Before I visited South Australia I didn’t know much about it. Whilst most backpackers choose the well-trodden path of the East Coast for their first trip, or maybe visit Melbourne and explore the Great Ocean Road, or even fly out to Alice Springs to do a tour of Uluru, not many people choose Adelaide and the surrounding state for their first backpacking experience in Oz. I have to admit I only met a couple of people who’d been to Adelaide and even then they hadn’t explored the surrounding areas and didn’t have much to say about it.
My view of South Australia all changed when I won the Vantastic Adventures competition run by World Nomads. At the beginning of this year I travelled around South Australia in a campervan and filmed all my activities, from swimming with dolphins to hiking the Flinders Ranges.
I LOVED South Australia, and I’d most certainly go back again. If you want to go somewhere a little less overrun by backpackers and get back to nature, it’s a great state to explore. Here’s my list of top things to do in South Australia.
1. Swim with dolphins in Glenelg- This seaside town is the perfect place to escape the heat of the city in Adelaide. Relax on the white sandy beach by day and sit on the pier drinking a Coopers beer by sunset. Glenelg is quite popular with kite surfers and if you have a dream to swim with dolphins, you can do this with Temptation Sailing. They’ll put you in a wetsuit and take you out on a catamaran to spot dolphins and jump in to the sea with these friendly creatures. Don’t worry about the sharks, the boat is equipped with a shark deterrent system!!
2. Wine tasting in the Barossa Wine Valley- If there’s any excuse to get a little bit tipsy, it’s visiting the Barossa Wine Valley. One of Australia’s most famous wine making regions, you can visit the cellar doors of over 70 wineries to taste their fabulous wines, hic! Among the many wineries, there are famous names including Jacob’s creek, Penfolds and Peter Lehmann. You can also arrange to take a tour of a vineyard and learn every step of the wine making process. In total there are 13,256 hectares of vineyard in the Barossa wine valley. The majority of the vines are Shiraz, but there are also other varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Semillon grapes. Wine tasting isn’t just for wine connoisseurs and oldies, so make sure you pay a visit- tours such as Groovy Grape are perfect for the younger backpacker. Whilst you’re there, visit the World’s Largest Rocking Horse and the Whispering Wall. If you get someone to stand at the other end of this wall and whisper to them, they can hear it! For a different way to tour the region, you can also go on a Trike Tour!
3. Get tickets to the Adelaide Fringe festival- When the Adelaide Fringe is on there’s a great buzz around the city, so if you’re ever going to visit Adelaide, it’s a great time to go. The Adelaide Fringe attracts some great comedy acts and cabaret shows- this year I went to the Garden of Unearthly Delights and saw the Wau Wau Sisters, a slapstick cabaret two gal act.
4. Hike in the Flinders Ranges- If you fancy a taste of the outback head up to the dramatic landscape of the Flinders Ranges either in your own vehicle or on a tour such as the one operated by Heading Bush. Up in the Flinders Ranges you can hike around the crater of Wilpena pound and spot some wildlife including Kangaroos and Wallabies, plus enjoy an Ozzie BBQ and camp in a ‘swag’ under the stars.
5. Swim with tuna in Port Lincoln- It’s a lot scarier than it sounds! Over in Port Lincoln you can visit a purpose built tuna farm and have the opportunity to feed these beats. If you know anything about Bluefin tuna, you’ll know they can get incredibly big and if you hold a little fish above the water to feed them, you’ve got to be careful not to get your fingers bitten! If that wasn’t enough to scare you, you can put on a wetsuit and get in with them as they move at lightning fast speeds!
6. Shark Cage Diving in Port Lincoln- If you dare to look Jaws in the eye, you can have yourself lowered in a cage into the waters off the Neptune Islands and hope the scent of tuna bait will make them a tad curious. Australia is one of only two countries where you can do shark cage diving- the other being South Africa. The crew throw tuna guts into the water and wait for the sharks to swim up to the boat. You’re given a wetsuit and a regulator so that you can breathe under water and climb down into the cage, where you’ll hopefully see the razor sharp teeth of these deadly predators through the viewing gap.
7. Take the ferry to Kangaroo Island- There’s so much to do on Kangaroo Island, you’ll need several days over there. Highlights include Vivonne Bay, once voted Australia’s Best Beach and just as white as any beach in the Caribbean. There’s plenty of stuff to do for the adventurous backpackers out there- if you’re into surfing you can ride the waves in Pennington Bay or you can go sandboarding, kayaking and quad biking in the south of the island near Vivonne Bay. Spot Koalas in Hanson Bay, observe the seals as they bask on the beach in Seal Bay, strike a pose at the aptly named ‘Remarkable Rocks’ and eat some honeycomb ice cream at the Island Beehive. In the North of the Island you can watch pelican feeding in Kingscote, chill on the beach of the beautiful Stokes Bay, go night fishing with Wallaby Bob’s Night Fishing Tours and take in the breathtaking view from Prospect Hill. (That’s if you have any breath left after all those steps!)
8. Swim with sea lions in Baird Bay- Dolphins move over! Sea lions, for me, took the title of cutest animal in the ocean! This was one of my favourite activities in South Australia and definitely worth braving the freezing cold water. The friendly team take you out on a boat to swim with sea lions in the wild and what an incredible experience it was. You can watch as the sea lions bask on the rocks in the sun and armed with a snorkel, you can get into the shallow pool to play with them. Even though they’re wild animals, they love to interact with humans and will mimic your movements. Roll over, and they’ll roll with you! The sea lions will look you straight in the eye under water and do back flips into the air to show off!
9. Surf in Port Elliott- This sleepy seaside town has a great new hostel- the YHA Port Elliot, which is so new it looks like an Ikea showroom. There are several learn to surf schools and some beautiful beaches, plus you can drive to Victor Harbor and take the iconic horse drawn tram over to Granite Island, where you might spot the odd sea lion.
10. Visit the German town of Hahndorf- If you like a good beer hall and are a veteran of Oktoberfest, you might want to stop in the quaint German town of Hahndorf. You can spend the afternoon sipping on some great German beers and then potter around the shops which sell all sorts of things from puppets and leather to cheeses and jams. You might even see some journeymen in traditional clothing walking around the streets!
Adelaide Fringe photo by lamont_cranston on flickr
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