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South Australia - A Insiders Take · GowayPro Travel Tales

• 0:00
  Hey there everyone, I'm Don, Professor Goaay and welcome to the Goaay Pro Travel Tale Podcast.
• 0:05
  Travel far and gravel often.
• 0:08
  uh
• 0:19
  Welcome to the Go Way Pro Travel Tales podcast.
• 0:22
  um Today we are having a conversation about Australia, but a part of Australia, which I must admit as an Australian growing up in Sydney, which is New South Wales, and I
• 0:34
  mentioned the state because it'll become apparent why a minute, that I don't know a lot about this particular state.
• 0:40
  I've been down there twice to the capital city.
• 0:43
  And really I know it through watching
• 0:48
  Test cricket that it was often referred to and is probably still referred to as the city of churches.
• 0:55
  So that city is Adelaide and the state we're talking about in Australia is South Australia.
• 1:01
  And with me to discuss that today is Ernst with me, who is the regional director of the South Australian tourism.
• 1:07
  Sorry, did you say commission or authority or commission?
• 1:11
  There we go.
• 1:11
  So I have a memory of a goldfish.
• 1:14
  I just asked him to settle off air so to speak.
• 1:16
  And we have also with us, many of you will probably know if you're particularly in Canada, you want about travel professionals, Jason Stratford, who is our account manager,
• 1:26
  primarily for Western Canada, though he deals with accounts over.
• 1:29
  And the reason Jason's joining us is not only he is an Aussie, he is from South Australia.
• 1:35
  So welcome, Jason, and welcome Ernst.
• 1:37
  Thank you both.
• 1:39
  So Jason, as a fellow Aussie, I'm here in Toronto in our New Go Away studio.
• 1:43
  ah Jason, you're based or you're coming to us.
• 1:46
  At the moment we're from home in Vancouver.
• 1:49
  Yeah, about an hour.
• 1:51
  out.
• 1:53
  Right.
• 1:53
  And that's where you chatting to us from
• 1:55
  about an hour from Jason.
• 1:57
  I live right in the heart of Vancouver.
• 1:59
  you do?
• 2:00
  Okay.
• 2:01
  I thought you'd be coming at us from LA where a lot of Australian uh or tourism bodies specifically for the Pacific are based.
• 2:09
  Okay.
• 2:09
  So two Vancouver boys.
• 2:11
  Okay.
• 2:12
  So Ernst, are you a Canadian by birth?
• 2:14
  I am from Toronto and moved out to Vancouver 20 years ago and absolutely love it.
• 2:20
  Okay, Jason, we've spoken to you a few times.
• 2:22
  So again, I've mentioned you're a Nazi in Vancouver.
• 2:24
  So when did you come to Canada?
• 2:26
  It was a long time ago, I know that.
• 2:39
  Have you ever lived in Toronto Jason?
• 2:44
  You just put half of our audience off.
• 2:50
  So we're not here to talk about the Vancouver Toronto rivalry.
• 2:53
  Actually it's a nice little segue because there was rivalry within Australia between different states.
• 2:58
  all very, friendly.
• 3:00
  And Jason, I think you mentioned before we came in, you were pointing to something on your back wall.
• 3:04
  Was it a crow or something like that?
• 3:09
  So my cap is also the latest Adelaide Crow logo.
• 3:13
  They just redesigned it.
• 3:14
  Now Adelaide Crows are in Australian Football League.
• 3:19
  not rugby.
• 3:20
  If you ask what the difference is, we'll be here for a while.
• 3:22
  Just basically say it's a mashup of all the best sports and it's amazing to watch and greatest crowds and so on.
• 3:28
  And the rivalry you're right, I'm wearing an Adelaide crows scarf.
• 3:33
  I'm also wearing an indigenous Adelaide crows jumper, which is sleeveless.
• 3:39
  Normally I don't really have guns to show.
• 3:42
  So I have this underneath.
• 3:43
  um
• 3:45
  This is what they wear every, there's one round of games every year that has the indigenous um designs on them, which are often designed by indigenous families or those of
• 3:59
  players, like relatives of players from the league actually, from each of the teams.
• 4:03
  And then they go out and sell them and every year they're different.
• 4:07
  Here's another one from a previous year.
• 4:09
  So it's like, um it's almost like I'm getting commission here from the Adelaide Crows store.
• 4:14
  But no, it's not, it's not about that, but yeah, the rivalry between Adelaide and the particularly Melbourne teams with Aussie rules football is huge.
• 4:21
  So like you say, Vancouver, Toronto, it's, it's Adelaide, Melbourne with that.
• 4:25
  also Melbourne, Sydney to a degree, but rugby is the code, which you'd know best from anywhere north of Sydney ultimately is rugby and everywhere else is Aussie rules.
• 4:35
  Yeah.
• 4:35
  So just, just a bit of background again, our chat today is obviously to talk about the state and why to go there, but also, you know, a broader conversation and a good cultural
• 4:45
  thing about Australia too is as Jason mentioned, rugby is what I grew up with rugby union.
• 4:50
  If you're going to break it down into an exact, and then we have rugby league.
• 4:53
  So rugby league is more like American football as in carry the ball, get tackled, stop, albeit quicker than American football and play on again.
• 5:01
  Rugby union is more of a free flowing game.
• 5:03
  In that respect, you get tackled and the ball still in action, so to speak.
• 5:08
  Aussie rules is generally paid by guys six foot four and taller because the core of that game is kicking primarily on a much bigger field and pitch as well.
• 5:18
  And it was historically when I was growing up, Aussie rules was very much Melbourne, Victoria, Adelaide, South Australia, Perth, Western Australia game.
• 5:29
  That was it.
• 5:29
  ah And then probably over the last 20 odd
• 5:33
  25 years, I think it started with Sydney adopting an Aussie rules team called the Swans, Sydney Swans.
• 5:39
  And now my understanding is Aussie rules is as big as the other two codes throughout all of Australia now.
• 5:45
  So now Jason back on the crow thing is the crows is the team or is that because we have terminology for everyone from different States, people from Queensland, uh banana vendors.
• 5:58
  I can't remember what the New South Wales is Is the crow just, is that a slang for a
• 6:03
  So I'm from South Australia or is that just the name of the team?
