The monument that you see below is dedicated to Sir Walter Watson Hughes who was born in 1803 and died in 1887. Originally from England he made his fortune through investments in the mining industry. The Wallaroo Copper Mine was actually discovered on his property, and the Moonta mine was discovered close by. Naturally he had a major slice of both.

Sir Walter is usually referred to as the ‘”father” of the University Of Adelaide, because it was his donation of £20,000 that led to the formation of the University. The monument that you see here was presented by his nephews John James Duncan and Walter Hughes Duncan in 1906.

The next photo shows a little more of the Adelaide University in the background. Since it first came to being in 1874 it has been one of Australia’s leading universities.

Learn more about Adelaide University by visiting their home page.

Image via Wikipedia

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hyundai. All opinions are 100% mine.

For those of you who have been to Australia you know that Australia is a land of vast open spaces because of that, petrol being s o damn expensive and all, more and more Aussies are looking for fuel deficient cars. That isn’t the only reason for our search for ‘greener’ cars as we are also concerned about our environment and so many Aussies when updating look for green cars with some sort of green credential.

One such car is the Hyundai Santa Fe and global green challenge wanting to prove that they had the goods and that the Hyundai Santa Fe was a force to be reckoned they entered it into the transcontinental global green challenge.

What better place to hold the challenge in Australia, a country that has proved to be very demanding on it’s cars, and included covering a distance of 3,147 kilometres from Darwin to Adelaide. I can only imagine the jubilation felt by the guys that developed this remarkable car, when it won the SUV class in the challenge. I reckon they were absolutely wrapped with that result.

You have to admit, when looking at the results, completing that sort of distance in the harsh Australian conditions, after seven days of grueling competition, to have consumed a total of just 160.46 litres of diesel with an emission level of only 137.67 grams of CO2 emission per kilometre, well that is pretty remarkable.

It’s not often that  I get the opportunity to write about something positive and that I enjoy, and I just love my cars, and it is important to point out to others who are concerned about global warming how they should consider the following points when choosing their next car.

The thing is even though many people want to do the right thing, they’re  not always prepared to do it if it will cost them, say a loss in performance. I know, it sounds crazy but there are actually people who will base their judgement on certain criteria like that. I’m sure that was why the guys who designed the Hyundai Santa Fe made sure that whilst reducing the CO2 emission of the car they still maintain, if not improved, the car’s performance.

Anyway, the whole idea of this post is to bring to peoples attention that environment is very important to all of us and for that reason when next choosing a new car they should seriously consider one that has good green credentials.

In my last post I mentioned the Tap Inn where we had my son’s 21st, so I thought it only fitting that I dedicate this post to another Adelaide business that I happened to come across, and all because of my daughters 18th birthday.

I’m talking about a nice little store that specializes in making cakes for all occasions, especially weddings, engagements and christenings. My wife happened to find it while surfing and once she showed the site, 2 Nice 2 Slice, to my daughter the decision was made.

Honestly, from the moment we picked it up it was obvious that a lot of love

and care was put into making this cake, and we couldn’t thank Melissa Barnet enough when we saw how well it turned out. As you can see from the photo the cake came in four tiers with the cake proper on the top tier.

The other tiers were filled with scrumptious cupcakes each of which had Lindt Chocolate as part of the ingredients. We had a total of 38 cupcakes and they comprised of three different flavors.

I can honestly say that the cake tasted as good as it looked. It was all I could do to keep my hands off it until it was time for Nadia, my daughter, to cut the cake. If you look at the main cake you can just see that it had some crystals embedded in it. According to the wife they were Swarovski crystals, but don’t quote me on that.

We had the cake set up in full view of the guests and I can safely say that every one of them commented on how great it looked. It was all I could do to keep the kids from knocking off one of the cupcakes before Nadia had time to cut the cake.

Needless to say that whilst the barbecue went really well, I’m sure that most of the guest were hanging back some so that they would have some room left for that cake.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post the guys that put this cake together call themselves 2 Nice 2 Slice and honestly when you see their cakes you can see how aptly they’ve named their business.

Needless to say everyone loved the cake, and lucky for me we had some left over, and I am making it last as long as possible.  if you want to see more sample of the cakes they produce, just head on over to their FaceBook page.

When we had to find somewhere to host my son’s 21st birthday we wanted somewhere that offered not only a great dining experience for our guests, it also had to have a whole heap of atmosphere. After trialling a few restaurants, any excuse for a good feed, we decided on the Tap Inn which is located at 76 Rundle St. Kent Town.

We decided to hold it in their Sand Bunker Beer Garden as it enabled us to be separated from the other patrons without losing any of the atmosphere. There was about 35 of us at the party and it was a perfect size for us. What was really unique about the place was the huge palm tree growing in the middle of the room.

Our wine selection included some Geoff Merrill Savignon Blanc, Woodstock Shiraz and the girls requested some Trilogy. For food we had a great selection which included Tiger Prawns, Oysters Kilpatrick, Salt and Pepper Squid, Crumbed Barramundi, Feking Duckwits, Beef kebabs, Haloumi & Zucchini Fritters, and the list went on.

The food was absolutely superb and we didn’t have one complaint, everyone loved it.

