Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

ADELAIDE 491
(US$257) from Adelaide to Coober Pedy, and A$770 (US$500) from Adelaide
to Alice Springs.
Another bus company, the Nullabor Traveller (P.O. Box 72, Glensside, SA
5065; & 08/8364 0407; www.the-traveller.com.au), takes adventurous travelers
from Adelaide to Perth in 9 days across the Nullabor Plain. The tour includes
a mixture of camping and pub accommodations and most meals. It costs A$945
(US$614) in summer, and A$72 (US$47) more in winter (with more accommodations
instead of camping). The company offers a range of other tours,
including a 6-day trip to Coober Pedy, Lake Eyre, and the Flinders Ranges for
A$550 (US$357); a 2-day tour to Kangaroo Island for A$310 (US$201) in
dorm rooms and A$365 (US$237) in a double; a full-day tour of the Barossa
Valley for A$49 (US$32); and a 3 1 ⁄2 day trip along the Great Ocean Road for
A$310 (US$201) in a dorm and A$440 (US$286) in a double. See all these destinations
later in this chapter.
By Car To drive from Sydney to Adelaide takes roughly 20 hours via the
Hume and Sturt highways; from Melbourne it takes around 10 hours via the
Great Ocean Road and Princess Highway; from Perth it takes 32 hours via the
Great Eastern and Princess highways; and from Alice Springs it takes 15 hours
of remote driving on the Stuart Highway. For more information on driving distances
consult www.auinfo.com/distancecalc_process.asp.
VISITOR INFORMATION Go to the South Australia Visitor & Travel
Centre, 18 King William St. (& 1300/655 276 in Australia, or 08/8303 2033;
fax 08/8303 2249), for maps, travel advice, and hotel and tour bookings. It’s
open weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm, weekends from 9am to 2pm. There’s an
info booth on Rundle Mall (& 08/8203 7611), open daily from 10am to 5pm.
CITY LAYOUT Adelaide is a simple city to get around in because of its gridlike
pattern, planned down to each wide street and airy square by Colonel William
Light in 1836. The city’s official center is Victoria Square, where you’ll find the
Town Hall. Bisecting the city from south to north is the city’s main thoroughfare,
King William Street. Streets running perpendicular to King William Street
change their names on either side, so that Franklin Street, for example, changes
into Flinders Street. Of these cross streets, the most interesting are the restaurant
strips of Gouger Street and Rundle Street, the latter running into the pedestrianonly
shopping precinct of Rundle Mall. Another is Hindley Street, with its inexpensive
restaurants and nightlife. On the banks of the River Torrens just north of
the city center, you’ll find the Riverbank Precinct, the home of the Festival Centre,
the Convention Centre, and the Skycity Adelaide Casino. Bordering the city
center on the north and south are North Terrace, which is lined with galleries and
museums and leads to the Botanic Gardens, and South Terrace.
Value A Money-Saving Transit Pass
If you plan to get around the city via public transportation, it’s a good
idea to purchase a Daytrip ticket, which covers unlimited travel on buses,
trams, and city trains within the metropolitan area for 1 day. The pass
costs A$5.70 (US$3.65) for adults and A$2.90 (US$1.90) for children 5 to 15
and is available at most train stations, newsstands, and the Passenger
Transport Board Information Centre (& 08/8210 1000).