• 6:10
  But the
• 6:10
  colours are actually the colours of South Australia, red, yellow and blue.
• 6:14
  But there is another Australian Football League team that is based out of Adelaide, which is Port Adelaide.
• 6:21
  And they're like a teal blue colour.
• 6:23
  They're originally black and white, but they're the rival team.
• 6:27
  And yeah, we don't talk about them much.
• 6:30
  yes.
• 6:30
  So yeah, there you go.
• 6:31
  then the Port Adelaide Power.
• 6:33
  So they're just nicknames really to go with the team name.
• 6:37
  That's it.
• 6:38
  Yeah.
• 6:38
  Sometimes they mean something, sometimes they don't.
• 6:41
  So is rugby union and or league big in South as a either a participant.
• 6:47
  No, not at all.
• 6:49
  Zero.
• 6:50
  And from when I grew up, I knew nothing about it.
• 6:52
  then I think the frustrating thing for me, and if you're from Adelaide and you're from one of the Aussie rules states like South Australia, when you travel, people have no idea what
• 7:03
  you're talking about.
• 7:04
  They all think it's rugby.
• 7:05
  They go, oh, you mean rugby.
• 7:06
  I'm like, no, don't mean rugby.
• 7:07
  Like an hour talking about the difference of that before you can get to anything really, really interesting.
• 7:12
  But no, it's it is is frustrating because the crowds are bigger.
• 7:16
  than rugby these days.
• 7:18
  The only problem is that it's not an international game.
• 7:21
  So there are little spots of junior leagues and so on, which I actually helped start up one in Vancouver in 2000.
• 7:29
  The main league here now has five teams started with just myself and five other guys in 2000.
• 7:34
  Now there's a league of five teams in the Vancouver area, junior development as well.
• 7:39
  it is getting there, but yeah, it's a pity because it's a
• 7:43
  it's it's such a popular game anyway i guess we're not here to talk the whole time about
• 7:49
  Well, actually, I jump in?
• 7:52
  Yeah, from a visitor perspective, I know nothing about rugby or AFL, but I've been lucky enough to go see some Crows games in Adelaide.
• 8:03
  And it's not necessarily about the sport.
• 8:05
  It's not about the sport.
• 8:06
  It's about the cultural aspect of it.
• 8:08
  And it's kind of the equivalent of if somebody was up in Vancouver and you took them to a Canucks game, or if you're in the States, an NFL game.
• 8:15
  Like it's such a...
• 8:17
  an event.
• 8:18
  People are just screaming.
• 8:20
  You go into the stadium, there's 50,000 people yelling and screaming.
• 8:23
  And I always tell this, my story, my experience of going in there.
• 8:27
  And again, I don't know what's going on, but around you, people kind of, they hear your accent and they see you kind of looking lost and they start talking to you and explaining
• 8:35
  the rules.
• 8:36
  then the joke being that by the end of the game, you've got 50,000, friends buying you beer.
• 8:42
  So, you know, I told that story to some guy and I think it was at ATE.
• 8:47
  back in 2018.
• 8:49
  And um I ran into him like a month or two later back in the States.
• 8:54
  And he said, you know what happened to me?
• 8:56
  And after hearing about the, the AFL experience, so I went down to the stadium, there's a game that night and he was walking around by himself and he saw this woman and her child
• 9:05
  walked by and he had the, the boy had a little scarf on much like Jason.
• 9:10
  And so he stopped the woman and said, do you know where I can get tickets?
• 9:15
  And she's like,
• 9:16
  Oh, you're American.
• 9:18
  Never been to a game before.
• 9:19
  So it turns out her husband was the president of the fan club.
• 9:22
  So she rang him, brought him up to a box and took him in and everything.
• 9:26
  that's, I mean, great experience, but I bring it back to the tourism story for South Australia.
• 9:31
  That's what South Australia is all about.
• 9:33
  It's just these little personal moments.
• 9:36
  You can't script them.
• 9:37
  It's just natural welcoming people.
• 9:39
  I mean, that's what makes South Australia amazing.
• 9:42
  Yeah.
• 9:42
  And that's actually, I was going to, I was going to wrap up this little conversation with exactly what you just said.
• 9:47
  it's that, um, going to a local sports event anywhere in the world is a real insight into local culture and people and stuff like that.
• 9:55
  Um, so going to an AFL game, as Jason mentioned, the crowds are huge, very much on par with what you would expect at a U S, um, NFL games, something like that, you know, pack
• 10:05
  stadiums where the other codes don't quite fill up like that.
• 10:09
  Um, yeah, it's a truly Aussie experience, be it South Australian, be it Victorian, WA, New South Wales.
• 10:14
  Um, so I highly recommend when you're looking at, uh, building an itinerary to South Australia, try and find out if you're there in the season time and go to a game.
• 10:23
  Like it's a really good afternoon, evening, um, social event.
• 10:27
  Um, and I just want to jump back to something Jason mentioned very earlier when he was pointing to his jersey that he's wearing.
• 10:33
  He referred to it as a Jason.
• 10:37
  No, no, or it is indigenous to when you're wearing a jumper.
• 10:41
  That's number now that's an Australian ism for a Jersey, Peter sports Jersey, or if it's cold, like it is here in Toronto right now, if you put on a sweater or a fleece, are we
• 10:51
  Aussies call them and the English call them a jumper, just in case anyone was wondering.
• 10:56
  So on a more sort of practical point of view, can you tell our listening audience where South Australia is located within the continent of Australia, please?
• 11:05
  Sure.
• 11:06
  Well, the name says it all.
• 11:07
  It's in the south of the country.
• 11:09
  South and the center.
• 11:11
  it's actually just for fun, fun games.
• 11:15
  It's a big, big state.
• 11:16
  It's about twice the size of Texas and only 2 million people.
• 11:20
  And you got about 70 % of those people living in Adelaide.
• 11:23
  So I know Don, you're from one of the bigger cities in Australia and there are great experiences, but South Australia is not that.
• 11:31
  And that's what makes it great.
• 11:33
  Yeah, it is a much smaller city, relatively speaking, to our bigger ones, which would be probably Sydney and Melbourne on par with each other, then Brisbane.
