Top 10 Places to See This Weekend
The weather is beautiful this weekend, with the opportunity for indoor and outdoor activities everywhere.
Yorke Peninsula
Our holiday family home used to be at Point Turton, which is approximately a 30 minute drive to Edithburgh and their sea pool, which is safe for swimming 24 hours a day. (A side note on the swimming pool: any young children attending would be expected to have an over 18 year old adult in attendance under South Australian law for safety in water)
I have holidayed at Yorke Peninsula since I was 13 years old, My Mum was a college teacher, and we would go away a lot when school was out. The Yorke Peninsula is majestic, with beautiful views along the coast. Activities would include some swimming, a walking trail along the peninsula, horse riding and fishing, with some locations suitable for surfing.
The Fishing Guide will give comprehensive details for recreational or sports fishing.
Places of interest would include Point Turton, Edithburgh, a chocolatier at Minlaton, the Lighthouse at Corny Point and a cute beachside holiday town called Pine Point. For surfers, you will find the surfing beaches are mainly located around Corny Point.
For horse riding, the main equestrian centre is at Kadina with some information available on Trip Advisor .
While it is about a two and half hour drive from the Adelaide city to Yorke, it can get hectic over Friday evenings and public holidays, with traffic coming to a standstill at Port Wakefield at times. This is a popular tourist destination and allowing for traffic will make it easier to get there.
Adelaide Central Market
The Market has started renovations with the historical section of the building still open. Several shops have undergone upgrades, including Haigh’s Chocolates, which is a great option for presents, having an excellent range from a chocolate frog as a simple gift to elaborate prepackaged hampers.
The Market is a foodie delight, from coffees to brunches at the cafes and the specialty food stalls, including their popular cheese shops (the insider tip is if you ask nicely, they will give you a taste).
Opening hours are until 9 pm on Friday’s and 7am to 3pm on Saturday.
Victoria Square
The Giant Christmas Tree is back, along with a Santa trail on the Adelaide City Council website. The city has put together a program for families and individuals to have a good time regardless of age. Live music, theatre, Santa trail, find the Gnome on Melbourne Street are some of the highlights.
Pick your budget and events you would like to attend and have a good time.
Adelaide’s Giant Christmas Tree
Rundle Mall
One of the top Instagram spots in South Australia, it has statues, historic shopping arcades, cafes, and plenty of shopping opportunities for fashion, home, and presents.
David Jones has Santa’s Magic Cave this year, along with a gift wrapping service for customers.
Opening hours are Friday night until 9pm, with Saturday and Sunday closing at 5pm.
Trading hours are different over Christmas week.
Paradise Carols
Located at 57 Darley Road, Paradise, the event is on Sunday evening with a Fun Family Carnival starting at 4pm.
Hosted by Futures Church on the Campbelltown oval, entry is free with free parking. The Carols start at 7pm. This is usually the second biggest carols event for South Australia but given the weather last weekend, this weekend could be busy. Food and drinks are available but people are welcome to bring their own. This is a dry zone event.
Greater Metropolitan Areas
There are Santa photo opportunity events all over Adelaide, from Gawler to Noarlunga this weekend. Check any council website in the area you wish to be at and check events for what’s on in that area. The weather is lovely this weekend with parks and beaches available for public use and enjoyment. For those worried about budgets it is well worth the effort to enjoy free to use events local to where you live.
Dinner, Dessert And Dancing
If some adult time is the thing for this weekend there is a selection of roof top bars and restaurants to enjoy. A progressive dinner and dessert could be fun. Start somewhere like the 2KW Restaurant (bookings are required), enjoy some dinner, take a stroll down King William to Victoria Square, enjoying the lights and decorations along the way, whilst burning off dinner. Head to a dessert bar on Gouger Street, such as St. Louis Desserts located at 19 Gouger or the ice creamery 48 Flavours at 78 Gouger Street.
After dessert head to Hindley Street for some dancing at a night club of your choice. The smart thing to do might be to have stylish walking shoes for getting around. While Adelaide is a safe city I wouldn’t be walking around at night dripping in diamonds, if you get my meaning.
Adelaide Festival Theatre
The Ten Tenors and Nutcracker are performing this weekend. The website is the place to book and has up to date details for planning a weekend.
Check out the Adelaide Festival Theatre on this website here.
There are other venues worth checking out too.
Holdfast Bay
Masters Swimming is offering an open swimming event on Sunday morning from 10 am to 12 pm at Seacliff Beach. This is free of charge. The Open Swimming details are on the council’s website too, for interested folks.
There is also a sports event at Colley Reserve on Sunday 17th December 11:30am to 6:30pm for a running carnival.
Movies
With plenty of cinemas around Adelaide, good internet and streaming services, there is always the opportunity to have a movie weekend. Stuck for choice? We are currently moving closer to the awards season. Check out nominations to see if you would like to critique films that have been nominated. Golden Globes have a list on their website for the early 2024 awards.