Adelaide 2026

This has been a holiday long overdue. Work had been too stressful the past 8 months that we haven't had an actual break since August. And a lot has happened since that we felt, we really need a breather. Finally, that break has come. 

This week, we went on a (very) long drive to Adelaide. Since we wanted a roadtrip anyway, why not visit family (the Garcias, Lani's neice) who had moved there early this year. 

Here's how our trip went:

Sat, 4 April

• Left home 11am after helping in the Holy Supper Worship Service of Kellyville
• After about 2.5hrs our first stop at Ampol Pheasants Nest for quick EV and tummy charging
• Ethan then took the wheel, driving 1.5hrs from Gundagai to Coolac for our next charging stop
• After 20min rest and charge, Ethan drove another 2 hours to Albury tesla charger where we had early dinner at the nearby Commercial Club Albury - wonderful food and ambience. We ate while listening to live music.
• I then drove the last 2 hours to our final stop for the day - Courtyard Motor Inn Shepparton. 

 

Sun, 5 Apr

• Woke up early to charge the car. About 2km away from the motel
  
• We then left the motel at 10am for our 2hr journey to Kerang. Ethan drove for 2hr and 15mins.
• Lunch at Cafe Royal Kerang (food wasn't good), then 2-hour drive to Ouyen for charging.
• We wanted to drive straight to Tailem Bend (3 hours away), but Tesla is worried we won't have enough charge to reach the place, so we stopped midway at Pinnaroo. Took the chance to stroll around the nearby park and playground.
• I then drove the remaining 2 hours to arrive 6:30pm at Tailem Bend Supercharger. Funnily, we ran into the Ardona family who were on the way back to Melbourne after visiting Adelaide.
• After buying take home dinner, we headed 1.5hours west to Magill, to the home of the Garcia family, our host for the night.
• Spend the rest of the evening building toys for the Garcia kids.

Mon, 6 Apr

• Lazy morning with the Garcia family
• I took the chance to clean all the insect debris from the car.
• After lunch, we headed to the city for our 3-night stay at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Adelaide. The hotel was lovely, just a block away from Rundle Mall, and right in the middle of everything. They also had a destination charger, which unfortunately doesnt work. 
• After check-in, we met with Aeson who's been living in Adelaide for about a year and half now. Walked the length of Hindley St through to Rundle Mall, then a bit of North Terrace to the state library.
• Ended up at one of the malls in Rundle to eat at C9 Chocolate.  
• After a bit of rest, we went out to meet the Garcias for dinner at 18th Street Hot Pot, followed by a visit to our room. 
• Lani and I then capped the night by walking around Hindley St to reach our 12.5k steps for the day. 

Tue, 7 Apr

• 8am breakfast at the hotel mezzanine - part of our room rate. It was a decent spread. Eggs, hotdogs, mushroom and tomato, beans, bacons, pancakes, hashbrowns, pastries, fruits, and drinks. 
• Then headed out at 10am to do our museum visits
• State Library of SA (claims most beautiful library in Australia) and Royal Geographical Society of SA Museum
• South Australian Museum, featuring an Egypt exhibits
• Art Gallery of SA, which had really really weird artworks
• MOD Interactive Museum
• Migration Museum
• In between, we also went for a long walk to
• Chinatown for lunch at the Federation Plaza, and 
• Victoria Square, which oddly is an oval park
• For dinner, we just bought takeout from Hungry Jacks near the hotel
• Lani and I went out later to charge the car at a nearby supercharger to prepare for tomorrow's trip

Wed, 8 Apr

• Woke up 8am for hotel breakfast. Same food as yesterday. 
• Left hotel at 9:40am to reach Beerenberg at 10:30am.  
• Met with the Garcias there for Strawberry picking, then brunch at their cafe to try the famous scones. They have Spicy Halloumi Sticks on the menu which was fantastic!
• Then we headed a kilometer down to walk the streets of Hahndorf - the authentic German village. It was wonderful but crowded. We had gelatos and walked a bit. Sadly it rained heavily, so we had to cut the visit short. 
• Next we went to Mount Lofty. But again, the rain and fog made visibility almost zero, so we ended up not going to the lookout. We decided to go elsewhere.
• We headed to nearby Carrick Hill House Museum. It was an awe to behold. The size of the property alone, and then collection of art works and household items inside the house was fascinating to see. 
• After that, we headed to Chinatown for early dinner. A lot of the shops were already closed, so we ended up eating at Pho Nguyen. Ethan and Erin loved the BBQ Pork w/ Vermicelli that I ordered. 
• We then met with Leila Labandillo (our ex officemate from Phils, and Lani's ex-roomy from her early working years). Lani and Lei headed back to the hotel to catch up
• Erin and I went to Urban Climb coz she wanted to try bouldering (wall climbing without ropes). As expected, she enjoyed it a lot and wanted to return the next day. 
• Ethan went around Hindley and Rundle Mall. 

Thu, 9 Apr

• 7am start because Erin wanted to go back to Urban Climb (they open at 6am).
• After about an hour of tiring herself down, we headed back to the hotel for breakfast before checking out. 
• We then drove to Mawson Lakes to pickup a purchase, then headed to Costco for a bit of grocery. Rain was falling hard 
• Then it was an hour drive south to Victor Harbor to meet the Garcias. 
• There we enjoyed a ride on the horse-drawn rail carriage, a walk around Granite Island, and food at one of the local cafes. 
• On the way back, we passed by the vineyards- first Coriole, then D'Arenberg Cube. The latter had an exhibit of Salvador Dali's sculptures and Roald Dahl's Dr Seuss artworks
• At 5pm, we made our way back to the Garcia's home for our night's stay. 

Fri, 10 Apr

• Woke up at 8am for breakfast and prep, then said our goodbyes to the Garcias. 
• First stop was charging at Tesla Norwood Mall. 
• We decided to take the Mildura -> Hay route, which Tesla doesnt like because there arent many superchargers along the way. So we had to manually put RAA and NRMA chargers in the map
• The next stop was supposedly at RAA Waikerie, but for some reason Tesla led us to the supercharger up north at Clare Valley. We were already close to an hour out of way before I realised. So after charging there, we headed westward to get back to our journey home. We added about and hour and half to our trip. 
• Next was a quick stop at RAA Morgan
• Then RAA Renmark
• Then Guzman Y Gomez lunch while charging at Tesla Mildura
• 1.5 hour to NRMA Balranald
• Then the last hour to arrive 9:15pm at our stop for the night - Commercial Motor Inn, Hay

Sat, 11 April

• 7am start to our day. Breakfast at the hotel, then back on the road for the 2nd half of our 1400km journey home
• Ethan drove the first 2-hour leg between Hay and Narrandera
• Then I drove 2 hours to Coolac supercharger
• Another 2 hours to Goulburn supercharger and had KFC lunch there. 
• Then the last 2.5 hours to home

It was a fun road trip. The Tesla certainly made it more relaxing and definitely cheaper than when we had the Captiva.