• 11:41
  And then you get into the small cities like Adelaide, Perth and Darwin, which would be more still.
• 11:47
  And just on the stats that Ernst brought up, I've got it here in front of me.
• 11:49
  So there's about 70 % of South Australians living in or around Adelaide, but only six, or let's say 7 % of the entire population of Australia live in South Australia.
• 12:02
  So it's very sparsely populated, as is the country, because it's so big.
• 12:06
  And I think probably I think it's 90 to 92 percent of people live on the coastal fringes of of Australia in general.
• 12:14
  Adelaide, guys, is it a port town like most cities are in Australia?
• 12:20
  Yep.
• 12:21
  Yeah.
• 12:21
  And then what do you mean by a poor town?
• 12:23
  Well, it's basically by the water, I guess is what I'm saying.
• 12:27
  Yeah.
• 12:27
  Oh,
• 12:27
  yeah.
• 12:28
  I mean, there's beaches nearby, Glenelg is just a tram ride out from the city centre and you can be there sun tanning and enjoying all that outdoor experience.
• 12:43
  They're still calling it that.
• 12:45
  So, but they still complain about traffic, but not like we're used to in North America.
• 12:49
  So it's a 20 minute city means that if you're in the city center, it's 20 minutes to the beaches.
• 12:54
  It's 20 minutes to the.
• 12:57
  Everything is kind of like 20 minutes out from the city.
• 13:00
  And so it's been called this 20 minutes city.
• 13:02
  So yeah, port town shore.
• 13:05
  It does have cruise ships that now go in there occasionally.
• 13:09
  um There is Port Adelaide, but again, we don't try not, I try not to talk about Port Adelaide too much because of the football element, but that is a port, but there's a lot
• 13:19
  of history there.
• 13:20
  um Maritime history, there's submarines that actually are built in that area as well.
• 13:26
  in Australia.
• 13:27
  that's something that not everyone knows.
• 13:29
  But it's it's yeah, it's quite a big hub for submarines.
• 13:32
  um But yeah, yeah, 20 minute city.
• 13:36
  Okay, so here, just on the subject of history, here's a few other, uh well, historical facts and other geographical facts.
• 13:45
  South Australia is the only state in Australia that borders every other state or territory with two exceptions.
• 13:52
  One is the ACT, Australian Capital Territory, which is where Australia's capital is.
• 14:01
  Back in the colonial days, there was an argument between Sydney and Melbourne who should be the capital.
• 14:06
  They came to a happy medium, built a city halfway between both, is ACT, Australian Capital Territory.
• 14:12
  And of course it does not border for the audience out there, Tasmania, which is an island in the bottom of the country.
• 14:21
  And it's also from a historical point of view, and I didn't know this and I'm into my Australian history, obviously not well enough.
• 14:27
  Most people will know that Australia was founded as a penal colony.
• 14:30
  ah But quite quickly that was overridden by free.
• 14:35
  settlers coming to Australia for the abundance of resources and potential uh prosperous futures.
• 14:42
  So as such, Adelaide and in turn the state of South Australia was not founded as a penal settlement, it was founded solely as a free settlers, well, settlement.
• 14:53
  So that's something rather interesting about it.
• 14:56
  um
• 14:58
  Again, I mentioned that a lot of Australian cities are coastal as Adelaide is.
• 15:04
  outside of Adelaide, from a general geographical point of view, as you go north, because Adelaide is at the southernmost, well, southernmost port, but southern South Australia.
• 15:12
  So as you go north, do you like most of the coastal towns go from sort of green hills, rich soil into desert and what people know as the red center or the red redness of
• 15:25
  Australia?
• 15:27
  Yeah, so the it's very lush and green and Adelaide and then, you know, it's surrounded by vineyards, you know, Barossa, McClaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and all that.
• 15:40
  And then you keep going north and you will get in the outback fairly quickly, like relative to most other parts of Australia.
• 15:46
  And that's one of the things I think a lot of North Americans don't understand is how big Australia is.
• 15:51
  And when they talk about
• 15:53
  going to the outback because everybody wants to go to the outback.
• 15:56
  They don't realize that it can take a long time.
• 15:58
  So from Adelaide though, it's a little more accessible than for most other parts of the country.
• 16:03
  It's about a Jason four and a half hour drive, 45 minute flight, and you're going to be in the Flinders ranges.
• 16:10
  But when I've gone, I've done the drive and I love road trips.
• 16:14
  It's amazing.
• 16:14
  Like, you know, the landscape changes and all that stuff.
• 16:17
  But you start to see the ruins of the homesteads as you go up into the outback and
• 16:22
  Um, you know, the thing I like is, you you got to stop and get gas at some point.
• 16:27
  You got to go to the bathroom at some point.
• 16:29
  And it seems like, you know, almost every gas station has a little pub in the back or adjacent to it.
• 16:34
  When you go in, when you go inside to pay, um, everybody hears your accent and in the back, they stopped drinking, people perk up and they want to talk to you because, you
• 16:43
  know, they haven't talked to anybody forever and they hear the accent and it's just really cool.
• 16:48
  And you sit down have a beer with the locals.
• 16:50
  That's, that's again.
• 16:51
  what I love about South Austria.
• 16:53
  Yeah, it's not that any other state isn't as friendly, but I find to from my experience down there, even as an Aussie, that it seems so much more congenial and welcoming than the
• 17:05
  other.
• 17:06
  Well, the ones I was used to Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
• 17:09
  Again, not to say that the other those other three states are not welcoming.
• 17:12
  They are.
• 17:12
  Aussies are very, very friendly.
• 17:14
  But again, I guess in a very generalization point of view, I don't mean this in any insulting way, because I actually meant as a compliment, you get to South Australia and
• 17:22
  Adelaide and it's around just like a big country town compared to the big bustling city.
• 17:26
  So it's even more laid back if that's possible than all the other states.
• 17:30
  And turns point that all your two stories of the going to the AFL game, your friend.
• 17:35
  And then when you go into a local pub somewhere, yeah, people are happy to have a chat.
• 17:39
  You know, they're interested in you and you know, where you come from and all that type of stuff.
• 17:44
  um, it takes, doesn't take away from our other States in Australia, but I think that's one of the highlights of, uh, the South Australia.
