Adealide: The capital city of South Australia, Adelaide is a city of natural beauty and simple elegance. It has wide flat streets, and is surrounded on all sides by parklands. The urban landscape is highlighted with many elegant colonial buildings, museums, churches and galleries, it is also safe, friendly and welcoming. Adelaide is easily accessed by air from Australia's capital cities and because of its central location.
Kangaroo Island: with its rugged, pristine coastline, Kangaroo Island - Australia's third-largest island - is located off mainland not far from Adelaide. The island's relatively unspoiled environment offers opportunities to see native animals in their natural environment, spectacular scenery, pristine beaches and a rugged, wave-swept Southern Ocean coastline. By contrast, the island's hinterland is a patchwork of green fields and tree-lined roads receding to the surrounding low hills, all of which is reminiscent of the English countryside from which many of South Australia's first European settlers came.
Limestone Coast: midway between Adelaide and Melbourne - a four hour drive, or one hour flight from either city, the area's bedrock that gives the region its name provides a natural filter for its vineyards. The unique terra rossa soil of the Coonawarra produce some of the world's best red wines. This unique area is also noted for its rock lobster, world-heritage listed caves with their 350,000 year old fossil bed, and Mt Gambier's Blue Lake, located in an extinct volcanic crater, which mysteriously changes colour for three months of the year.
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Barossa & Clare Valleys: Two of Australia's premier and most famous wine regions. Though Australia's first wineries were located on the outskirts of Sydney, NSW, it was the wineries started by 19th Century German settlers in the Barossa Valley that put Australia on the world map as a producer of fine table wines. All the big name brands have wineries there - Seppelts, Penfolds (producers of the iconic Jacobs Creek wines), Orlando, Yalumba, Wolf Blass and Peter Lehmann - among lesser known brands, offering winery tours, tastings and cellar door sales. A bi-annual week-long Vintage Festival draws visitors from all over the world and has entertainment for all tastes including a huge street parade, concerts and gourmet dining.
Flinders Ranges: The Flinders Ranges is without doubt the most accessible outback region of Australia. This accessibility however, does not alter the beauty or majesty of this wonderful mountain range area. Tracks throughout the Flinders Ranges wind through some stunning rocky gorges and across shallow creeks. The air is crisp and clear, the colours are vibrant and the wildlife abundant. The play of light on rocky spurs, towers, gorges and valley floors make this country a never-ending delight for landscape artists and colour photographers.
Coober Pedy: Promoted as the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy is a remote, extremely eccentric town in the middle of nowhere. Most of its residents live underground in caves bored into the rock of the hills around the town, and surface living requires air conditioning, all because of the harsh summer temperatures. One of the most unique places in Australia and perhaps the world, Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry.
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Murray River: Australia's longest river, the mighty Murray, winds its way past vineyards, citrus orchards, vertical limestone cliffs, and towering red gums on its way to the Southern Ocean. The River has abundant wildlife with prolific, raucous birdlife, fish and many native animals such as numbats, woylies, boodies, bilbies, kangaroos, emus and wombats. Rich in heritage, the region's restored paddle steamers, museums and villages recapture the history of the River.
Eyre Peninsula: its coastline is rugged and spectacular, its desert plains and wilderness areas are a mecca for 4-wheel drive tourists. The region's wildlife, like the landscape, is varied, and includes the hairy-nose wombat, sea lions, seals, seabirds and southern right whales that migrate to the Head of Bight to breed and nurture their young. The peninsula's many safe and superb beaches make it very popular for sailing, diving, fishing and whale watching.
Fleurieu Peninsula: A popular day trip destination from Adelaide, famed for its secluded, unspoilt beaches and wildlife. The Peninsula is home to a colony of fairy penguins (on Granite island), has its own highly regarded micro wine regions (Langhorne Creek, and Currency Creek), surf beaches (Waitpinga and Broiwns Beach) and is the stepping off point for the ferry trip to Kangaroo Island.
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The city of Adelaide is one of only a few Australian capital cities that are not the hub of transport into and out of the state. In South Australia, that honour belongs to Port Augusta. It is the central point of Australia's vast web of communications, where highways and railways from Adelaide and Melbourne to the south, Queensland and New South Wales to the east, Western Australia to the west and the Northern Territory in the north, come together - due to the unique nature of the town's geography.
