Invited by Mitsubishi to skip one city for another, I packed my bags and hit the road. The destination in mind? Adelaide Hills. Of course, travelling in style means taking the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid for a spin, because what's sexier than a car built with the environment in mind? With a packed itinerary and two days to kill, I wove my way through the Adelaide Hills. Here's how it went.
Stay
I sliced through the city from the airport and drove the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV up the winding roads of the Adelaide Hills to the top of Mount Lofty. Verdant and spacious, the world is quiet in this part of town. Mount Lofty House, where I spent the night, is drenched in old world charm and sumptuous to the brim. There's a pool and despite not packing a swimsuit and the weather being a frosty 12 degrees, I still think I would've had a dip just to enjoy the views. Vineyards flank the property, as do the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens, and across the road sits Gatekeeper's Day Spa, if you want to put your pedal to the metal and really relax.
Do
Like all moral-of-the-stories, travelling around Adelaide is not about where you go but rather, how you get there. Strapped into my own Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid for the trip, in its Red Diamond colourway, I was off to a good start. The car was quiet as a mouse and the directions appearing on the windscreen made me feel as if I'd slipped into a video game-spaceship-cyber reality.
When I arrived at Mount Lofty House, I was welcomed to Kaurna Country by Uncle Mickey Kumatpi Marrutya O'Brien with a smoking ceremony, where he shared the story about the giant Nganno.
Between meals overlooking the Piccadilly Valley at Hardy's Verandah Restaurant, exploring the various walking tracks within Cleland National Park and treatments at Gatekeeper's Day Spa, there really is no reason to leave Mount Lofty House. But if you did want to break out of your bubble, why not make your way to Jurlique to experience the botanical beauty label in the flesh. Otherwise, R.M Williams is nearby too, if you wanted to familiarise yourself with another iconic Australian brand.
For lunch on my final day in Adelaide, I dined at Sidewood, where we sabred too many bottles of sparkling for people who had an airport to drive to. If I was in Adelaide again, I would be sure to stop past Never Never Distillery and spend some time at Leigh Street Wine Room too.
Take
One must always pack a bag that measures up to the destination. For a place as luxe as Mount Lofty, I added Susanne Kaufmann's Glow Mask to slather on, in my mind, between activities while lounging in bathrobe and slippers. However, due to a tight schedule the occasion did not present itself, and instead I ended up calling upon my mask to revive a tired mug, which worked a treat. Warm clothes are a must too, and I ended up leaning heavily on this RM Williams Gower Coat gifted from Mitsubishi, which kept me snug when evening temperatures dropped into the single digits.
Less of a "what to take" but true to form, I had packed a faulty iPhone charger, which would have thrown a spanner in the works if it weren't for the wireless charger in the Outlander topping up my battery every drive. And I'll never get on an airplane without a good book. This time around it was Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy.