• 17:51
  So Don, just quickly, because having Ernst here saying that as a North American accent,
• 18:00
  Um, being, being from there.
• 18:02
  And so when I go back there, I have the accent already.
• 18:04
  I mean, comes back.
• 18:06
  So I haven't really had those experiences where people are, you've got a different accent.
• 18:10
  So it's actually great to hear that that is, that is happening.
• 18:13
  It doesn't surprise me at all.
• 18:14
  Cause yeah, they have the friendliest people in Australia.
• 18:18
  Absolutely.
• 18:19
  Well, think it's also funny growing up.
• 18:23
  Jason, you can probably attest this as well.
• 18:25
  When we were both growing up, I'm a little bit older than you, but still, you know, Australia is geographically a long way away.
• 18:30
  And we always felt that we were removed from what was happening in the world.
• 18:34
  Now, that's changed over the years as Australia became the flavor of the month and the eighties and stuff like that.
• 18:39
  But there's always been that interest in the world by Australians across the board.
• 18:44
  Most young Australians will travel extensively because they want to experience the rest of the world because we are so remote.
• 18:49
  But I think probably one of reasons South Australia hangs on to that, again, generalized term, innocence in a way, is that the other states, Brisbane, Queensland, New South Wales
• 19:00
  and Victoria, get the bulk of the tourism.
• 19:03
  So Ernst, is it fair to say from a tourism point of view and from your role that you are, again, not fighting against those other states, but often South Australians overlook when
• 19:13
  people look for a trip to Australia?
• 19:16
  say we're fighting, I'd say we're more complementary to what they have to offer.
• 19:20
  uh We always like to call it the artisan Australia.
• 19:26
  personal and unscripted and just very, very natural.
• 19:32
  But you're right.
• 19:32
  We only see about five to six percent of North Americans who come over to Australia.
• 19:39
  And I think that surprises people because, know, it's a pretty, it sounds like a very small amount, but the people we attract tend to be the ones who want to go beyond the
• 19:49
  usual and, you know, to use the cliche, get off the beaten path.
• 19:54
  And from a
• 19:56
  itinerary perspective, like it almost seems to be a great way to wrap up, to put at the end of an itinerary, because a lot of people, when they go the first time, they want to
• 20:06
  see Sydney and the rock and the reef, and then they get over the jet lag and they get on the ground and they're like, I'm comfortable here, I can feel it.
• 20:16
  Then they're ready for something a little different.
• 20:18
  And South Australia put that at the end of the itinerary and then they feel like, ah, this is what.
• 20:23
  I was coming to see and to meet the people, to see the wildlife, to be in the nature.
• 20:28
  Again, get away from what they get at home.
• 20:34
  Okay, that's interesting.
• 20:36
  So on a comparison, because I was having this conversation with someone upstairs about an itinerary and finishing with a bang in a certain country.
• 20:47
  So when people think of Australia, as you said, rock, reef, big cities, Sydney, Melbourne, they're the sort of big four, I guess.
• 20:53
  um What does Adelaide, sorry, Adelaide, well, Adelaide itself, but what does South Australia have on those big sites that you would list alongside
• 21:04
  Rafe Rock and City.
• 21:07
  uh Well, I would say we're the wow state.
• 21:11
  Wildlife out back in line.
• 21:13
  That's what we do.
• 21:14
  Wildlife out back in line.
• 21:16
  to go back to that earlier point we mentioned about the country being so big, all of that stuff is easily accessed in and around Adelaide.
• 21:24
  again, North Americans, when they come over, we don't have a lot of time to take vacations.
• 21:31
  maybe two weeks, maybe three weeks.
• 21:33
  And I think a lot of the advisors and reservations agents are accustomed to getting these crazy requests from clients who, you know, they want to go to see all the icons.
• 21:44
  They want to come down to Kangaroo Island.
• 21:46
  They want to go to Perth and they want to throw in New Zealand.
• 21:49
  And then the client will say, I've got 13 days.
• 21:53
  It just doesn't work.
• 21:54
  with Adelaide, you can have those wow moments and not spend all your time traveling.
• 22:05
  in the destination specialist seat selling a journey to Australia.
• 22:10
  First time to Australia.
• 22:12
  Do you think you could convince them to forgo the other big sites and do just South Australia in their first week?
• 22:19
  do you think I know Ernst is sitting here and of course he would like to say yes, South Australia first, go there.
• 22:26
  But we have to be true to what people are going to say and request to our travel professionals out there.
• 22:32
  with South Australia, I'll throw this at Jason, but I think Ernst, you can
• 22:35
  I'm going jump in here as well.
• 22:36
  South Australia more than likely be a second time visit for someone going to Down Under.
• 22:42
  I think it depends what they're going for, but I think em initially that they're coming, they're going to Australia because of those, big iconic places, which I think if I was
• 22:55
  trying to sell South Australia to them, I would basically say you can still do them because really they're on the way or on the way back anyway to North America.
• 23:03
  Cause in most cases you need to fly via somewhere from Adelaide to get to North America.
• 23:09
  um except for the new United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Adelaide non-stop by the way, just a little plug there for United Airlines.
• 23:18
  you've got Air Canada and you've got Qantas and all of those that fly through um the East Coast of Australia or Air New Zealand through New Zealand.
• 23:32
  LA, Auckland or Vancouver, Auckland, Adelaide, because that's a nonstop.
• 23:36
  um But point of this is that if you come via the East Coast of Australia, which you could likely do that and you could just just that make that your route.
• 23:46
  Absolutely.
• 23:47
  You can still do Sydney, do the Harbour Bridge, do the Opera House and then go to Adelaide.
• 23:52
  You could come back through Melbourne, see Melbourne.
• 23:55
  So it's actually a really good little triangle the way that I would look at it.
• 24:01
  and I would sell Adelaide as being different because it is a slower pace.
• 24:04
  um If they are interested in wineries, they should be thinking of that as number one.
• 24:12
  Again, biased, but I also lived really close to the Barossa Valley.
• 24:16
  So you've got Wolf Blast.
• 24:17
  I used to live on Penfolds Road, by the way, because there's two Penfolds in the Adelaide area and Adelaide Hills.
• 24:24
  um So
• 24:26
  That's, I would consider that being the number one region for wineries in Australia.
