Do You Know Adelaide's Best Kept Secret?
The phrase
Adelaide's Best Kept Secret gets bandied around far too often. And ironically, a place that trumpets this loudly is no longer secret by definition.
The claims
This ubiquitous tag is particularly well favoured by real estate agents - there are thousands of Google search results for houses and apartments for sale or rent that are ABKS. Perhaps the owners hope that the Taxation Office won't notice the transaction?
There are also some rather more unusual (but still questionable)
best kept secrets in Adelaide. A tourist
commented that
Hallett Cove Conservation Park fits the bill, but that's excusable as he probably couldn't find it on public transport.
Colourful Sombreros at Chilli Mojo
An ardent
chilli lover described
Chilli Mojo as ABKS. While it isn't as well known as it could be, it is only a short trip up Magill Road and doesn't require an arduous trip across the Simpson Desert to find it.
One of our writers innocently asked whether
Patritti Wines might qualify. As it has been trading successfully since 1926 I fear that news of this establishment has somehow spread on the grape vine - and maybe even been bottled by now.
Could a Bakery Be Our Best Kept Secret?
A candidate with some merit to make the claim is Kronpuss Cakes, who proudly claim to be Adelaide's best kept secret
for 50 years on a poster. I confess that I had never heard of them before in my life, but I do wonder whether it is a good marketing strategy.
The Riverdell Spiritual Centre also
are said to be ABKS, At least if you're a believer then you can pray for guidance to find them in their near country home.
A
spray tanning salon, a female escort, and
Pinup Fashion boutique are just a few of many businesses and restaurants to announce how hard they are to find. If so, it is somewhat surprising that they are still in business!
The Altitude Wing of iStay Towers Over the Surrounding Streets
One of the more
curious claims to be ABKS is for the Altitude apartments, part of the iStay precinct in Adelaide. After all, this building towers 60 metres above nearby Light Square and boasts 19 levels. I'm really struggling to understand how anyone can think that this enormous building has remained a secret somehow.
Another that I struggle with is the Hotel Metropolitan on Grote Street. Again
claimed to be ABKS, this bustling hotel is popular with traders from the Central Market across the road, while office workers also patronise it in droves. There were times when I worked nearby that I
wished that it was a secret place, but my abstemious and beady eyed boss inevitably managed to locate me there if I was taking a long lunch.
Can a Pub Be Hiding a Secret?
A more plausible case could be made for the Gaslight Tavern in
newly trendy Brompton as being
one of ABKS. But if it is, it won't stay secret for long as new residents move into the area.
These Ruins Definitely Hide Secrets
I can't positively claim to know Adelaide's best kept secret - after all I might not have discovered it yet. But I do have a few ideas of places that could be candidates.
The sleepy parks at
Totness and
Mount George are far better known to animals than humans, even locals seem to be unaware of them.
Shipwrecks at
Jervois Basin and
Mutton Cove are quite well hidden, and few people visit these free attractions.
The ruins of
Arthur's Seat at Crafers and the
Bootmaker's Cottage at Mylor are little known and easily missed by travellers passing by.
Most Secrets Here Will Soon Disappear
A long forgotten
Scout Hall in the inner suburbs may soon disappear with all its secrets, while visitors to the free
Bicentennial Conservatory in Adelaide's Botanic Gardens are blissfully unaware as they pass
a morgue.
My last thought sparks from
this free museum, hidden in the back streets of suburbia and largely unknown to most people. Or perhaps this
little known library with its breathtakingly beautiful architecture.
Your thoughts?
Well I have made a range of suggestions for you. Do you think Adelaide has any special secret places? Are there locations that are very attractive, unique, or special that deserve the title of
Adelaide's best kept secret?
And if there are, will you let us in on the secret?
