Rough Guides - South Australia

South Australia, the driest state of the driest continent, is split into two distinct halves. The long-settled southern part, watered by the Murray River, with Adelaide as its cosmopolitan centre, has a Mediterranean climate, is tremendously fertile and has been thoroughly tamed. The northern half is arid and depopulated, and as you head further north the temperature heats up to such an extreme that by the time you get to Coober Pedy, people are living underground to escape the searing summer temperatures.

Many of the highlights of southeastern South Australia lie within three hours drive of Adelaide. Food and especially wine are among the areas chief pleasures: this is prime grape-growing and winemaking country. As well as vineyards, the Fleurieu Peninsula , just south of Adelaide, has a string of fine beaches, while nearby Kangaroo Island is a wonderful place to see Australian wildlife at its unfettered best. Facing Adelaide across the Investigator Strait, the Yorke Peninsula is primarily an agricultural area, preserving a copper-mining history and offering excellent fishing. The superb wineries of the Barossa Valley , originally settled by German-speaking immigrants in the nineteenth century, are only an hour from Adelaide on the Sturt Highway , the main road to Sydney. Following the southeast coast along the Princes Highway , you can head towards Melbourne via the extensive coastal Coorong lagoon system and enjoyable seaside towns such as Robe, before exiting the state at Mount Gambier , with its deep-blue crater lakes. The inland trawl via the Dukes Highway is faster but less interesting. Head north from Adelaide and there are old copper-mining towns to explore at Kapunda and Burra , the area known as the mid-north, which also encompasses the Clare Valley , another wonderful wine region, famous for its Rieslings.

In contrast with the gentle and cultured southeast, the remainder of South Australia with the exception of the relatively refined Eyre Peninsula and its scenic west coast is unremittingly harsh desert , a naked country of vast horizons, salt lakes, glazed gibber plains and ancient mountain ranges. Although its tempting to scud over the forbidding distances quickly, youll miss the essence of this introspective and subtle landscape by hurrying. For every predictable, monotonous highway theres a dirt alternative, which may be physically draining but gets you closer to this precarious environment. The folded red rocks of the central Flinders Ranges and Coober Pedys postapocalyptic scenery are on most agendas and could be worked into a sizeable circuit. Making the most of the journey is what counts here, though the fabled routes to Oodnadatta , Birdsville and Innamincka are still real adventures.

Rail and road routes converge in Adelaide before the long, cross-country route hauls west to Perth via Port Augusta on the Indian Pacific train, or north to Alice Springs and Darwin on the Ghan two of Australias great train journeys.

zoom left

zoom right

WELCOME SIGN AT COOBER PEDY

Highlights

A day-trip from Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is home to some of Australias finest wineries.

Spectacular scenery and wildlife are found across Australias third-largest island.

Stay in a houseboat on the beautiful Murray River, lined with majestic river red gums.

Stay here for ocean-fresh seafood, pristine surf beaches and wildlife encounters including cage shark diving.

Drive or catch a train across the plain and appreciate just how vast Australia actually is.

Gape at the underground homes of the residents of scorching Coober Pedy.

The main attraction of the Flinders Ranges National Park is the enormous natural basin of Wilpena Pound.

This salt lake periodically fills with water, creating a dramatic inland sea.

Fill up your tank and head off into the Outback on one of Australias fabled journeys.