelaide Hills, via Chain of Ponds and Kersbrook to arrive at Williamstown. Just outside the town is the Barossa Reservoir with its engineering feat, the Whispering Wall. The wall has a remarkable acoustic phenomenon - messages whispered at one side can be heard clearly at the other end, 140 metres away.
Continue on to Lyndoch, perhaps stopping for morning tea at the Lyndoch Bakery. You can also stop by at Lavender Farm and it closes at 4pm. The lavender are so beautiful.




After Lyndoch, there is an endless choice of attractions and wineries. Do drop by at Trevor Jones, the wine is great. At Rowland Flat, visit the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre, 'home' to the famous wine and the creek, and the cellar door of the major wine company Orlando Wyndham. You can buy small bottle of wines (6) at AUS$18.

Other wineries on this route include Grant Burge Wines and St Hallett Wines, each known for their premium wines.
The town of Tanunda is a delight, and a walk around is the best way to see its unique historic attractions. There are good country cafés, bakeries and antique and craft shops too.We had our dinner at Tanuda Chicken where they serve you roast chicken. If you want sauce for the chicken, you need to purchase at Aus$2.50.

Other recommended wineries on the outskirts of Tanunda include Chateau Tanunda, Peter Lehmann Wines, Richmond Grove and Langmeil Winery.

Drive to the town of Angaston via Mengler Hill .Lookout for one of the best views of the Barossa Valley. In Angaston, visit Angas Park Fruit Company to purchase some delicious dried fruits or Barossa Valley Cheese Company for delicious cheeses. Both Saltram Winery and Yalumba are near Angaston also well worth a visit. We visited Angas Park Fruit to buy dried fruits. Kinda expensive compare to Adelaide Central Market.

This afternoon continue exploring the wineries of the region, perhaps visiting those near the town of Nuriootpa, such as Elderton Wines, Penfolds Wines and the striking contemporary setting of Wolf Blass Visitor Centre. There's good dining throughout the Barossa. For picnic fare and to taste great regional produce, Maggie Beer's Farm Shop is highly recommended. For dinner, try 1918 Bistro & Grill in Tanunda; Vintners Bar & Grill or Salters, both near Angaston; or Apellation at Marananga.
Adelaide - Tanunda: 71km, 1 hour 10min
Adelaide - Tanunda via Chain of Ponds: 74km, 1 hour 20 minutes
Overnight : Novotel Barossa Valley
Check in time : 2pm, check out time : 11am
Golf Links Road, (PO Box 942), Rowland Flat, Barossa Valley, SA, 5118
Tel: +61-8-8524-0000 Fax: +61-2-8524-0100 Email: H3026-re01@accor.com

Novotel Hotel, very nice scenery facing the hills and vineyard. The room are huge. Very clean and highly recommended. Per nite is Aus$233.

Day 3 (21 Sep 2009 - 22 Sep 2009) Adelaide City
Overnight : Freedom Adelaide Meridian Hotel, 21-37 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide.
Check in time : 12pm
Visited Cleland Park and entrance fees is Aus$16. It was raining heavily and windy, therefore we got to wait till 2pm to see the koala. You can take pictures with the koala. If you wish to carry the koala you got to paid AUS$30. You only can take pictures with Koala from 2pm-4pm.
We did not go to Mt Lofty cos too cold.
At night we drove to O'Connell Street, North Adelaide for Thai Food. You can try eating at Pattaya Thai next to the japanese restaurant. The portion are big and very nice food. We had our chicken with cashew nuts, tom yam and another pork dish with vegetables. Total bill AUS$52. O'Connell street got lots of restaurant and the parking is a problem.

Day 4 (22 Sep 2009 - 23 Sep 2009) Fleurieu Peninsula
Less than 30 minutes drive from Adelaide, the Fleurieu Peninsula has rolling hills of vineyards, untouched bushland, stunning beaches and dramatic coastlines. Spend a day visiting some of McLaren Vale's 50 cellar door outlets, and art and craft galleries, olive and almond shops. And tackle the Cheese and Wine Trail.
Visited MENZ chocolate factory, famous for chocolates and fruit sweets. You can stop by at Olives and Almonds shop. Then Olive shop. There is one dried fruit and nuts shops at the corner, the nuts are very cheap. You can also buy figs to boil lotus soup.

