South Australians have an enviable lifestyle and love to share it with visitors and holiday-makers. It’s a vibrant and welcoming place, where the good things in life are celebrated. South Australia has a range of experiences from five-star luxury to getting off the beaten track in the Outback.

Adelaide

The city of Adelaide is the gateway to South Australia’s wildlife, wine and outback holiday experiences, however it is also a wonderful destination in its own right.

Adelaide is about fine food and wine in its many acclaimed restaurants and cafes, beautiful surroundings and world-renowned festivals and events. In what other city could visitors swim with dolphins, browse a farmers’ market and stroll through a famous vineyard – all within the city limits?

Food & Wine

Located in the Adelaide foothills just 15 minutes from the Adelaide city centre is Penfolds Magill Estate Winery. A variety of tours of the historic winery are available, including one that allows guests to taste Penfolds iconic Grange, Australia’s most famous and sought-after wine. And for a fabulous food and wine experience in the centrepiece of the winery, visit the award winning Magill Estate Restaurant.

Savour the exotic scents and flavours of Australia’s oldest fresh produce market, the Adelaide Central Market, representing close to 50 different cultures. The variety of produce on offer is superb and includes fruit and vegetables, cheeses, seafood, continental meats and organic produce. Open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, a guided walking tour is a great way to discover the true essence of the market.

Adelaide is renowned for its many restaurants, so when it comes to dining there is no shortage of choice. There are many “eat streets” in Adelaide, including Rundle Street, Adelaide’s cosmopolitan heart, lined with wine bars, alfresco cafes and hip pubs. Gouger Street and Chinatown near the Adelaide Central Market offer an eclectic mix of cuisines, including some fantastic Asian restaurants. Other “eat streets” include Norwood’s The Parade, Hutt Street, North Adelaide’s O’Connell and Melbourne streets, and Unley Road and King William Road just to the south of the city. Seaside dining options can be found at Glenelg and Henley Beach.

Glenelg

Only five minutes from Adelaide’s domestic and international airport and 20 minutes from the CBD, Glenelg is Adelaide’s most popular beach destination. Travel on the much-loved bay tram to Glenelg from Adelaide and spend some time exploring the shops on Jetty Road, relaxing on the beach and dining at Holdfast Shores. For a full day at Glenelg include a Temptation Sailing Cruise to swim with dolphins.

Art, Culture and History

North Terrace, regarded as the cultural boulevard of Adelaide, is home to the South Australian Museum (which boasts the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal artefacts in its Aboriginal Cultures Gallery), the Art Gallery of South Australia, State Library, Botanic Garden, Migration Museum and the historic University buildings. Visit Tandanya, the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute on Grenfell Street. It’s Australia’s oldest Indigenous-owned and managed multi-arts centre, presenting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island arts and cultures from across Australia.

North Adelaide is home to great restaurants and pubs that draw crowds most days of the week, but also to beautiful historic buildings, some of which have been converted into charming and comfortable guest accommodation.

Shopping

Adelaide has an enticing range of shopping options. Rundle Mall is the heart of Adelaide’s shopping, with more than 600 international and national flagship stores in the outdoor mall. Favourite South Australian specialty stores include Jurlique skincare, Haigh’s chocolates, RM Williams (clothes and boots), and opal mined in the South Australian Outback. King William Road, Hyde Park, The Parade at Norwood are recommended for clothing boutiques and Magill Road, Norwood for antiques.

Festivals and Events

South Australia has an enviable reputation for its popular food and wine, cultural and sporting events that are loved by locals and visitors. South Australia hosts more than 500 festivals every year and is widely regarded as the “Festival State”. Highlights include the biennial Adelaide Festival, annual Adelaide Fringe and the international cycling action of the Santos Tour Down Under every January. In 2010 the Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive (30 July – 29 August) will again be staged. Visitors can ride alongside the drovers as they herd around 500 head of cattle. Visit the South Australian Tourism Commission’s website for a full event listing. www.southaustralia.com

Adelaide Hills

The Adelaide Hills region is located an easy 30-minute drive east of Adelaide and is home to picturesque villages, wildlife and conservation parks, walking trails, art and craft galleries and winery cellar doors. Mount Lofty summit is a good place to start a visit to the Adelaide Hills as it offers stunning views of Adelaide. Close by, Cleland Wildlife Park at Mount Lofty offers visitors the opportunity to interact with Australian native animals, including holding a koala. At Hahndorf visitors can delight their taste buds with a cheese tasting at Udder Delights, feast on a German platter at one of the traditional pubs along the main street and try a decadent dessert at Chocolate No. 5. The home and studio of renowned landscape artist Hans Heysen, The Cedars, is located at Hahndorf and is a must do. The Adelaide Hills is renowned for the crisp white wines it produces and there are a number of cellar doors open to visitors.