• 24:31
  And then of course you've got the Yarra out of Melbourne, you've got the Hunter Valley out of Sydney, and you've got Market River out of Perth.
• 24:36
  But again, if I was selling this to someone that wanted to see wineries, yes.
• 24:41
  If they want to see nature, something different, why not something like Kangaroo Island, um Flinders Ranges, which all is Adelaide as well, and quite easy to access.
• 24:56
  Ultimately, would throw it in there.
• 24:58
  Personally, I would always throw it in because it is a little different.
• 25:01
  But you're going to get those people that that want to see the iconic places.
• 25:04
  And then, yeah, maybe it's a second trip or third trip.
• 25:07
  And I think that's what happens a lot with South Australia is it does get overlooked.
• 25:12
  But if you ask my parents who are still around, they would say they love the fact that gets overlooked because it's a secret.
• 25:20
  They don't want people to know about Adelaide, South Australia, because it's such a great
• 25:26
  place to live and be without it growing too much.
• 25:30
  I think it has the least amount of percentage of growth out of all the cities in Australia.
• 25:36
  It is only increased, I think it's 10 % over the last 15 years or something.
• 25:42
  It's 1.3 million people.
• 25:43
  When I grew up there, was
• 25:49
  And Perth, for example, has doubled.
• 25:51
  So um it's strange why it hasn't.
• 25:54
  It hasn't grown, but it's a good thing too.
• 25:56
  And that's what makes it amazing when you travel and visit there too.
• 25:58
  Anyway.
• 26:00
  So it was good.
• 26:02
  Just don't tell your parents about this podcast.
• 26:04
  I have two questions for you.
• 26:07
  The first one is back to what Jason started his long answer with.
• 26:10
  uh How do people get to Adelaide?
• 26:14
  You did mention Jason, a direct flight United Airlines.
• 26:18
  What are the other options to get into Adelaide?
• 26:22
  for me?
• 26:24
  Sure, I mean there's loads of uh air routes you can fly but I think a particularly popular way of getting there beyond flying is to go along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne uh
• 26:38
  and it's you know the the Great Ocean Road one of the best drives you could ever have in the world uh and when you get into South Australia though it takes you along the limestone
• 26:47
  coast which is fantastic and I was actually there for the first time
• 26:51
  maybe three weeks ago.
• 26:52
  And Limestone Coast, it's really known for uh the Kunawara wine region.
• 26:57
  uh But it's just this really cool lifestyle.
• 27:02
  And the scenery is beautiful.
• 27:03
  um But I went with a tour operator, Kunawara Experiences, who's kind of knit all these little different experiences together.
• 27:12
  So we met with an Aboriginal guide, Uncle Ken, who told us about the history of the people along the way.
• 27:18
  We went for a lunch
• 27:21
  at a farm where Rwanda, where they, was like a working farm and in the wool shed, they'd set up a long table and the proprietors, like they live a hundred meters away in their
• 27:35
  home.
• 27:36
  She made lunch in her home, brought it over there for us.
• 27:39
  And as we're eating like 20 feet away, they're shearing sheep.
• 27:42
  It was just a really magical thing.
• 27:45
  And that, I mean, that was just an amazing um part of the state that I hadn't seen before.
• 27:50
  experience and again that personal sort of thing.
• 27:52
  So my long answer, to boil it down short, is driving along the great ocean road through the limestone coast is a fantastic way to experience the state.
• 28:00
  Now another, I'm testing my memory here.
• 28:03
  Another way to get in and out of Adelaide and connecting other states is the GARN, which is the train that runs north south.
• 28:11
  So that's from Adelaide up to Darwin.
• 28:13
  And of course, I believe the Indian Pacific, which runs from Perth to Sydney runs via Adelaide.
• 28:18
  Is that correct, Ernst?
• 28:20
  Yeah.
• 28:21
  So you have two of the most famous rail journeys in the world, uh which run right through the heart of, well, run up.
• 28:28
  up the middle of South Australia heading north and or across East West on the Indian Pacific.
• 28:33
  So that's other ways to either get in and out and or enjoy the country of Australia as well as the state of South Australia.
• 28:41
  Yeah, please.
• 28:48
  Wow
• 28:49
  He's one of the designers of the carriages and the carriages are the same for both in the Pacific and the Gann.
• 28:54
  So there you go.
• 28:56
  So history with it.
• 28:58
  Wow, that's fantastic.
• 29:00
  Now, also jumping back to the historical part of things too, as the colony of Australia or New South Wales, because South Australia, most of Australia was known as New South Wales
• 29:10
  in the early days of the original colony.
• 29:11
  ah As things developed, technology happened, Australia, communications with the mother nation, uh England, would take up to six months with ships being, know, mail, et cetera,
• 29:22
  like that.
• 29:23
  So they then built the telegraph, which started out of Adelaide.
• 29:26
  They built the telegraph line out of Adelaide North.
• 29:29
  up into what is Alice Springs and eventually into Darwin.
• 29:32
  And then they ran the underground cables from Darwin across the oceans to to Europe.
• 29:38
  So the gown sort of follows that line generally as well going north south.
• 29:44
  And again, another famous thing, Adelaide, that's where the the Telegraph started from.
• 29:49
  I read a really good book about if anyone's interested in it, it's quite fascinating.
• 29:52
  My other question for you was hearing, as I said, I am somewhat
• 29:57
  ignorant of what all the South Australia has to offer other than, you know, the big classics, the wine, et cetera.
• 30:03
  Um, but it sounds to me as you're describing South Africa, South, I just said South Africa.
• 30:08
  Yeah.
• 30:09
  Yeah, right.
• 30:10
  South Australia is that it, it's like a microcosm of all of Australia.
• 30:16
  You can see or experience the wild, as you mentioned before, was it, uh, what were your three W's?
• 30:25
  so well, wow.
• 30:26
  Wow.
• 30:26
  Yeah.
• 30:27
  Yeah, so you can sample all of Australia within within the one state.
• 30:31
  And again, it's still a big state.
• 30:33
  But compared to going, say, from Sydney to Uluru up to uh Cairns, it's a much more concentrated area to discover.
• 30:43
  So is that a fair statement that you could sort of get a good sampling of all Australia has to offer within the state of South Australia?