Continue south to Victor Harbor, South Australia's most famous coastal resort town. Renowned as a great place for watching southern right whales in winter, it is also home to a colony of little penguins on Granite Island(penguin interpretive tour $12.50). The island is a short walk across the timber causeway or a pleasant ride on the horse-drawn tram.($7) appx 40mins for return trip. (place to visit nearby : Urimbirrra Wildlife Park / The south australian whale centre)
The granite island tour starts at 6.30pm and you got to walk to the island which takes 15-20 minutes. We did not able to take the horse drawn tram cos it was closed at 4pm. It was raining heavily and very cold. The penguin tour lasted for 1 hour. We had our dinner at a thai restaurant which is open till late if you need hot soup and hot noodles. We stay at Mccracken Country Resort and the room are huge, you even got a spa tub in your bathroom unfortunately we do not have time to use it. The room faces the golf course. Room per nite is AUS$150, worth staying.

Adelaide - McLaren Vale: 40km, 40min
McLaren Vale - Victor Harbor: 45km, 45min
Overnight : Mccracken Country Club
Mccracken Drive , Victor Harbour, 08-85510200.
Check in time : 2pm, check out : 10.30am

Day 5 / 6 (23 Sep 2009 – 25 Sep 2009) Adelaide Hills
Stay at Hahndorf Inn Motor Lodge
AUS290 for 2 nites

35a Main Street, Hahndorf South Australia 5245
This logde is very nice, room is huge. Very convenient location, walking distance to main street.
Shop at Lavender Shop and the owner is really helpful. You can find alot of things from lotion, body gel to sweets at this shop. We stopped by at one shop that sells spices known as The Pickle. You should try their cashew mustard which is AUS$7 and their spicy pork spices. Salami cost AUS$9.50.
We had buffet dinner at Cedar Brasserie, the gaming place which is only AUS$19.50. They serve great food. Worth trying. We had german food at Handorf Inn. We order a german platter which consist of pork knuckles, pork ribs, sausages, potatoes and pretzels. Really big portion and we can't even finish it and only cost AUS$52.50 where you can't find this price in Malaysia. Highly recommend.You should try the apple pie at their bakery shop which is before the supermarket. The apple pie got to eat it cold and cost is AUS$11. The apple are so crunchy, totally different from Malaysia. Must try!! Travel south to the Adelaide Hills this morning, stop at Birdwood, the National Motor Museum ($9) shares an automotive treasure house and the stories of Australian motoring. Check out the sights and sounds of Hahndorf to find great spots for kids, like Humbugs lolly shop, the Hahndorf Puppet Shop, the fairy shop and more. Climb the world's biggest rocking horse, explore the animal park and buy some quality wooden toys and at the Big Rocking Horse (FOC) at Gumeracha.Visited the biggest rocking horse and you can also enter to their barn for free. You can see kangaroos, sheeps, birds and etc in the barn.
Discover why the whole world loves Adelaide Hills wine at some of our many award-winning wineries - Nepenthe, Shaw + Smith, The Lane at Ravenswood, Bird in Hand and Hahndorf Hill (to name but a few).
Search for treasure (or hunt out a bargain) in the many weird and wonderful antique and second-hand shops of Woodside. See chocolates and lollies being made the old-fashioned way at Melba's Chocolate Factory in Woodside (you can even taste them fresh the production line). Housed in an historic former cheese factory, Melba's is choc-aholic heaven.Instead buying chocolate we bought alot of cow stuff e.g cow bell, cow photo holders, apron with cow elements and etc. I can't believe that i can get my cow collection in the chocolate shop. You can visit the cheese factory next to MELBA.
Stock up on home-made apple pies, fresh fruit and a stack of other regional products at The Old Apple Shed and other cute roadside stalls along the route.
Whistle while you work at Beerenberg Strawberry Farm ($3), picking your own bucket of ripe, red strawberries. Then check out the jam kitchen, the 1840s barn and the historic German wagon used by Hills pioneers. Bought strawberry jam at AUS$4 for 48 pieces, hot mustard for AUS7.

