Hey, what’s up?

I recently went to Adelaide in South Australia. It was a very short post night shift vacation, but a meaningful one. I met my friends from university who generously provided me with free accommodation and took me around Adelaide for a couple of days. Truly the best kind of trip, the one where your biggest expense is your dignity after a night shift. 

On the first day, I was taken to the town centre, or as we call it here in Australia, the CBD. I arrived quite late in the afternoon, so there was not much left to do. But we still managed to visit the Central Market and do some food hunting. I had Chinese mee tarik, though I completely forgot the restaurant name, and bought a custard pie from Saudade. Both were delicious and absolutely worth pretending I was not already full.

We went to pray at Adelaide Mosque, which happens to be the first mosque in Australia. The mosque was not huge but spacious enough for Friday prayer. Sadly I do not have a nice photo of it, so instead here is a picture of the Torrens River, which was also stunning and far more cooperative with my camera.

In the evening, we went for a short badminton session with the usual gang from back in the UK. I had not played badminton for ages but was glad to discover that I am still reasonably fit and only slightly dramatic about it. By night time, I was completely exhausted. The flight was almost four hours and the badminton session had taken whatever energy I had left. So we went back to my friend’s home and ate chips while enjoying Netflix, which felt like the perfect and very well deserved ending to the day.

The next day, we went beach hunting in the south of Adelaide. It was so beautiful and along the way I got to see acres of vineyards. There were so many grapes just waiting to be harvested and turned into delicious wine. Sadly, I do not drink, so I simply admired them from a respectful distance. Let us keep it halal 

Along the way, we also saw stretches of yellow and golden land. It was not autumn yet, but somehow all the grass had already turned yellow. It was a view you do not easily find elsewhere. We visited quite a number of beaches, probably too many to count, but I will list them here with their corresponding photos.

1. Port Elliot, Horseshoe Bay

The picture does not really do it justice because this was the first beach, so my photography mode had not fully switched on yet. Stay until the end for more amazing photos!

2. Freeman lookout

The picture makes the ocean look calm and peaceful, but it was absolutely not. The waves were angrily smashing against the rocks. Do not be fooled by the photo. It was giving drama.

3. Victor Harbour

I do not really have a photo of Victor Harbour, but here is a picture of the housing near Victor Harbour instead.

4. granite Island

Granite Island is an island at Victor Harbour. If you come during the right season, you might even spot penguins lingering around. Of course, that also means there will be plenty of tourists. We walked around the island, which was about three to four kilometres. A very good walk indeed.

5. Rapid Bay

It was so hot here but at the same time incredibly windy. There is a huge cave at the end of the beach where you can take amazing photos from inside while overlooking the shoreline. The wind was not kind. It brought tiny rocks and sand with it and blasted us nonstop. It genuinely felt like we were in a battle with the wind.

6. HMAS Lookout Point

Just another beautiful beach, but with a bit of history behind the name. According to ChatGPT, HMAS Lookout Point is named after the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Hobart, which was lost during World War II.

7. Sellicks Beach

This beach is quite unique because you can actually drive on it. It was my first time experiencing that. As usual, the beach was beautiful. The difference between the beaches here in Adelaide and those in Darwin is that you can swim at most of the beaches here, except when there is an algal bloom. Otherwise, no crocs.

8. Port Noarlunga

Probably my favourite beach. There were lots of surfers out in the water. The waves were strong but not crashing aggressively, which made them perfect for surfing. Since it was almost evening, the wind was starting to feel a bit chilly.

9. Brighton Beach

This beach is located near another friend’s house, and we came here to watch the sunset. The sand felt like I was walking on cotton wool. It was a bit busier since it is closer to the city centre, so there were quite a lot of tourists around.

Alright, I think that might be a bit too much beach for one blog post. Stay tuned for part two where I explore other parts of Adelaide. I cannot promise there will be no more beaches. Thanks for reading until the end.