This is a photo of one of the entrances;

If anyone is thinking of a venue to hold a party I highly recommend the Tap Inn.

This week Mary MacKillop was recognized as Australia’s first saint and I thought it only fitting that this post was dedicated to her. Although born in Melbourne of Scottish parents on the 15th Jan 1842, the majority of her good work was done right here in South Australia, in the small town of Penola.

She originally came to Penola as a governess to look after the children of her aunt and uncle, yet even then because of her want to help the poor she included other children and took them under he wing as well. After about 2 years she accepted a teaching job in Portland Victoria, but not before she was noticed by Father Julian Edmund Tenison Woods.

While teaching in Portland Father Woods encouraged Mary to open a Catholic school in Penola, which she did, along with two of her sisters, in 1866. To learn more of this truly amazing woman you should visit the Blessed Mary MacKillop site.

On March the 22nd a bronze statue commemorating Blessed Mary MacKillop was unveiled at an official blessing and dedication ceremony conducted by Archbishop Philip Wilson. As can be seen from this photo, Mary, being well known for her work with children, is holding hands with two young children.

The artist behind this sculpture is Adelaide artist Judith Rolevink, and although relatively new it is already attracting a fair bit of attention, and I’m sure that it will only increase now that the Catholic Church has recognized her as a saint. The statue sits next to the St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral.

If you were to walk or drive down North Terrace in Adelaide you couldn’t help but notice the old Fowler’s Lion Factory. The feature that makes it stand out from the rest of the buildings on the street is the majestic stone statue of the lion on top of the building. The appearance of the lion is definitely  one of royalty as he stands there watching over his subjects as they  move past his watchful gaze.

David and James Fowler, the men who first established D and J Fowler (Australia) Ltd in 1854, moved their retail outlet from King William St. to  this building in 1906. It seems that destiny had other plans for this building, other than the owners original plans for it.

In the 70’s up until 1998 it was the home of The Adelaide Fringe Festival. At present it houses the nightclub Fowler’s Live, the Jam Factory which is art related and has nothing to do with jam at all, as well as other venues.

Although Adelaide is only about 6km from Adelaide airport it still may be a good idea to organize a rental car if you haven’t anyone that’s able to pick you up at the airport. Thanks to the Internet you can now Compare Car Rentals online as this can save a whole lot of time.

Since the airport upgrade to a new dual international/domestic terminal in 2005 it has received numerous awards one of which was being named the world’s second-best international airport. I have to admit, living here my whole life, that it was a vast improvement on the old airport, and it was with some pride that I can say it was voted Australia’s Capital City Airport of the Year the 2009 Australian Aviation Industry Awards in Sydney.

This photo shows the Adelaide skyline from the airport so you can see just how close it is.

The other day, because of all the stupid roadworks that was going on around South Road, I decided to take another route. I turned onto Ascot Avenue when turned into Lower Portrush Road and low and behold I saw something quite unique to what I’m used to in regard to local Church architecture. Note, at first glance it didn’t hit me as a Church at all.

I had to pull over to have a better look. It was simple but amazing at the same time. At first it seemed to be some huge monument that seemed to be built entirely from polished marble or granite.

After a bit of Googling I discovered that the Church/Temple belonged to the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints, the second temple built in Australia.

From the road there was a lovely statue of what could be considered a nativity scene.

I was hoping that this link would lead to mass/ worship times, but it seems that it’s very rarely open. Maybe that tap on the shoulder from the Grounds and Gardens bloke asking if I had a key to their huge manicured gardens. Unfortunately, I was just some snapping photos. I must admit though, that their grounds did look pretty cool.

While it is true, as a South Australian, I love Adelaide and I believe it resides in the best state in Australia, as an Australian I believe I live in the best country in the world. I know most people would say this of their own country, and that’s fine, yet I still feel that we as Australians are truly blessed.

There is one thing that I have always dreamed of, and that is to tour the country. I’ve visited Queensland, NSW and Victoria, but only just briefly. What I would really love is to hook the car to a caravan and take a year to see Australia properly.Perth Metro Western Australia had a lot to offer.

Image via Wikipedia

As I have always wanted to see Perth, and haven’t been there yet, I reckon I would head west first. I’ve always heard that the
Another reason I would really like to make Perth my first stop is because I’ve heard it’s actually a lot like Adelaide. Even so, I reckon once I’m ready the first thing I would do would be to check out the WA Tourism website, as this would provide me with the most relevant and up to date information of where to go and what to see.

Seeing as how I would be taking the caravan I probably wouldn’t have much need of a guide to Perth and WA Hotels, but then again, knowing the wife she would want to live it up occasionally, so just to keep the peace I may have to stay in one or two.

The plane that you see here is a landmark that tells you have arrived at the Parafield Airport, about 18kms north of the city of Adelaide.

Although not a major airport, as in you won’t see any jumbos landing here, it is really quite busy and is renowned for their expertise in training good pilots.

There was a time when the airport was the only thing visible in this plot of land, but over the years a whole lot of shops have opened here, the most notable probably being Bunnings.

For a more detailed account on what can be found here your best bet would be to visit their homepage.