Natural Park

Adelaide is referred to as the City of Churches It is a peaceful city compared to the hustle and bustle of Sydney and Melbourne. It also provides tourists with first class restaurants and hotels at much fairer prices than Sydney or Melbourne. Adelaide is famous for its tasty wines from the Barossa valley.

Surrounded by an expanse of green forests, mossy gardens, and colorful fields, Adelaide has the unique character of seeming more such as a park than a city. Little wonder, since more than 45% of the land in its boundaries is preserved in natural areas. Some 29 parks sprawl throughout the city and its suburbs, giving Adelaide its fondly claimed local titles as the Garden City, or the `city within a park." You can get to trails along the river, near the sea, or through the wilderness in 15 minutes from downtown, and most parks have a variety of wildlife that's easily spotted.

Just a half-hour's drive west of Adelaide the suburbs disappear, and you're suddenly surrounded by verdant forests and undulating grassy meadows. These are the Adelaide Hills, a Euro-style section of the Australian continent that resembles a beautiful swathe of English countryside, or perhaps a stretch of Bavarian wilderness. Indeed, the clusters of cottages settled into this picturesque region are as charming as a small village in Tuscany. The region is a tame weekend escape for locals, who enjoy the meandering trails, myriad wildlife, and many parks and gardens that are pretty in any season.

There are many Aboriginal sites in this region, particularly along the coast. The Kaurna tribe who once lived here believe that the natural springs that occur so frequently here were from the tears of the ancestor Tjilbruke as he carried his slain nephew from Kingston Park to the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Dreaming legends also abound for natural features around Kingston Park, Hallett Cove, Christies Beach, Port Noarlunga, Port Willunga, and other southern parks and settlements. The Warriparinga Reserve in Marion, and its Living Kaurna Cultural Centre, is a central source of information about these stories and other local Aboriginal traditions.

The city is hemmed into the mainland by a long string of beautiful, sandy beaches, and numerous local pools make swimming both a favorite sport and leisure activity. Besides this, the Adelaide Aquatic Centre (off Jeffcott Rd, North Adelaide, www.adelaideaquaticcentre.com.au), with its slides, pools, fountains, squirting animals, and gym, is the place to head when the ocean water's too cold. The Marion Swimming Centre (www.marion.sa.gov.au), 20 minutes south of the city, has an Olympic-size pool, children's areas, and lots of fun fitness activities. There are also pools and activities at the Fleurieu and the Henley and Grange swimming clubs.