The Fleurieu Peninsula town of Goolwa has been named Australia’s first Cittaslow. “Cittaslow” is Italian for “slow city” or “slow town”, and this is the first time such an honour has been bestowed on a city outside Europe. The title of Cittaslow recognises Goolwa’s unique local products, festivals, heritage and local traditions. The Cittaslow movement has strong links with Slow Food and began life in October 1999. The International Slow Food movement began in Italy in 1989 to counteract the fast food phenomenon that has swept the globe. Slow Food protects the heritage, traditions and cultures associated with food and promotes the connection between plate and planet: a concept known as eco-gastronomy.
More information: 08 8555 5801

Dr Suzanne Miller, who is presently Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland, has been appointed as new Director of the South Australian Museum. Dr Miller will take up her new appointment this month, and said she looked forward to getting to know the existing collections, identifying new items and opportunities and telling people about them. The South Australian Museum is among the three most visited Museums in the nation with an annual visitation rate of around 700,000.
More information: 08 8207 7431

Canadian Chris Ehmann has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Adelaide. Mr Ehmann has worked with Hilton Hotels since 1999 and has served as director of operations for hotels in Bucharest, Dubai and Cairo. He replaces Jean-Luc Fourrier, who has taken up a new job with Hilton in Singapore.
More information: 08 8237 0729

The Heysen Trail website has recently undergone a significant redevelopment. It is now easier to navigate and includes two new pages – Useful Links and FAQ’s – to help potential walkers gain easy access to information before setting out on their Heysen Trail journey. The Useful Links page provides links to walking related sites within SA and to major trail sites interstate and internationally. The Heysen Trail website can be accessed at www.heysentrail.sa.gov.au
More information: 08 8124 4806.

Adelaide Zoo has become the first fully accredited zoo in Australia. Mr. Trevor Long, President of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (ARAZPA), made the accreditation announcement last month. The ARAZPA Accreditation Program is a new initiative aimed at assessing zoos and aquariums against the highest standards, as recognised by the prestigious zoo and aquarium organisation, ARAZPA. By achieving accreditation, Adelaide Zoo has demonstrated the highest standards in animal care, environmental education and in engaging with the community and encouraging an understanding of wildlife.
More information: 0413 154 720

The Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH), Green Corps and the Friends of Mount Gambier Parks have joined forces to restore the internationally renowned Piccaninnie Ponds wetland system near Mount Gambier. The project involved building a water control structure to maintain water levels in the wetland and a fish way to allow movement of fish between the ponds and the sea. Piccaninnie Ponds is renowned for its crystal clear water, picturesque underwater caves, eels, fish, tortoises and water birds.
More information: 08 8 8375 1174

Visitors to South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, Outback and Eyre Peninsula will be better equipped to get off the beaten track with the release of the 4WD Tracks & Repeater Towers brochure. A joint initiative between northern pastoralists, tourism operators and a number of government departments, the free brochure highlights 4WD tracks, camp spots and accommodation options in this rugged area of South Australia, as well as a map identifying repeater towers for Citizens’ Band radio (CB) users. South Australia has some of the best desert 4WD destinations in the world and in recent years many station properties have developed self-drive tracks, tag-along routes, bush camping sites and accommodation to create a wide range of off-road experiences previously unavailable to recreational four-wheel drivers. The free brochure will be distributed through SA visitor information centres, consumer shows, listed properties and 4WD shops.
More information: 08 8641 3455 or 0427 228 271.

Leading satirist and comedy writer Charles Firth, founding member of the multi-Logie award wining comedy team, The Chaser, has joined the speakers line-up for the fifth Adelaide Festival of Ideas. The Festival will be held from 5 to 8 July 2007 at venues along North Terrace in Adelaide. Its theme this year will be “Which way to the future?”, which will be debated and discussed by more than forty leaders in their fields across the disciplines of science, economics and environment, religion, human rights and journalism
More information: 08 8361 3577

South Australia continues to outstrip the nation in overseas student growth, with a record 20,580 international students attracted to Adelaide in 2006. Adelaide’s international student numbers jumped by 14.1 per cent last year, compared to a national rise of 10.9 per cent. New full-year figures from Australian Education International show that China was the leading source country for SA’s international students last year accounting for 6,851 students, almost a third of all international students studying here. This represents a 25.8% rise on the previous year. Overall, South Australia now has 5.4% of the total number of overseas students in Australia, and 8.4% of all overseas school students.
More information: 08 8216 3404

Adelaide Airport has been named as the world’s second best airport in the 5 – 15 million passengers category at the Airports Council International 2006 awards for service quality in Dubai. Adelaide finished just behind Central Japan Airport, and ahead of 23 other airports in the category – the largest of all ‘airport size’ categories at the awards. It follows the airport’s success in being named Australia’s best capital city airport by the Australian Airports Association in 2006. Adelaide Airport was the only Australian airport to be recognised at the awards dinner.
More information: 08 8412 4100

The winners of the 2007 Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism Awards were announced last month. The winners included: McCracken Country Club in Category 1 – Hotel / Motel / Pub; Bellevue Bed & Breakfast in Category 2 – Hosted B&B / Farm Stay / Other Retreat; Narnu Farm in Category 3 – Self-Catering Accommodation; Normanville Beach Caravan Park in Category 4 – Caravan Park; Porter St. Wildlife Gallery in Category 5 – Tourism Retailing; South Coast Surf Academy in Category 6 - Visitor Attraction; Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram in Category 7 – Tour Operator; Normanville Beach Café in Category 8 – Tourism Restaurant / Café; Parri Estate Wines in Category 9 – Tourism Winery; Goolwa Visitor Information Centre in Category 11 – General Tourism Services; Encompass Presentation / Rowett Print in Category 12 – Tourism Media; Alexandrina Cheese Company in Category 13 – Regional Produce; Red Poles in Category 14 – New Tourism Development. The award for Outstanding Personal Contribution were awarded to Pamela Jensen, President of the Willunga Quarry Markets.
More information: www.fleurieupeninsula.com.au

South Australians will be treated to the first look at Elephant Tales, the latest movie from award-winning children’s filmmaker, Mario Andreacchio. The film’s SA ties are strong with only local talent, including Dorinda Hafner and Elena Carapetis, being used for characters’ voices, while local businesses such as Rising Sun Pictures, Best FX and Kojo Productions were involved in its production and some funding was provided by South Australian Film Corporation, Australian Film Commission and Adelaide-based Caprieo Investments. With an underlying message of the importance of family and wildlife conservation, part proceeds from the box office and merchandise sales will be donated to the Future Zoo Foundation to support animal conservation programs in Africa. Elephant Tales will be screened at various Wallis Cinemas including the Academy, Piccadilly and Noarlunga, as well as the Semaphore Odeon Star Cinema, the Norwood Town Hall, Adelaide and Monarto Zoos, from 5 to 27 April.
More information: www.elephant-tales.com





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