> > by Tricia Welsh
Just 20 minutes by car from Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills could be another world away. These undulating hills are dotted with picturesque villages interspersed with market gardens, orchards, long-established formal gardens and myriad vineyards producing quality wines.
Stay in new apartment-style accommodation and dine at the very central and stylish Stirling Hotel – a cross between country classic and city chic. Pick your own cherries on a ‘cherry trail’ of orchards and farm-gates in the hills – plus raspberries, figs, strawberries, apples, peaches, plums and apricots in season. Learn how to make your own home-style cheese with an interactive cheese-making class at Udder Delights in Hahndorf (includes lunch with wine) or book into a gourmet cooking class at the Sticky Rice Cooking School in Stirling with perhaps Christine Manfield, David Thompson or Kurma Dasa. Stroll in the beautiful Botanic Gardens at Mt Lofty, enjoy a flight of wines at Shaw & Smith winery and book Sunday lunch at The Lane with fabulous vineyard views.