Adelaide surrounds in one day

[4stanger]

Hi all.
Coming to Clipsal and helping the SA economy.
Would like some info on, what one can achieve in one day touring Adelaide's districts.
When Clipsal is finished, My wife & I would like to hire a car and see the Birdswood museum & visit Victor Harbor,
Is this possible in one day (dawn to dusk)? & is there any other areas that would be worth while a visit on the way?
Not interested in wine, remember, we all have different tastes.

[Bushbasher]

That's a tough ask Arnaldo. Victor harbour is down south and Birdwood is north up into the hills. I'd say your only hope would be to start out at the crack of dawn and go down to Victor for a quick rubber neck then head north and spend the rest of the day at Birdwood. You'll want at least 2 hours minimum to tour Birdwood and that's if you don't stop to read anything or check out the displays too closely. Last time I did it I took closer to 4 hrs than 2, but that was with a bit of a sit down and drink and feed.

Bushbasher

[pottery beige]

i would go the other way, hit the hills for an early morning drive to Birdwood

head the back way south towards victor

*do not miss this place*

http://melbaschocolates.com.au/woodside.asp

Victor, go fish n chips somewhere on the esplanade

win

[BENT_8]

Im with PB.

From the city take Payneham rd, it runs NE from the eastern end of north tce.
Follow that until you reach the Lower NE rd intersection.
Take the left branch onto lower NE rd and continue until you reach the lights at Gorge rd.
Turn right into Gorge rd and follow it to Gumeracha.
Its a fun strap through some twisties arriving at Gumeracha, home of the worlds biggest rocking horse, a fauna park and a wooden toy factory. Its out on the Gumeracha to Birdwood rd a couple of k's and worth an hour of your time. If you arrive at open it wont be busy and will still allow time for the rest.
From the carpark turn right and head for Birdwood. It is only a 10 minute run along a picturesque waterway, well it is in the wet months.
From Birdwood head east(left from the museum carpark) until you reach the Onkaparinga valley hwy. Turn right and follow it to Mt torrens.
Continue on through Charleston, Woodside, Oakbank until you reach Verdun.
At this point you can either take the back road through Hahndorf and Totness then onto Mt Barker, or you can just turn left onto the SE freeway and head for Mt Barker.
Either way, from Mt barker you are looking for Strathalbyn, you can either go through Macclesfield or down the Wellington and Long Valley rds.
From Strath, follow the signs to Goolwa.
From Goolwa, follow the signs to Victor, and from victor take the Victor harbour rd from the roundabout at the top of the hill and head for Adelaide.


There's plenty to do and see along the way, but in reality to get the most from it a few days would be required.
As a day trip with a handful of stops it makes a great drive of varying conditions but you will be spent at the end.

[davenl5l]

Hahndorf is worth spending some time in

[jpblue1000]

blow all that...the city is alive with fringe and festival. One of the worlds great fesitval periods and events. The city is where its happening over that period.
However if thats not your thing birdwood in the morning, Victor mid-late afternoon and chips on the foreshore after walking across the bridge and watch the sun set, then 1.5-2 hours back to the city as mentioned.

JP

[4stanger]

Wednesday til Tuesday we will be staying at Glenelg, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday doing the Adelaide City, Clipsal, concerts etc. while I have the pass for public transport, Plane leaves Tuesday so Monday is basically what I am limited to, I have never been down that way & google maps can only help you so much, Thanks for the info, good local knowledge from real locals does help a lot.
10am is the time Birdwood opens so I will have to plan a trip around the opening time or the 5 pm closing time. Birdwood is for me, Victor harbor is for the missus and anything we can fit in between is a bonus.

[pottery beige]

From the bottom of Gorge rd to Birdwood is only around ten or fifteen minutes on a Ducati....

bike or no bike, I would start from there

[pottery beige]

Victor, sundown, browny points

thank me later

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Arnaldo

10am is the time Birdwood opens so I will have to plan a trip around the opening time or the 5 pm closing time. Birdwood is for me, Victor harbor is for the missus and anything we can fit in between is a bonus.

This would fit in with the Toy factory in Gumeracha as that opens from 9am daily.
If you left the bay at 8am, taking it easy, you would be at Gumeracha by 9am, a quick look around, and it is genuinely worth a look, should take 45 minutes.
from there it is only a 5-10 minute trip to Birdwood so you would arrive at opening time.
There is lots to see but unless your into vintage stuff you will glide through much of it.
I've never spent more than a couple of hours unless a car show was on the oval.

If you left Birdwood around lunchtime you would be in Victor by 3-30-4pm taking it easy and having a look around on the way.
Its not getting dark until 8ish now so you would have time for a stroll around granite island or whatever.
The Bluff car park is worth a look for its 360* views.
If you get a chance, drop into Pt Elliot, aka Horse shoe bay as you pass between Goolwa and Victor. It is one of the nicest spots in south Australia.

The drive back from victor to Glenelg should only take you an hour and a half and is a good road, but take it easy as it has claimed its share over the years.

