You’re in the weeks leading up to your mid-semester break, you and your friends are looking for a fun adventure to go on, all your ideas for Sydney and Newcastle have been exhausted. You start browsing the internet, and a Buzz Feed comes up on your Facebook feed: ‘The hidden gems of Adelaide’ Your mind is set. Now it’s time to figure out how to get there. Do I fly or do I drive?
Flying is not an option. You’re a poor Uni student and flights to Adelaide are around $343. Then when you get there you’ll need to find accommodation for ten days. Public transport is pretty shocking over there so staying in the city is a must. $50 per person per night is the average cost of accommodation. Then some of the gems of Adelaide are about 45 mins out of town. Cabs… too expensive, Tours… don’t give you enough time. Your last option to hire a car but as a student, the rates are through the roof to hire. The trip for ten days before spending money will cost $1000 minimum. As a college student that’s just ridiculous.
Driving… that’s the way to go. The road trip you would take to get the most out of the trip will take 45 hours and 4000 breath-taking-kilometers. To make the journey comfortable, you can take three of your best friends with you. The fuel cost would reach about $90 each. It takes four days to get there while taking in the sights. Three days in Adelaide and three days to get home. For accommodation, we recommend you find family and friends to stay with along the way or take some gear and camp in National Parks and camping areas.
Day 1: The first three hours of the day are spent navigating the Sydney traffic; once you get out of Sydney, the world is your oyster and you travel down the Prince Highway. First stop, Kiama. A beautiful tourist town that is built just behind some rocky cliffs where you can devour some fish and chips caught locally and check out the Kiama Blowhole. I recommend you stop for the night somewhere between Batman’s Bay and Bega. Do what suits you each night of the trip, whether it be camping, couch surfing with friends or family, motels or an Airbnb.
Day 2 is a long day of driving. It is broken up with eye-opening views of mountains Eden lookout which has a fantastic view of Twofold Bay where you may be lucky enough to spot a whale and other sea life. After Eden, push through to Melbourne get a good night sleep. The next day will be massive.
Day 3: The Great Ocean Road. Leave early so you can make it to Bells Beach for sunrise. There are many great stops along The Great Ocean Road, particularly Airey’s Inlet from every 90’s kids favourite show, ‘Around the Twist’. Stop at Apollo Bay for lunch and then rush past Cape Otway and Prince Town. You need time for the Twelve Apostles National Park as there are more than six unique places to stop, then make your way to Warnambool to crash for the night.
Day 4: Again wake up early and make your way to Tower Hill; the National Park is impressive, filled with friendly Kangaroos and Emus. Make sure to stop in Mount Gambier: The Blue Lake and the Umpherston Sinkhole are just superb. Finish your day by making it to Adelaide.
A couple of precautionary things for driving: take plenty of water and supplies in case you break down and watch your speed, many cops sit on long stretches of desolate road.
Day 5,6,7: Spend these In Adelaide, ‘The City of Churches’ there are many sights to see: the zoo with its Panda exhibit, Mount Lofty that overlooks Adelaide, and a little German town called Handoff. These are a few of the many tourist destinations I recommend while you are there, but look around and see what attractions are for you and pack as much as you can into the trip.
Days 8,9 and 10 are full of the Australian outback where you will see hundreds of emus, kangaroos and wild goat. The trip from Adelaide back to Sydney takes 19 hours, so to break up the trip I recommend you stop for the night twice at Broken Hill and Dubbo. These towns are rich in history and fabulous to look around, so spend a few hours there to let it all sink in. Dubbo zoo is also an excellent attraction where you drive round and see the animals in large enclosures. Then head back home to the coast where you have then completed your 10-day trip and will be knackered but have great memories and stories to tell of your journey.