• 30:51
  Absolutely.
• 30:52
  I mean, as Jason said, it really will depend on the kind of traveler and what experiences they're looking for.
• 30:57
  But there's so much you can do in South Australia and you won't be bored.
• 31:03
  It's like, it's just, there's always something to discover.
• 31:06
  I'm lucky enough to get down there probably two or three times a year.
• 31:10
  And often I'll go to places I've been to before, but...
• 31:15
  There's almost something new you come back with, you know, and you just have this, oh man, I learned something.
• 31:20
  I did something different.
• 31:21
  I met somebody.
• 31:24
  Yep.
• 31:29
  One of the things that I just did in August when I went to visit my family, and I know that I'm okay talking about this because we are now selling this, is a safari park.
• 31:39
  So Monato in the Adelaide Hills is actually the largest safari park outside of Africa in the world.
• 31:47
  um And it's been around for, I think it's 30 or 40 years or something.
• 31:52
  So it's been there a long time.
• 31:54
  It has giraffes and um cheetahs and...
• 31:58
  whole bunch of animals from Africa and those that need to be protected that have difficulties being protected in Africa were moved to this park but they just built a
• 32:10
  resort there so it's Monato Safari Resort is fantastic the structure is amazing you have this water hole view from your
• 32:31
  sort of thing.
• 32:32
  Well, actually, you could get South Africa in South Australia.
• 32:36
  um Really, if you look at it that way.
• 32:38
  But it's that's pretty amazing.
• 32:40
  And it's also, you know, there are parts of Africa.
• 32:43
  I mean, we love Africa, but there are parts of Africa that are not so open to all people.
• 32:47
  um But South Australia is so there are those those parts of uh
• 32:55
  parts of life, those people out there that can't visit certain places in the world based on laws in their country.
• 33:02
  South Australia is not like that.
• 33:03
  So it's open to everybody.
• 33:05
  And if you want to go to a safari outside of Africa, I know it's a small, small part of it.
• 33:10
  It's not it's nothing like that, essentially.
• 33:13
  But I did it myself.
• 33:14
  I did a nighttime safari in a little Jeep thing.
• 33:17
  And it's getting even better in.
• 33:23
  Why not?
• 33:23
  And that's something that not everyone knows is there and that we can sell into as well.
• 33:29
  Okay.
• 33:30
  So on the wildlife front, from a more indigenous point of view, I guess one of the more famous areas close to Adelaide on that 20 minute aspect that Jason discussed would be
• 33:39
  Kangaroo Island.
• 33:40
  So what can people see and do on Kangaroo Island?
• 33:43
  And when it comes to wildlife in South Australia, what are the options available for people?
• 33:48
  Oh my God.
• 33:49
  It's a kangaroo island.
• 33:50
  again, the name says it all.
• 33:52
  It's amazing.
• 33:53
  As I said, very close to Adelaide, 20 minute flight, or you can take a ferry in an hour and 45 minutes.
• 34:00
  The wildlife experience there is great because it's, I think when you're just talking about your African safaris, it's like the Australian safari experience.
• 34:09
  So kangaroo island, it's about the size of Puerto Rico, so quite big.
• 34:13
  Maybe a few thousand people live there.
• 34:15
  It's a farming community, but like,
• 34:18
  Thousands hundreds of thousands million animals everywhere kangaroos koala seal sea lions hundreds of bird species um Penguins and they what makes it a little different though is
• 34:31
  all these animals are roaming everywhere freely it's not like you have to go to one place to find them where they're penned in they're just everywhere and um There are no natural
• 34:41
  predators on the island so
• 34:44
  That means two things.
• 34:45
  The animals, breed like crazy and that's why there's millions of them.
• 34:49
  secondly, without predators there, the animals aren't scared of anything.
• 34:54
  they're even people.
• 34:55
  So you get really close to them.
• 34:58
  uh You know, the kangaroos will be grazing around you, like, you know, within feet of you.
• 35:05
  And it's not like there's breadcrumbs luring them there or anything like that.
• 35:08
  They're just doing what they do.
• 35:10
  You have koalas hanging over your head.
• 35:13
  looking at you, have seals coming up to you on the beach and it's just really, really powerful.
• 35:20
  everybody's like, oh, does anything want to eat me?
• 35:23
  I'm like, no, no, no.
• 35:23
  Kangaroo Island is very docile wildlife.
• 35:27
  ah Nothing dangerous.
• 35:29
  It's just a really neat experience to see these animals in the being, and you can be part of that.
• 35:36
  Yeah, so again, that goes to the point that you can get a microcosm of wildlife in the state of South Australia.
• 35:42
  um And it's all somewhat close at hand as well.
• 35:47
  um Australia originally was occupied by the Aboriginal peoples.
• 35:53
  uh They've been there for millennia.
• 35:56
  I think they're considered the oldest living humans.
• 36:00
  in the world when the white settlement came.
• 36:04
  They were pretty much stone age in their lifestyle.
• 36:07
  So they were thrust into the modern world rather quickly.
• 36:10
  Australia made some mistakes as most countries do through the colonial period, but Australia has become much more accepting and also apologetic for things done in the past.
• 36:22
  So the indigenous aspect of Australian life, the Aboriginal peoples ties to the earth.
• 36:30
  uh I was brought up with it in school.
• 36:32
  We were taught about it, dream time, all this amazing.
• 36:35
  But it's become much more prevalent in Australian society and it's becoming more more important to travellers, not just in Australia, anywhere.
• 36:44
  uh If an Indigenous culture is there, people want to learn about it and interact as much as they can.
• 36:52
  So most people immediately when they think Australia would automatically think Northern Territory.
• 36:57
  which is the geographical heart of Australia, but the Aboriginal peoples were all over the country, literally coast to the desert, which also means they're in what is now South
• 37:05
  Australia.
• 37:06
  So from a Indigenous uh vibe, Indigenous experience, I would assume there are options and things that people can partake in in South Australia.
• 37:17
  I'll leave that one to Ernst,
• 37:19
  Yeah, and you know, I'll start with a couple years ago, I was at a conference actually in Canada and one of the Canadian Aboriginal leaders was there presenting the tourism
• 37:31
  industry.