Rail: Melbourne is linked by rail to Adelaide via The Overland. This train is now operated by a private company - Great Southern Railway. The train completes three return trips a week, travelling during daylight. The train operates between the Melbourne terminal of Southern Cross Station, and Keswick Rail Terminal in Adelaide, and covers 828 kilometres between capitals in 10 hours 40 minutes. Sydney is connected by rail to Adelaide via the Indian Pacific. The train operates between Sydney's Central Station and Keswick Rail Terminal in Adelaide, the journey is completed in 24 hours 40 minutes. Perth is connected to Adelaide by the Nullarbor Plain leg of the Indian Pacific's east to west coast journey. The trip between East Perth Terminal and Keswick Rail Terminal in Adelaide takes 22 hours. The Ghan travels between Adelaide and Alice Springs in 1 day 1 hours 25 minutes. The second leg of the journey, from Alice Springs to Darwin takes 23 hours 50 minutes.
Air: All domestic and international air traffic into South Australia is through Adelaide International Airport, which is 4 km from the city centre in the suburb of West Beach. The airport is connected with the public transport system (Bus ticket around A$5.00) or taxi (around A$18) and the city center can be reached with 15-25 minutes. Skylink Adelaide operates a regular service to most commuter specified destinations within the CBD area from the airport (A$7.50), as well as services out to Keswick Interstate Railway Terminal (A$4).The main flight routes are -
- Darwin to Adelaide: 3 hours 35 minutes
- Melbourne to Adelaide: 1 hr 20 minutes
- Sydney to Adelaide: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Perth to Adelaide: 3 hours 30 minutes
Within South Australia, there are several small regional airlines offering services throughout the State.
- Regional Express flies daily to a number of regional towns around South Australia and interstate.
- O'Connor Air flies daily to Whyalla Eyre Peninsula and Mt Gambier Limestone Coast
- Airlines of South Australia flies daily to Port Lincoln Eyre Peninsula and weekdays to Port Augusta Flinders Ranges
Road (coach): Numerous operators provide coach services between Adelaide and Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Alice Springs and Adelaide. Services to other cities and towns across Australia are by connnections to one of those destinations. The main routes followed are -
- Adelaide to Melbourne via Stawall and Ballarat (9 hours 45 minutes)
- Adelaide to Melbourne via Gt Ocean Road and Grampians.
- Adelaide to Perth - At the time of publication, there were no regular scheduled coach service across the Nullarbor Plain between Perth and Adelaide. People wishing to travel by road may wish to consider one of the adventure oriented tours that include camping and sightseeing.
- Adelaide to Alice Springs via Stuart Highway (19 hours 30 minutes)
- Adelaide to Sydney via Mildura and Canberra (22 hours)
- Adelaide to Canberra via Mildura (15 hours 30 minutes)
Road (private motor vehicle): South Australia's towns in the southern region are linked to each other, and to towns and cities in other states by a network of well signposted, well maintained sealed highways and major roads which allow for easy travel between localities. The capital cities are linked by highways that, in the main, bypass the smaller towns on the way, making the journey relatively uninterrupted. The only sealed road north of Port Augusta is Stuart Highway to Alice Springs via Woomera and Coober Pedy. The major routes through regional South Ausrtralia are -
- Darwin via Pt Augusta, Woomera, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek (Stuart Highway)
- Melbourne via Murray Bridge, Bordertown, Horsham, Ballarat (Dukes and Western Highways)
- Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road (Meningie, Mt Gambier, Heywood, Warrnambool, Apollo Bay, Geelong)
- Melbourne via Keith, Mt Gambier, Casterton, Hamilton, Mortlake, Camperdown, Geelong (Princes, Hamilton, Glenelg Highways)
- Sydney via Renmark, Mildura, Wagga Wagga, Yass (Sturt and Hume Highways)
- Sydney via Burra, Peterborough, Broken Hill, Cobar, Nyngan, Dubbo, Bathurst (Western, Mitchell, Barrier Highways, Main North Road)
- Sydney via Murray Bridge , Pinaroo, Ouyen, Hay, West Wyalong, Cowra, Bathurst (Gt Western, Mid Western, Murray Valley, Ouyen, Mallee, Princes Highways)
- Perth via Ceduna, Eucla, Norseman, Coolgardie, Merredin (Gt Eastern, Eyre and Princes Highways, Port Wakefield Road)
- Port Lincoln and Eyre Peninsula via Pt Augusta, Whyalla (Port Wakefield Road, Princes and Lincoln Highways)
- Mt Gambier via Victor Harbour, Tailen Bend, Kingston S.E. (Princes Highway)
- Yorketown and Yorke Peninsula via Port Wakefield, Maitland (Port Wakefield, Maitland and Yorketown Roads)
In South Australia, the speed limit on the open road is generally 110 kilometres per hour. In South Australia, a driver’s licence from your home country or another Australian state will usually suffice for up to three months, as long as it has photo identification and it’s for the same class of vehicle you intend to drive. If you’re staying more than three months, you’ll need to get a South Australian drivers licence. Be aware that some areas require you to surrender fruit and vegetable matter at a state border or upon entry into a fruit growing area to prevent Fruit Fly infestation, that could decimate the fruit industry.
