Fast Facts

Getting To South Australia

Getting Around South Australia

Top Ten Things to Do and See in South Australia

1. Adelaide: Adelaide is an attractive city with many attractions for the visitor. During your stay, make sure you take the tram out to Glenelg, the city’s charming seaside suburb. There are also plenty of other white sandy beaches along the 19 mile coastline. In Adelaide itself, visit the Festival Centre in the parkland overlooking the Torrens River, Adelaide’s Central Market, the South Australian Museum, and Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Insititute. 
    
2. Kangaroo Island: Kangaroo Island is an area of outstanding natural beauty, which, owing to its relative isolation from the rest of Australia, has suffered less than the mainland from the impact of European development. Today, the island still possesses rich and diverse flora and fauna seldom found elsewhere. Substantial tracts of bushland still remain undisturbed and, free from introduced predators, they continue to support an abundance of wildlife. Visitors to Kangaroo Island are sure to catch at least a glimpse of penguins, koala, wallabies, and kangaroos, as well as sea lions at the Seal Bay Conservation Park.
   
3. Wine Touring:  South Australia is world-renowned for its wine production – a staggering 70% of Australia’s wine exports come from the state, with the lion’s share of this coming from the Barossa. A wide variety of tours are available from the main Barossa Valley towns of Tanunda, Angaston and Nuriootpa, as well as in the state’s other wine producing regions – McClaren Vale, Coonawarra, Eden and Clare Valleys, Riverland, and the Fleurieu Peninsula.
    
4. Into the Outback: The Flinders Ranges, which mark the gateway to the South Australian Outback, start just 150 miles or so north of Adelaide, and are an area of stunning natural beauty incorporating granite peaks and plunging gorges, and the enormous Lake Eyre. Marvel at the natural amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound, some 10 miles long and 3.7 miles deep. And if you have ever fancied trying out your 4WD skills on some of Australia’s famous “dirt roads” or “tracks”, then this is the place to do it!. Alternatively take to the air to admire the sheer expanse of the region.
    
5. Starspotting: Owing to the lack of pollution and artificial lights, the desert skies over South Australia’s Outback reveal a vast array of stars, some of which are only ever visible in the Southern Hemisphere. One of the best spots for stargazing is the Arkaroola Resort, which is Australia’s largest privately owned Astronomical Observatory. 
    
6. Coober Pedy: Coober Pedy, producer of 90% of the world’s opals, is a frontier town half way between Adelaide and Alice Springs, where climatic conditions are so harsh that the majority of the 3500 inhabitants live underground to escape the extreme temperatures – and experience visitors can replicate with a stay in the renowned Desert Cave Hotel. Whilst in Coober Pedy, you can try you hand at mining and dig for some opals – just make sure you obtain a miner’s permit first! In addition, you can even have a go at delivering the mail Outback style – join the local postman on what is probably the most spectacular postal route of them all – a 400 mile aerial mail run.
    
7. The Murrarylands: Take full advantage of being near one of the world’s largest rivers, and try out cruising, sailing, houseboating, fishing or waterskiing on the Murray River, which winds its way through South Australia over 2300 miles. On its journey south to the coast, the Murray carves through wetlands, deep gorges, parched clay pans, magnificent scrub and rich grassland – along the course of the river, you have opportunities to spot kangaroos, emus, wombats, pelicans and cockatoos.
    
8. Coastal South Australia: South Australia boasts hundreds and hundreds of miles of coastline, including some stunning crowd free beaches perfect for a relaxing break, great surf beaches with crashing waves, and excellent fishing. Diving is also popular – good dive sites include Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula and Eyre Peninsula. There are also numerous shipwrecks to explore.
   
9. Marine Outback: The Coorong National Park, at the mouth of the Murray River, just 1 ½ hours drive from Adelaide, is a wetland region, home to over 200 species of waterbirds. The scenery of the region comprises dynamic sand dunes, windswept beaches and secluded inland bays. It is an area of significant historical importance and boasts evidence of Aboriginal occupation going back thousands of years. 
    
10. Great Ocean Road: The Great Ocean Road is one of the most scenic coastal journeys in the world, travelling between Melbourne and Adelaide and the South Australian section cannot fail to impress! Highlights en route include Mount Gambier, South Australia’s second largest town, built around a volcano; here you can see sinkholes, ponds and caves, and of course the famous Blue Lake, whose pristine waters change colour with the seasons; the Coorong National Park (see above); the Fleurieu Peninsula and onto Victor Harbour. It is worth deviating slightly from the route to visit the caves at Naracoorte to see the bats, fossils, stalactites and stalagmites.

South Australian Events Calendar