Adelaide’s central location makes it an ideal base to explore the surrounding regions. The wine regions such as McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Barossa are no more than 90 minutes drive from the city centre. Kangaroo Island, with its extraordinary wildlife and wilderness, is only a 30-minute plane flight or two and a half hour trip by road and ferry. The wide-open spaces of South Australia’s Outback and Flinders Ranges start just three hours drive north of Adelaide.

Gourmet South Australia

South Australia is known as the heart of Australia’s food and wine, home to famous names and iconic labels such as Penfolds Grange. The State produces about half of all Australian wine and 60 per cent of Australian wine exports, with more than 270 cellar doors across 17 official wine regions.

The Jacob’s Creek label remains one of the most popular Australian wines in the world, with over a million glasses consumed world-wide every day.

The Barossa, Coonawarra, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, Riverland and McLaren Vale are widely recognized for producing exceptional wines both nationally and internationally. Wine regions are also emerging on Kangaroo Island, Eyre Peninsula, the southern Fleurieu and Southern Flinders Ranges.

Visitors can tour South Australia’s wine regions with personalised luxury services, coach touring and specialist backpacker tour operators. Those preferring to self-drive will find the roads uncongested and the driving easy.  Visitors to Penfolds Barossa Valley and Wolf Blass have the opportunity to make their own wine on the “Blend it Like Blass” and “Make Your Own Blend” tours.

There’s no shortage of places to eat in South Australia. The wine regions have restaurants and vineyard cafes with imaginative local produce menus. Seaside towns have eateries offering the catch of the day, and across the State there are bakeries, butchers and providores selling regional specialties perfect for a barbecue or picnic.

The Barossa’s distinctive culinary traditions and the wines that have put the region on the world map can be discovered with the Butcher, Baker, Winemaker Trail Card. Visitors can access over $100 worth of food and wine experiences and a souvenir hamper is included, which contains a “taste” of Barossa produce.

The Seafood & Beyond…rewards card is an exciting product that packages a variety of great experiences on the Eyre Peninsula, as well as offering a loyalty rewards program. Visitors can purchase a card and receive over $100 worth of value, including tours and experiences around the region showcasing seafood and the aquaculture industry.

Nature and Wildlife

South Australia’s diverse landscapes make it a perfect destination for anyone with a passion for nature and wildlife.

Kangaroo Island is the third-largest island off the coast of Australia (eight times the size of Singapore) and is a true nature wonderland. With 30 per cent of its land protected as national and conservation parks, Kangaroo Island offers pristine wilderness and opportunities to see wildlife in their natural habitat, including sea lions at Seal Bay Conservation Park. The island is less than a one-hour ferry trip from the mainland or a 30-minute flight from Adelaide and can be discovered by four-wheel drive, coach or specialist backpacking tours and by self-drive visitors. The island is home to koalas, sea lions, little penguins, echidnas, kangaroos, wallabies and a plethora of flora.

The Eyre Peninsula also provides other amazing authentic wildlife experiences, including swimming with sea lions at Port Lincoln and Baird Bay, while visitors to the stunning Gawler Ranges may see five types of kangaroos, wedge-tailed eagles and wombats.

With huge landscapes and few fences, the Flinders Ranges, five hours drive north of Adelaide, are home to an abundant array of wildlife, including yellow-footed rock wallabies, kangaroos, emus and a range of birdlife.

During the months of June to October, South Australia’s waters are home to Southern Right Whales. Best viewing spots are Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula and further west at Head of Bight off the Eyre Peninsula, where more than 100 whales and calves have been spotted at one time.

Winding through much of South Australia, the Murray River boasts a spectacular and peaceful setting as well as loads of wildlife, particularly nocturnal native animals such as wombats. The Coorong, where the river meets the ocean, is a magnet for huge numbers of native and migratory birds, with more than 230 species making it home throughout the year.

Great Road Journeys

Adelaide’s central location makes it a perfect starting or finishing point for self-drive and guided itineraries to and from other Australian cities. Some of the most popular drives include the Explorer’s Way from Darwin to Adelaide via Alice Springs, Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road and the journey to or from Perth across the expansive Nullarbor.

The Explorer’s Way drive takes travelers through some of Australia’s most spectacular and rugged scenery on the 3016 kilometre journey between Adelaide and Darwin. It follows the route of John McDouall Stuart, one of Australia’s most famous explorers. Beginning in Adelaide, the journey follows the Stuart Highway and winds its way through the South Australian Outback and the Red Centre to tropical Darwin. Extensive self-drive information is available, however, there are also four-wheel-drive coach and backpacker options along this route. For those who would prefer to travel by train, a similar route can be undertaken on the famous Ghan passenger train operated by Great Southern Rail.