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| Useful information for visitors |
Clothing
Australians in general dress casually, except for formal functions and venues. A jacket or warmer clothing is recommended for evenings and during the winter months. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended when touring regions such as Kangaroo Island and the Flinders Ranges, or whenever bushwalking activities are planned.
Banking
Banks in South Australia are generally open:
9.30 am - 4.00 pm Monday to Thursday
9.30 am - 5.00 pm on Fridays.
Banking facilities are limited in the Outback, so visitors need to plan for this prior to their departure.
Shop trading hours
Mondays to Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Thursdays, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Sundays, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Shops in the Greater Adelaide Shopping District can trade:
• until 9:00 pm Mondays to Fridays
• until 5:00 pm on Saturdays
• between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm on Sundays
Shops in proclaimed shopping districts can trade until:
• 6:00 pm Mondays to Wednesdays and Fridays
• 9:00 pm on Thursdays
• 5:00 pm on Saturdays
Plastic Bags
South Australia leads the nation with the ban of lightweight, checkout-style plastic bags. Be sure to have a carry bag handy in which to put anything you buy when shopping in South Australia.
| The Best Times to Visit SA |
South Australia has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and warm to hot dry summers, so there is no specific time recommended to visit the state, particularly the southern regions. Very hot conditions can be experienced during summer however, especially in the northern parts of the State, such as the Flinders Ranges and Outback regions and on the Nullarbor Plain. With much of these regions being desert, the days can be extremely hot, however the nights can be quite cold. Rainfall is experienced mostly during the winter months of June, July and August, so the best times for travelling through these areas are in Autumn (March to May) or Spring (September to November).
About South Australia
Though most of South Australia is located within the temperate zone, it is the driest state in Australia. As a consequence, South Australia's capital city - Adelaide - gives the easiest access of any capital city to Australia's Ouback. The town of Port Augusta, the official gateway to the Outback, is located at the head of Spencer Gulf just three hour drive north of Adelaide. The landscape, which sweeps out to the north and west of Port Augusta, is characterised by vivid red soil, views that stretch from horizon to horizon, clean air and night skies so bright with stars that the land is often illuminated enough to walk through. Though it has vast dry areas, South Australia is bounded in its south with a ribbon of green, much of which surrounds the Australia's longest river, the Murray. The 640 kms of the river that wends its way from the border with New South Wales and Victoria to the sea are highly favoured by canoeists and kayakers. Caving is also popular in South Australia, as it has the best cave diving localities and some of the best dry caving areas in the country.
South Australia is known as The Festival State - it holds over 500 festivals and events every year. They range from international arts festivals to small regional events and celebrate all forms of art and culture - there is even a Festival of Ideas. Because of the Mediterranean climate, South Australians like to take their art outdoors. You can enjoy Opera in the Park, Symphony Under the Stars and a summer season of movies, picnics and fashion on the lawns of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
South Australia is the home of the Australian wine industry, producing 50 per cent of the total Australian wine production. There are 13 wine regions and over 270 cellar doors - the majority of them no more than a 90 minute drive from Adelaide. They include the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale, all of which produce wines that regularly win medals at wine shows around the world.
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Area
- Total: 1,043,514 km2 (4th)
- Land: 983,482 km2
- Water: 60,032 km2 (5.75%)
Population (2003)
- Population: 1,526,301 (5th)
- Density: 2/km2 (6th)
Abreviations
- Postal: SA
- ISO: 3166-2: AU-SA
Elevation
- Highest: Mt. Woodrooffe +1,435 m
- Lowest: Lake Eyre -15 m
Time zone: UTC+9.30 (+10:30 ACST)
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