• 37:32
  And what he was saying um was, we're integral to the cultural history of the country.
• 37:38
  And as part of the tourism industry,
• 37:42
  What people want is not something that is about Aboriginals, it's by Aboriginals.
• 37:47
  And I think that what you see in the Australian tourism industry is that has really been coming up loud and clear is that the Aboriginal experiences are being led by Aboriginal
• 37:58
  people now, which makes it that much more authentic.
• 38:01
  And that's what travelers want to see.
• 38:04
  you know, in South Australia, just a couple of great ones come to mind.
• 38:10
  There's uh
• 38:11
  Sea Link works with a fellow named Mark Coolmatree who does day tours from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island.
• 38:18
  And that'll give you the Kangaroo Island experience through the lens of the Aboriginal people, which is fantastic.
• 38:25
  uh And when you get out of uh Adelaide, for example, if you go to the Murray River and the Riverland, uh the Frames is a uh luxury property up there and they work with some
• 38:36
  Aboriginal rangers to take their...
• 38:39
  guests out and understand again the land and the history of people there.
• 38:43
  ah Will Pina Pound is a resort in the Flinders Ranges which has Aboriginal uh ownership and trustees behind it.
• 38:51
  ah it's, as you said, Don, it's really integral to the history of Australia and uh just the nature of it and letting um guests come and experience that through the lands of the
• 39:04
  Aboriginal, that's what it's all about.
• 39:09
  So again, I just want to reiterate that the Aboriginal experiences should be available almost any corner of Australia because the Aboriginal people groups, I'll put up a map for
• 39:20
  those watching the video version of this, but there's a good map out there which showed the Aboriginal groups at the time of colonisation.
• 39:27
  And I can't remember the number, but it's in the thousands all over the country from coast to the desert.
• 39:34
  So...
• 39:35
  You might not see them a lot, the culture is definitely alive and thriving.
• 39:39
  And I'm really pleased to hear that through the tourism industry, it's becoming driven by the Aboriginal peoples as well as being uh a good option and choice for people when
• 39:49
  they're visiting, particularly in South Australia.
• 39:53
  OK, then is there anything Ernst you would like to add to our conversation today about South Australia that uh we may not have touched on?
• 40:01
  We are doing a webinar as well.
• 40:03
  with Ernst's colleague Abigail.
• 40:05
  So that will be coming out not sure before or after this podcast.
• 40:08
  That'll be little bit more sort of detailed on the sort of the day to day and what, you know, the model logistics.
• 40:13
  But apart from that Ernst, is there anything else you'd like to leave our listening audience with?
• 40:18
  Just you know people often will ask like when when's a good time to come?
• 40:22
  I'm just kind of stressed like it's always great um You know you can come in the in the peak season in the warmer times, which which is great the weather's awesome and
• 40:33
  So, don't interrupt.
• 40:34
  That's actually my question.
• 40:35
  You've preempted or reminded me.
• 40:37
  So, people think of Queensland as sun, which it is, Sydney oh or New South Wales.
• 40:44
  And between Melbourne has a reputation of being rainy and cold, which is not really true.
• 40:48
  But South Australia is sort of in the same geographical area.
• 40:51
  So I know you're just about to answer this.
• 40:53
  I didn't interrupt you.
• 40:54
  So just from a general weather point of view, what's it like?
• 40:57
  And then back into your response of when to go.
• 41:01
  Yeah, we will say it has a Mediterranean type climate most of the year.
• 41:07
  The summers will, you know, they will have get pretty hot at the peak times.
• 41:11
  But generally tell me if I'm wrong, Jason, but I'd say it's, you know, mid twenties to high twenties for great part of the summer.
• 41:19
  And then in the winter, maybe down to Canadian, so maybe 12 to 15 degrees.
• 41:27
  And so
• 41:28
  Like really, it's never bad weather at all.
• 41:31
  ah The advantage of coming in the off season when it's cooler is, I think for wildlife viewing, it's so much better because uh when the weather is cooler, the animals are going
• 41:41
  to be out a little more rather than, you know, when it's hot, they're going to sit in the shade and you won't spot them till dusk.
• 41:47
  But during when it's cooler, when it's a little drizzly sometimes, even on Kangaroo Island, that's a great time to be out there.
• 41:53
  And of course, like
• 41:56
  It's never crowded, but it's even less crowded at that time.
• 41:59
  And actually one thing, I'm on this rant, uh you know, the whole issue of overtourism that you hear about, really just don't have that issue in South Australia.
• 42:11
  um We're not crowded, we're not, again, overdeveloped.
• 42:14
  So um when people are coming, they're getting a very authentic experience and the people of South Australia are very welcoming to tourists.
• 42:23
  um The way it has been nurtured, the industry has nurtured it, it's been good for the residents and uh very concerned about keeping it pristine and sustainable.
• 42:36
  And it's been very well managed.
• 42:39
  So in this day and age when sustainability is always a top of mind issue, not just for the industry, but for travelers, it's important to know that South Australia is very well
• 42:50
  prepared to manage that.
• 42:53
  Excellent.
• 42:54
  Jason, any parting words for our listening audience as a true blue, true blue South Australian.
• 43:28
  that's quite famous and that's a good walk to the other end where there's the Rundle Street area, which has great pubs and great food too.
• 43:36
  Like the local food and wine is amazing.
• 43:39
  There's breweries, the beer is fantastic.
• 43:42
  um It's just, it's great for that.
• 43:44
  um So it's even got nightlife.
• 43:47
  People in Sydney, Melbourne wouldn't say that, but it does.
• 43:50
  ah But it very much has that pub sort of feel that.
• 43:54
  They've kept that very Aussie feel too.
• 43:56
  They haven't really built up a lot of buildings.
• 43:58
  So it's still got that character, those sort of old Victorian style homes and pubs.
• 44:05
  I've also heard that they've converted some churches to pubs lately.
• 44:10
  I haven't seen that myself, but I just heard that the other day.
• 44:13
  yeah, it's just a nice place uh to go.
• 44:21
  um
• 44:22
  Yeah, I don't know how I start.
• 44:24
  would say, I would say one thing about the weather.
• 44:26
  would probably, if I was avoiding any month, it could be February, tends to be the hottest month.