[ford71V8]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

.....from there it is only a 5-10 minute trip to Birdwood so you would arrive at opening time.
There is lots to see but unless your into vintage stuff you will glide through much of it.
I've never spent more than a couple of hours unless a car show was on the oval.

What! It took me 45 minutes just to find the Dental Floss on THAT Commodore

Originally Posted by BENT_8

If you get a chance, drop into Pt Elliot, aka Horse shoe bay as you pass between Goolwa and Victor. It is one of the nicest spots in south Australia.

Or Middleton or Goolwa (preference is Goolwa for me, love visiting there, but maybe a little far out of your way by that time of day)
But yes, Horseshoe Bay is a favourite of ours too.

Originally Posted by BENT_8

The drive back from victor to Glenelg should only take you an hour and a half and is a good road, but take it easy as it has claimed its share over the years.

By this he means the issuing of speeding tickets. Watch the signs as you drive through and leave each town. (But yes the road has a bunch of fatality markers)

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by davenl5l

Hahndorf is worth spending some time in

Ah Hahndorf and the beer festivals in October, Memories....

[davenl5l]

hmmmm I know I went to them but I don't remember so I must have had a better time than you lol

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Ah Hahndorf and the beer festivals in October, Memories....

If you are referring to 'Schutzenfest' then it is no longer in Hahndorf.
You will find it in the Adelaide parklands in late January early February.
You cant get glass steins anymore either, someone used one as an extension of their fist...
So im told.

[4stanger]

Hahndorf and beer festivals,
hey I like a beer,
Not interested in a drink drive though.

[4stanger]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Victor, sundown, browny points

thank me later

Thanks PB,
and thanks to the other south aussies for their tips.
Hired an auto Focus for 24 hours(8am til 8am) from the airport.
Went to Mount Lofty 1st, got their just at 9am when the souvenir shop opened, GPS was taking me to Birdwood via Lobethal (I wanted to drive that corkscrew road to Gorge road) saw a sign at Lobethal that took me to Gumeracha to see the big rocking horse (had morning tea there) spent a couple of hours at the motor museum in Birdwood, went to Melba's and bought some chocalates and sweets and a quick squiz at the Oakbank horse racing track, drove through Hahndorf.
Drove to Goolwa for a late subway lunch, checked out the Murray river mouth and that timber lookout on top of the sand dune at Goolwa.
Got to Victor Harbour and walked over to Granite Island (and over the top of the Island) and back (just missed the Tram as they close at 4pm) Too early for Fish & Chips so headed back to Glenelg, I can see why that road has accidents, need to be capable and trusting others are capable of driving some of that road to the 100 km/h speed limit, I chose to drive carefully at some bends and let the locals pass me if I was holding them up. Certainly packed in a bit for the day and was happy to see what we did see, had enough of walking though from the Clipsal.
The Focus was fun to drive around the hilly twisty bits, the weather was great while I was there, We had a great time and would recommend to any one to go and do a similar trip while attending the Clipsal, Great state and a good event.
Thanks.

[Tonz]

Originally Posted by Arnaldo

, We had a great time and would recommend to any one to go and do a similar trip while attending the Clipsal, Great state and a good event.
Thanks.

so,......... what did you expect

[BENT_8]

Glad to help.

Adelaide is a sleepy little town, but it has plenty to do and see within a days drive which makes for a good experience and taste of what we have to offer.

If you get back again and haven't been before, check out Kangaroo Island.

It is a full days worth of travelling to see the key landmarks but well worth the trip and the ferry crossing is a lot of fun when the chops up.

[Iggle Piggle]

Originally Posted by Arnaldo

Went to Mount Lofty 1st

If you had gone straight from Glenelg to the motor museum you could tell people you have done the Bay to Birdwood.

Glad you got to do several of the better roads through the hills - you'll probably recognise some stages when you next watch Targa Adelaide.

Sounds like you did the bulk of the better stuff in Adelaide's surrounds - usual thing is to do a strawberry farm before Melba's.

I reckon most of the accidents on the Victor road are due to idiots rather than the road - misjudged/mistimed overtaking by city driver's that rarely drive country roads trying to negotiate those towing caravans and boats or just doing the limit. Often the idiots are the ones that survive. Nowadays much better with all the over-taking lanes.

[4stanger]

Originally Posted by Iggle Piggle

I reckon most of the accidents on the Victor road are due to idiots rather than the road - misjudged/mistimed overtaking by city driver's that rarely drive country roads trying to negotiate those towing caravans and boats or just doing the limit. Often the idiots are the ones that survive. Nowadays much better with all the over-taking lanes.

One thing I noticed on those regional roads I drove on, was the large amount of very large gum trees growing right beside the road. And I am not only talking about the hills, the same on the flatter parts heading to Goolwa.
Some were protected by Armco fencing but most weren't.

I am used to roads that have trees cleared a good 2 to 3 metres away from the road edge, this gives you a little bit of awareness if skippy decides to cross the road. Only saw one dead skippy though, so it can't be a big problem there, but if you try to avoid something else on the road or doze off, you would come off 2nd best against most of those trees.

[pottery beige]

Glad to hear you had a great time guys, its our little secret, not bad for a backwater little country hick town.

Plenty to see and do