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Monday, 13 September 2010 10:41 |
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Ashes Travel Tips From Cricket Legends Botham and Gower
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| This year’s Ashes series in Australia is predicted to be a hotly contested battle. Expectations are high with Shane Warne declaring England as having their “best ever” chance of retaining the coveted urn. But which tests combine the most exciting cricket with travel experiences of a lifetime? |
Sydney and Melbourne have traditionally been the obvious choices for watching an Ashes test, but as with overall visitor trends, more people are considering taking in the ‘other Oz’, Perth in Western Australia (www.westernaustralia.com/ashes) and Adelaide in South Australia (www.southaustralia.com).
Both Perth and Adelaide are more laidback than their eastern counterparts and with a sunnier climate to boot they boast a fantastic al fresco lifestyle with a great range of outdoor cafes, restaurants, festivals and sporting events.
Additionally, activities like surfing, swimming, cycling and wine tasting are also easy to savour.
 For an insider’s guide, cricketing legends Sir Ian Botham, better known as Beefy, and David Gower share their recommendations on the best city experiences, wildlife encounters and wineries to visit as well as their predictions for the series.
City tips:
Beefy: What would you recommend that visitors to Adelaide see/do? Do you have favourite restaurant or place?
I know it’s a city but to me Adelaide is a beautiful big town with lovely wide streets, easy to get around and you really need to go and sample the restaurants and golf courses and above all the wineries. They are all with-in easy reach. “George’s” on Waymouth Street in the city is my favourite restaurant in Adelaide, if not my favourite restaurant in the world.
David: You’ve spent plenty of time working and playing in Perth, where do you always go back to?
When I was living in Perth as a young cricketer, I spent half of my time on the beach, particularly on Cottesloe beach. It has beautiful white sand and this lovely warm Indian Ocean. There are a lot of beautiful people down there too!
Perth is a great place to eat and drink and in terms of restaurants, the food culture of Perth has developed dramatically over the last 10-20 years. They have fantastic seafood and there are some great restaurants down by the Swan River too. The river goes right through the heart of the city so that in the middle of the city you have people sailing and dinghy racing and the like. It’s just a gorgeous view.
You both have a reputation for being wine connoisseurs, which are your favourite wineries?
 David: Well Australia as a whole is full of the stuff but the wines of Western Australia are really award winning. There are hundreds of wineries you can visit down in the Margaret River region south of Perth. One of the most famous is Leeuwin Estate (leeuwinestate.com.au), a family run place which makes a gorgeous drop. But if you don’t have time to go down south, the Swan Valley is just a short drive from Perth and you can find another host of great labels there too – Sandalfords (sandalford.com) is one of the best I’ve tried.
Beefy: Obviously we’re producing our own wines down there – the BMW label with myself, Bob Willis and Geoff Merrill, who everyone in Australia will know as being a fantastic, award winning winemaker with his top of the range Shiraz, The Henley. Then of course you have other great wines – Penfolds, the Grange or Bin 389, Henschke’s Hill of Grace, and Rockfords, Basket Press – where do you stop? They have everything from your big, big heavy reds to your refined rieslings, you’ve got everything in the different regions. And, apart from anything else it’s just a beautiful place - the people are friendly. I would say get a driver/private tour and take about four days to go around the vineyards – McLaren Vale, Barossa, Coonawarra –and enjoy yourself at the great restaurants and wineries.
What about wildlife? Do you have a favourite Australian experience?
David: This year I’m taking some time around the Ashes test in Perth to go up to Ningaloo Reef, which is supposed to have some amazing marine life. I’d never heard of it until a friend recommended it to me, but it has a reputation for being more pristine than the Great Barrier Reef. It is also a fringing reef so the coral starts just metres from the water’s edge. My family and I are going to stay in a beach-side safari camp called Sal Salis (salsalis.com.au) and spend some time diving and snorkelling amongst the tropical fish, turtles and manta rays. I’m hoping it will be the best Australian experience yet!
Beefy: Kangaroo Island in South Australia has its own eco-system. They have free roaming wallabies and kangaroos that are unique to the Island. I don’t normally get excited about places I stay at, as I’ve been very lucky to travel all over the world, but Southern Ocean Lodge (www.southernoceanlodge.com.au) there is somewhere you’ve really got to go and see. When you go through those gates you close the door and you just switch off. The Island is almost self-sufficient - they make great cheeses, have fresh seafood and produce their own wines which are very interesting and exciting. A definite must see place for any visitor to Australia.
And the cricket, what do you think England’s chances are and which grounds hold fond memories for you?
David: There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about England’s prospects in the upcoming Ashes series; we start as holders of the Ashes, we beat the Australians this summer in the one day series and also before that in the Caribbean to take the World T20 title. We have some great cricketers and Australia has recently lost a few of their key players. I’m really looking forward to it. In terms of grounds, Perth’s WACA was the place I scored my first 100 against Australia so it’s a special ground for me. It is also the smallest ground which gives it a great yet intimate atmosphere.
Beefy: The Adelaide Oval is certainly the most beautiful cricket pitch on the international circuit. Of course I haven’t seen it since they started work upgrading it, but I am sure they will not do anything that will spoil it, and I am looking forward to being back there for the Ashes in December this year.
David: If you are going out for the Ashes series, my advice is you should be a traveller first and a cricket fan second as there is just so much to see and do, especially on the west coast. I love the travel and you really should make time for that. With everything there is to do it should be a dream trip for both cricket fans and their families or friends.
Notes to editors
• The Adelaide Oval, thought to be the most beautiful cricket ground in the world will host the Second Test between 3rd and 7th December 2010.
• The Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) in Perth is home to the key third test between 16th and 20th December. It was in Perth that the Ashes were regained by Australia back in 2006-07.
QANTAS HOLIDAYS (Tel 020 8222 9124 www.qantasholidays.co.uk) can arrange bespoke itineraries to Australia with prices starting from £2,249 per person. This price includes:
• international economy flights to Australia
• internal flights
• a total of 21 nights accommodation at 3.5 star hotels in both Adelaide and Perth
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