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Find out what to see and do in Darwin, Katherine, Alice Springs and Adelaide

Learn about the history of Darwin, Katherine, Alice Springs and Adelaide

Hahndorf And Port Adelaide

Previous page - Arrive in Adelaide and visit Glenelg

We slept better last night back in a proper bed. But we quite miss the days on the Ghan. On the Ghan everything was organised for us, including meals so we were a bit lazy for a couple of days. What's wrong with being lazy every now and then.

This morning we are not bothering about finding breakfast. We are setting off straight away for the bus stop to go to Hahndorf. We intend spending the morning in Hahndorf and the afternoon in Port Adelaide. We haven't got much time here in Adelaide so we have to make the most of it.

King William Travel

Last night we found the bus stop so we just have to re trace our steps back to it now. On the way there we stop at a travel agency called "King William Travel". We had noticed it last night because it listed some very cheap flights in the window that interested us. We had seen a flight from Adelaide to Tokyo for $348 AUD. This seems extra-ordinarily cheap. We wonder if there is something similar from Perth to Tokyo that we could use next year (on our planned trip on the Trans Siberian). We need to get ourselves to somewhere like Tokyo and then get from there into Russia. This might be a viable option but leaving from Perth rather than Adelaide. We are early, but luckily the agency has just opened its doors. The principal agent told us that for $348 AUD you actually get a return flight not just a one-way trip. Wow! I think they are able to come with other good deals at this place so we've kept their details and we may book with them for the Russia trip.

Visiting Hahndorf

Anyway I digress.... We found the bus stop and, shortly, bus #864 arrived. It cost us $4.20 each, each way and it took about 45 minutes to get to Hahndorf. It was a great ride from the Adelaide plains via a winding highway up through the hills to our destination. We saw some stunning scenery and more lovely old houses that we so much like seeing.

		We were starving when we arrived at about 10 am. We found Cafe Assiette and ventured inside. Despite the time of day the staff were able to serve us quiche, chips and salad for the low price of $8 each. It was a huge piece of quiche and it contained bacon, feta and basil. The meal was 100 % delicious. We got chatting to some locals who were eating breakfast there and they said they go to Cafe Assiette quite often because it is known for its great food and value. We saw their plates and would agree. Plus they have nice clean toilets!
Cafe Assiette in Hahndorf


Quiet time on main road through Hahndorf		Beautiful vines turning red at Hahndorf

Main street in autumn in Hahndorf, South Australia

Hahndorf wasn't as German as we expected. It was more like a slightly Germanized Australian town with heaps of food and touristy gift shops lining both sides of the main road through the town.

The temperature was perfect for strolling up and down both sides of the main street. Being cooler than Adelaide, Hahndorf had masses of trees shedding their beautiful red and yellow leaves. It was quite picturesque.

We went to a German bakery and bought some yummy cakes to take back to Adelaide with us for a light lunch. We looked around for things to bring back home with us for our (grown up) children but couldn't find anything really.

The same bus #864 took us back to Adelaide. It was an enjoyable ride back down to sea level.

The main street in Hahndorf

Off to Port Adelaide

We immediately went searching for a train to take us to Port Adelaide. The main station in Adelaide was just across from our hotel room which was handy. It is a big old station which has had part of it converted into a casino but more about that later.....

The train to Port Adelaide cost us $4.20 each. The public transport here seems to be set at $4.20 for various forms of transport. We heard other tourists in Adelaide saying they thought public transport here was expensive but we didn't think it was too bad at all. We certainly got excellent value for money going to Hahndorf on the bus for 45 minutes for $4.20.

The Port Adelaide stop off point for the train was a dreadful "hole" of a place. There was no station there - it was purely for hopping on and off the train. The place was a mess, grotty, unkempt, dirty and an embarrassment to the Adelaide rail administration. We were amazed at how much litter was laying around and then Ian pointed out that there was not one bin there.

		We don't know if it is the usual scene but Saturday afternoon in Port Adelaide was dead!! The quietness may have been worsened by the fact it was Easter Saturday, we thought. We came across some Korean boys who were trying to find something to do there too. For a short time we hung around together just wondering what on earth there was to see in the place. The boys had wanted to see the dolphins but unfortunately they had missed the last tour by 10 minutes. They discovered there were some hire bikes at the tourist office so they asked to hire two of them. The staff at the information office said the last people to use the bikes had brought them back broken and they had no-one there who could fix them. The boys were disappointed again. We wandered around for an hour and a half and headed back to the train stop. It was all a bit too dismal for us. We wondered what the Korean boys ended up doing there.
Lighthouse lookout - Port Adelaide

Red Rock Noodle Cafe

		We got back to the CBD and freshened up at our hotel. We hadn't eaten a lot since breakfast so we were both hungry. For our dinner we went to the Red Rock Noodle Cafe in Rundle Street. It was quite a large place but we were easily able to get a table overlooking the footpath. Lots of restaurants in Adelaide have out door eating but smoking outdoors in food areas still seems to be permitted here. This seemed to be the norm in Darwin too. Although we were overlooking the footpath it was relatively quiet out there (being Easter I guess) so we weren't annoyed by smoke. A yummy meal for around $40.
Indian Roti bread and dips


Pad Thai		Scallops with ginger and shallots.

		Feeling rather full we wandered back through Rundle Street Mall towards the hotel. At the end of the Mall there is a building which displays an incredible light show. It is above the Hungry Jack's restaurant. We stood for ages watching the building change colours. Within the colours were pictures. It was terrific entertainment and we could have cheerfully stood there for much longer.
Light show in Adelaide				Changing colours continuously

		We couldn't resist one more photo of the rubbish bin pig in the Mall. We actually felt quite piggish ourselves. We had eaten far too much! On an impulse we decided to stick our noses in through the door of the Casino which was very near our hotel. We fully expected to be turned away because we were dressed so casually but that didn't happen. The place was huge inside with lots of floors and very big rooms full of gamblers. The poker machines were being used by Australians and the big gambling was being done by Asians.
The "rubbish bin pig" in Rundle Street Mall

It was the first time I had ever been into a casino. Very interesting! Needless to say us misers didn't spend (waste) a cent. Back to the hotel for our last night's stay in Adelaide.

Next page -Homeward Bound

Our trip in the order it all happened:

Preamble - how it all began

Getting organised to go

Gathering travel facts

Packed and ready to go

Up, up and away - Darwin here we come

Sunday afternoon in Darwin

Playing the tourist in Darwin, Part 1

Playing the tourist in Darwin, Part 2

Stressful day In Darwin Part 1

Stressful day in Darwin Part 2