• 44:32
  You can get 42, 45 degrees, 110 degrees Fahrenheit-ish on the odd day.
• 44:38
  But the good thing about Adelaide is that when that happens, it can then drop back really quickly and it'll be mid-twenties for a lot of the time.
• 44:45
  And it seems to be so much for global warming because lately it seems to be not as hot as when I grew up there.
• 44:52
  I remember many days over 40 degrees in the summer and the summer would be really November.
• 44:59
  and a lot of hot days, but not so much anymore, it seems to be.
• 45:05
  A little bit more rainfall than they used to, which does make it green, because it never used to be as green as that.
• 45:09
  So it's quite interesting how things have changed since I grew up.
• 45:13
  And that's actually a good thing for me too, when I go back and I can see these changes.
• 45:16
  But yeah, great place to visit.
• 45:19
  My question, which will probably mean nothing to our North American listeners and all potential travelers.
• 45:24
  um At the moment, there's another sport in Australia called cricket, well, not just Australia.
• 45:29
  It's played heavily in Australia, England, Pakistan, India, the West Indies, Caribbean.
• 45:34
  So it's somewhat close to North America.
• 45:36
  But the Ashes, he's got a cricket ball.
• 45:38
  Look at that right on cue.
• 45:39
  ah We have the Ashes series, which is the big, big game.
• 45:45
  between England and Australia, ageing old rivals.
• 45:48
  And it's, I forgot the name of the famous cricket pitch in Adelaide.
• 45:53
  What's it called?
• 45:54
  essentially Adelaide Oval.
• 45:55
  So you can't really forget that.
• 45:56
  um Yeah, we was voted as the prettiest cricket pitch in the world.
• 46:02
  In fact, so also was Brockton Oval in Vancouver, by the way.
• 46:06
  So not a lot of people know that, but Donald Bradman, who played in Adelaide, most famous cricket of all time, actually came to Vancouver.
• 46:15
  He was from New South Wales, I believe, but he played for South Australia for many, many years.
• 46:21
  he's...
• 46:21
  Yeah.
• 46:22
  And there's a museum at the library in Adelaide.
• 46:24
  By the way, I'm throwing all these things that I've just read.
• 46:28
  So Adelaide Oval, yes, has been voted as being the pretty much the most prettiest oval, cricket oval in the world.
• 46:35
  And it has a big church behind it.
• 46:38
  And it's got the Adelaide Hills in the distance and it's right in the city center.
• 46:42
  Another thing that just I just heard about too, was that the Mortlock Library, which if you imagine Harry Potter's library, it kind of looks like that right in the
• 46:51
  Centre of Adelaide at the Adelaide library, the South Australian library.
• 46:55
  It was also voted the prettiest library in the world recently.
• 46:59
  don't know who, you know, on Facebook and things like that.
• 47:02
  But I was surprised to see it there.
• 47:03
  But I do love it in there.
• 47:04
  And there's these little treasures of places like that that are like the best in the world.
• 47:08
  ah Adelaide people like to say that we have the best this in the world, especially my parents.
• 47:13
  ah But yeah, it's um those kind of things are a little surprises that your clients can find out about.
• 47:21
  visiting there.
• 47:22
  But yeah, there you go.
• 47:24
  again, think you've summed up South Australia.
• 47:26
  It's got all these little hidden treasures that most people will not know about.
• 47:29
  Some less known than others, like Adelaide Over and the Moatlock Library.
• 47:33
  To probably better known, but still not as famous, probably again, not the right word, is Kangaroo Island.
• 47:41
  And you've got all the vineyards and stuff like that as well.
• 47:44
  So I'm going to jump back to my question I had to Ernst earlier before that South Australia, I'm talking to our travel professionals out there.
• 47:52
  It's a good way to see all of Australia in one state uh reasonably easily, reasonably quickly, i.e.
• 47:59
  distances between each other.
• 48:01
  Again, South Australia, as Ernst mentioned, is twice as big as Texas, so it's still a big area.
• 48:06
  But comparatively speaking to all of Australia and other states, you can get a lot done in a short period of time.
• 48:13
  I think we have conceded though that it'll be very difficult to have someone only do South Australia on a first trip.
• 48:18
  But to Jason's point,
• 48:19
  It's quite easily added on.
• 48:21
  you don't do all of South Australia, definitely get Adelaide in there as part of one of your city stops.
• 48:27
  Because again, as Jason said, on your way home or on your way in, you'll go via the more famous cities being Melbourne, Sydney, and even Brisbane.
• 48:34
  definitely, and we do have, and the reason I of lay it out in this way is GoA has many, many repeat clients going back to the same countries.
• 48:45
  And Australia has historically been one that we've had.
• 48:48
  people visit at least twice, three, four, five times.
• 48:51
  And sometimes you get New Zealand wrapped into those return visits.
• 48:54
  So definitely look at South Australia.
• 48:56
  If you're talking to one of your travelers wanting to go back to Australia for something different, the wow aspect of it, look to South Australia as a suggestion to them to
• 49:07
  easily, I don't want to say chew up, but use three, you two weeks just within one state.
• 49:13
  And there's lots to see and do as you've
• 49:15
  today, lots of ways to get in and out, direct flights in.
• 49:18
  Driving is a great option for Australia in general, but obviously South Australia would be a good thing.
• 49:23
  And again, two of the classic rail journeys in the world, Indian Pacific and the Ghan, go right through the heart of South Australia and into Adelaide.
• 49:32
  So on that note, ah I'd like to thank Ernst for his time coming from, is it sunny in Vancouver guys?
• 49:38
  No, it's not sunny here either.
• 49:44
  It's raining.
• 49:45
  That's very Vancouverish.
• 49:47
  Okay.
• 49:47
  So it's probably not as cold as it here, but anyway, thank you both for your time today.
• 49:52
  Appreciate it.
• 49:52
  I think Jason's heading off on a sales calls and stuff in Edmonton this afternoon or somewhere North of Vancouver.
• 49:58
  I'm going to walk home in the cold.
• 50:01
  And as always, thank you very much for listening in today.
• 50:03
  We appreciate you giving us your time, knowing how busy your days are.
• 50:07
  So thanks everyone.
• 50:09
  And until next time.
• 50:12
  Thank you.