by Loine Sweeney

One of the very first impressions Australia made on Yolanda and Yasmin was just how green and full of nature it was. The identical twins were just nine years old when they arrived with their family from Dubai.

“We were delighted to find the city of Adelaide surrounded by parks,” they said.

“The green was quite a contrast to what we were used to!”

Now young adults, the sisters have been grabbing opportunities to further explore the Adelaide Park Lands including the Botanic Garden.

Yolanda started taking relaxing breaks from her studies in the Adelaide Botanic Garden - part of Park 11 - when she started her degree in recent years at nearby UniSA.

“I found it so beautiful and peaceful, so invited my sister (recently graduated from Flinders Uni) and our friends to come on weekends to enjoy picnics here and in the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden.”

Yasmin and Yolanda decided to take their experience further by trying out one of the Guided Walks offered by the Adelaide Park Lands Association.

Bringing their parents with them, they started with a Park 11 walk, guided by APA President, Shane Sody. Their initial idea was to learn more about the Adelaide Botanic Garden but, for the first time, experienced other areas of the diverse Park 11 surrounding it, including Mistletoe Park/ Tainmuntilla along the River Torrens/ Karrawirra Parri.

“I can’t believe we’ve lived in Adelaide all these years and not before seen this stretch of river, it’s natural landscape, the sculptures and bridges!” Yolanda said.

“This has definitely inspired us to explore more of the Adelaide Park Lands through the APA Guided Walks.

“It’s got us wondering what else is out there, so we’ve decided to make this a family tradition.”

See the schedule of upcoming APA Guided Walks.