Adelaide | Adelaide Hotels | Adelaide Restaurants | Adelaide Shopping | Mount Gambier | South Australia Attractions | South Australia Islands | South Australia Beaches | The Barossa | The Clare Valley | The Eyre Peninsula | The Fleurieu Peninsula | The Yorke Peninsula | Scuba Diving in South Australia

South Australia, a brilliant blend....

Yes it truly is a brilliant blend.

It has a classical, elegant style, superbly set beside the River Torrens between the waters of Gulf St Vincent and the Adelaide Hills.

The wine and festival capital of Australia, Adelaide is one of the most vibrant, stylish and innovative cities you'll ever visit.

It's a place to experience the buzz, culture and convenience of a big city without the frustrations.

The city centre, surrounded by parklands, is a charming blend of historic buildings, wide streets, groovy shops, street cafes and restaurants, and because Adelaide is known as the 20-minute city, you can experience it all on a series of easy short walks.

For those of you who like to shop, Rundle Mall is the retail backbone of the CBD, with boutiques and specialty shops, cafes, elegant arcades, buskers, flower stalls and an abundance of art.

In the centre of the square mile, the Adelaide Central Market is always filled with dozens of fresh food and specialty stalls.

King William Road at Hyde Park is great for fashion and design, while Glen Osmond Road at Eastwood is the centre for seconds and clearance outlets.

Swim with dolphins just 20 minutes from the city centre on a Temptation Sailing cruise.

The 17-metre catamaran, based at Holdfast Shores Marina in Glenelg, is perfect for cruising beside Adelaide's endless sandy shoreline.

Afterwards, stick around to explore Holdfast Shores and its many restaurants, , pubs, luxury boats and apartments.

Pay homage to Australia's cricketing icon, Sir Donald Bradman, at the State Library of South Australia.

The Bradman Collection features more than 140 items, from trophies and bats to oral recordings and 52 scrapbooks of “The Don's” brilliant career.

Join thousands of people buying, selling and tasting the best of South Australia at the Adelaide Central Market, established in 1869 and now the largest undercover market in the southern hemisphere.

Visit the Haigh's Chocolates Visitor Centre, home of Australia's oldest surviving chocolate making company and one of only a handful worldwide still making chocolate directly from cocoa beans.

Ride Adelaide's historic tram from the city to the beachside suburb of Glenelg.

In Glenelg you'll find a great beach, wooden jetty, shops, cafes and restaurants.

This '20-minute city' has a comprehensive metropolitan transport system consisting of bus and train networks, which are very affordable.

Just an hour's drive north-east of Adelaide you’ll find The Barossa.

This picturesque region charms visitors with its pretty countryside, rolling hills and heritage towns and villages, and is one of Australia's best-known and most important wine regions.

Its wines are world famous, and with more than 50 cellar doors in this compact region, there are plenty of opportunities for visitors to taste and learn about the region's most prized product.

Regional cuisine strongly reflects a blend of old and new and is a feature of the many good local cafes and restaurants.

Arguably the best place in Australia to see the widest range of Australian native animals in their natural habitat, Kangaroo Island also boasts dramatic coastal scenery and secluded pristine beaches along with premium quality fresh seafood and other food products.

There are several ways to do day trips to the island, but to truly experience its remarkable experiences, at least two or three days are strongly recommended.

The Eyre Peninsula stretches 1000 kilometers from Whyalla in the east to the West Australian border, and 400 kilometers from the Gawler Ranges in the north to Port Lincoln in the south.

The region is known for its 2000 kilometers of ruggedly beautiful coastline and many safe and superb beaches, and is very popular for sailing, diving, fishing and surfing.

The The Clare Valley is one of Australia's most picturesque wine regions, set in a landscape that combines Australian bush with well-kept charming vineyards.

Yorke Peninsula has long been one of the most popular holiday playgrounds in South Australia.

Its unspoiled coast includes postcard-perfect white beaches, fishing towns and historic ports and the cliffs of Innes National Park.

The The Fleurieu Peninsula is ideal both as a day trip destination from Adelaide and for extended stays.

There are a large variety of experiences to be enjoyed, from wine tasting in the premium wine region of McLaren Vale to whale-watching and surfing along the southern coast.

The Limestone Coast links Melbourne with Adelaide and is an especially good touring route for travellers coming from Melbourne via the spectacular Great Ocean Road.

The Outback is so easily reached from Adelaide.

It's Australia's most legendary countryside, with vast dramatic landscapes, huge horizons and skies and unique towns and people.

The country is far from barren and there's remarkable flora and fauna and clear waterholes and thermal springs that host abundant bird life.

Follow the landscape on a scenic drive anywhere in the Hills.

The valleys, gorges and ridges, and the bush, orchards and vineyards make every route a reward.

Marvel at Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch, just two of the many amazing land formations within the 33,000-hectare Flinders Chase National Park.

There's also the 1909 Cape du Couedic lighthouse and wildlife aplenty, including kangaroos, koalas, echidnas and the endangered Cape Barren geese.

Explore Mount Gambier South Australia's second biggest city and home to the Blue Lake, which turns from grey to a brilliant turquoise-blue every November.

The city is built on the slopes of an extinct volcano and you can also tour limestone caves beneath the city streets, walk through stunning gardens created inside sinkholes or watch in awe as up to 100 southern right whales pass by the South Australian coast on their annual migratory sojourn to Antarctica.

At Head of Bight, stand just meters from the action on viewing platforms built above the towering Bunda Cliffs.

If you like food, and let’s face it, who doesn’t? there's a restaurant to suit every taste and budget in South Australia.

Sample Cheong Liew's award-winning fusion fare at The Grange in the Adelaide Hilton or match Petaluma wines with your meal at Bridgewater Mill in the Adelaide Hills.

Eat fish and chips in a seaside cafe before catching the horse-drawn tram at Victor Harbour on the Fleurieu Peninsula or try regional cheeses and freshwater marron at the Ozone Seafront Hotel on Kangaroo Island.

To find out what's on in town this week, gigs, movies, live theatre, the best bars and so on try here, you'll find all you need to know.

As I said before, South Australia truly is a brilliant blend.............enjoy,

John.

To find a great list of wonderful South Australia attractions just click here.

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