Close by, The Cedars is artist Hans Heysen’s former house and beautiful garden. This is the famous artiste house. You able to view the art gallery. Recommend to stop by.

Set out at sunset to see amazing Australian wildlife at Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary(self guided FOC / Animal Show $5 / Santuary Tour $5) near MylorGuided night tours are the best way to see all the animals (including platypus), but you can also explore the sanctuary by day (entry is free from 9am until 4pm). Very small wildlife park and you able to see kangaroos and birds. No Koala at this park. You can walk entire park within half an hour.


Cuddle a koala, feed a kangaroo and eyeball an emu at Cleland Wildlife Park(S16). Special kids' activities include self-discovery trails, interactive wild shows, craft activities and scientific explorations.
Tanunda – Hahndorf via Birdwood and Mt Torrens: 77km, 48miles 1 hour 20 minutes

Day 7 / 8 / 9 (25 -27)
Drive to Holdfast shores for Dolphin watch cruise($58 / dolphin swim $98) with Temptation. Dolphins are one of the Earth's most fascinating and curious creatures. Dolphin swimming offers you this once in a lifetime encounter in which you will be touched forever.
Adelaide CBR - Holdfast Shores Marina Glenelg: 10km, 25min
Overnight : Overnight : Freedom Adelaide Meridian Hotel, 21-37 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide.
We did not go for dolphin cruise cos too cold. The weather is crazy. You can visit the fisherman wharf but then only open on weekends.Therefore we explore Port Adelaide where you can get fresh oyster at AUS$10 for 1 dozen. You can find great vietnamese food at the following location, all this road very near Port Adelaide . I called this place vietnamese village:-
a. Grand Junction Road
b. Hanson Road
c. Adison Road - Vietnamse cuisine and always full house..did not able to try it.
You can stopped by at the Vietnamese Supermarket and buy curring powder to make vietnamese pork.

Visited Harbour Town Shopping Mall at Glenelg. You can find alot of branded outlets such as esprit, converse, colorado and etc. Mall closes at 5pm.

Went to brighton road at Glenelg to check out the esplanade. Very beautiful place but unfortunately too cold to walk around. Open parking near Stamford hotel cost AUS$2.50 per hour.

Next to the airport is IKEA...therefore you can still shop and dine at IKEA before you drop off the car to HERTZ.

SUMMARY :-
Parking??
1P means you can park your car for 1 hour
2P means you can park yoyr car for 2 hours
Therefore watch out for the sign.

Vietnamese Food in Adelaide can be found at :-
a. grand junction road
b. hanson road
c. adison road
All above roads are near Port Adelaide.

You can purchase Fresh Oyster at Port Adelaide, the shop is located next to College Road. Turn in at Commercial Road. 1 dozen for AUS$10 where the oyster already open.

Handorf
a. Must try the german platter at Handorf Inn
b. lavender products at Lavender Shop
c. apple pie at bakery shop before the supermarket
d. strawberry jam, honey, mustard at Beeremberg
e. buffet dinner at Cedar Brasserie, aus$19.50 per pax at the restaurant which got gaming centre.

Water
You can purchase 10 litre of water at the supermarket e.g Woolworth, Foodland for only AUS$4. Is very convenient to use, is cheaper then purchasing bottle.

Fast food restaurant does not provide ketchup. Ketchup can cost AUS0.40 per sachet.

Adelaide is a quiet place and with beautiful scenery. I don't think I will ever visit Adelaide again.The weather is too cold and our skins are dry. I don't think I can ever migrate to Adelaide. :)

Overall i did enjoy the trip with my friends and is unbelievable that i'm the driver and navigator. Great achievement for me.....as i hate driving..ha!ha! We only get lost in the city. You need a GPS when you travel in the city and make sure the map are updated.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

My 1st Pottery Class

Attended 3 hours session at Sunway University on pottery workshop. The workshop teaches you on how to make sauce plates using clay. You need to have patience to do this. Your need to control the strength on your hand when using the clay.
As you know I love cows alot therefore i created my sauce plates with cow elements on it... Well, this is the 1st pottery workshop so don't expect anything great... I able to create the cow head...hee..hee...

Well need to wait for 1 month before i can collect all this items from the instructor. Then will upload the final result of my cow sauce plates and spoon.