The coastal journey from Adelaide to Melbourne (approximately 1000 kilometres) takes visitors through the Fleurieu Peninsula, Limestone Coast and along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. This drive offers a range of accommodation, good dining, wine tasting and seaside experiences as well as some spectacular scenery. Allow at least three full days to complete this journey. Self-drive enthusiasts will find the driving easy, but there are a number of guided options available, including four-wheel-drive tours and backpacker options.

The 2700-kilometre journey from Adelaide to Perth offers visitors the opportunity to surf at some of the nation’s finest surf spots, swim with sea lions, watch whales, taste fine wines and cross one of the country’s most austere expanses, the Nullarbor. Take at least four to five days to complete this journey and be well prepared. Guided options are also available.

Outback South Australia

South Australia’s Outback is a remote and vast area that borders on the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales. Visitors to Outback South Australia will discover ephemeral salt lakes, quirky events and characters, friendly pubs, wildlife and fascinating landscapes.

The Flinders Ranges provides an accessible introduction to the beginning of the Outback. Three hours drive north of Adelaide, the Flinders Ranges National Park features rugged mountain scenery, rocky gorges, abundant wildlife and wildflowers in the spring, perfect for the bushwalker, four-wheel-drive tourer or artist.

The focal point of the Flinders Ranges, and certainly South Australia’s best-known natural landmark, is Wilpena Pound, an amphitheatre of mammoth proportions. Just outside the Pound, Wilpena Pound Resort and Rawnsley Park Station offer accommodation, restaurants, caravan park and camping ground. It’s an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding country. Located near Wilpena Pound is Arkaba Station. The Arkaba experience encompasses both the sheer scale of the Outback and the subtleties of the bush and is set in one of the most beautiful settings in outback Australia.

Bushwalking tracks inside Wilpena Pound and around the ridges of its massive rim are well-signed and easy to follow. Take a scenic flight over spectacular Wilpena Pound and surrounding ranges, or a fully escorted four-wheel-drive safari into hidden gorges adorned with rare and sacred Aboriginal rock art and lined with stunning river red gums.

Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is a 61,000-hectare sanctuary in the Northern Flinders Ranges and features fascinating geological formations, Aboriginal sites, hot springs, rare wildlife, historic mining areas and vast plains. The famous Ridge Top Tour is offered to visitors as well as waterhole and astronomy tours and bushwalks.

Bushwalking and cycling are also popular ways to discover the Flinders Ranges. Both the Heysen (walking) and Mawson (cycling) trails wind their way through the region. Other options include four-wheel-drive adventures, self-drive, coach touring and even camel safaris.

Coober Pedy, in the heart of South Australia’s Outback, is recognised as the largest producer of opal in the world, with an estimated 80 per cent of the world’s precious opal being mined here. It’s famous for its underground homes (called “dugouts’), churches and other tourist attractions. Visitors can easily spend a few days exploring the town, “noodling” for opal and discovering surrounding Outback attractions.

Stopping for a cold beer and a chat with the locals in an Outback pub is a truly Australian experience. Some of the more legendary Outback pubs include the William Creek Hotel, the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna, Mungerannie Hotel and the Innamincka Hotel.

River Cruising and The Coorong

The Murray River is Australia’s great river, stretching from the Snowy Mountains near the eastern coast, through to South Australia and into the Southern Ocean. The river is an important habitat for a huge variety of native birds, fish and animals with curious names such as numbats, woylies, boodies and bilbies. There are also kangaroos, emus and wombats. Ngaut Ngaut offers an historical and cultural interpretation of Aboriginal association with the mighty Murray River and its pristine environment. Located approximately 30 kilometres up-river from Mannum, visitors can discover Aboriginal culture in perfect harmony with the river people of Ngaut Ngaut, including ancient campsites, rock art and scarred red river gums signifying the ancient practice of canoe manufacturing. Popular ways to experience the river include cruising on luxurious houseboats (either self-drive or with skipper), a paddle steamer or smaller vessels. The river meets the ocean in an area called The Coorong, a wetland of international importance, with some 240 species of birds, where cruises and four-wheel-drive tours can be taken.

Aboriginal Tourism

South Australia’s rich Indigenous heritage dates back 45,000 years. Before the arrival of European settlers in 1836, more than 10,000 people from 43 language groups inhabited the area.

The Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery at the South Australian Museum and Tandanya – National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide provide excellent introductions to Aboriginal heritage and modern culture. Bush food tours with an Indigenous guide are also available in the Botanic Gardens.

Key areas for Aboriginal tourism experiences in South Australian include Head of Bight on the Nullarbor Plain, Coorong National Park, Flinders Ranges and Outback, Murray River and Yorke Peninsula.

www.southaustralia.com