South Australia

I am feeling rather slack with regards to keeping my blog updated... We have been in Victoria since the 5th of December and I've barely written about South Australia...

South Australians are spoilt for choice with a variety of destinations close at hand...

Here are a few that come to mind...

Flinders Ranges (including Wilpena Pound) We drove through here impressed by the dramatic beauty of the mountains; some of Australia's oldest rock formations. They rise from the desert plains to form a natural barrier between the coastal peninsulas and the dry heart of the north.

Eyre Peninsula...wheat meets the sea... Fields of wheat with massive silos dotting the landscape and bulk grain carriers awaiting loading in the nearby harbours. Wheat fields were common all over S.A. and when we drove through, bumper crops were in the process of being harvested. Eyre peninsula has lots of sleepy little fishing villages dotted along its coastline and is an oyster-lovers' paradise. Sheer limestone cliffs are lashed by huge seas whipped up from the Southern Ocean by The Roaring Forties.
The Lincoln National park is apparently beautiful but we were pressed for time and unfortunately missed it.

Yorke Peninsula. A long narrow finger of land protected for the most part from the worst of Mother Nature. Again, it was dotted with sleepy seaside villages, indistinguishable on our map between having three houses or a thousand new holiday homes. We never knew what we were going to find until we arrived. The best part of The Yorke for us was the national park at its southernmost tip; Innes National Park.

Fleurieu Peninsula. Wine-lovers' Paradise. Home of Clare, McLarenvale, & Barossa wine-growing regions. Due to the time of year, the vines were beautifully green with new spring growth, the grapes just starting to form. Interspersed amongst the vineyards were olive groves with cellar doors sometimes offering a range of products including cold-pressed lemon infused olive oil next to their best red (or Alpaca scarves) We loved McLarenvale...
Coonawarra and Padthaway are also in S.A. but we didn't go there.

Adelaide. Historical and beautiful.Named after Queen Adelaide,the wife of King William IV. For those of us familiar with wooden houses built on stilts, Adelaide is infused with history.( White-fella history Mick says to write...)  The city was designed with spacious squares and grand boulevards with the city centre ringed by parkland; what foresight because Adelaide will always be surrounded by greenery.

Murray River. After great rainfall for 3 previous years The Mighty Murray is flowing as never before...
It's a great time to hire a houseboat on the Murray.

Burra. I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of it...We hadn't either....Apparently Burra saved S.A. from bankruptcy when the bank of SA collapsed. Burra was surprisingly interesting. I say surprisingly because we hadn't heard anything about it...Burra was the biggest regional centre outside of Adelaide and made its fortune from a lucrative copper mine. There are many fine buildings from the mid 1800's remaining til today.

Mt Gambier. While we were there, the weather was cold and windy but I imagine on a clear sunny day that Mt Gambier would be quite nice to visit.It has unique pink limestone which has been used to great effect in building their houses. The limestone is quite porous which has led to a few sinkholes in the city with an aquifer under the city streets which cave-divers explore.The Umberton sinkhole has been planted to create a pretty garden out of what would otherwise be an eyesore.

Port Augusta. I have already written that we enjoyed the Wadlata centre. Port Augusta was a thriving town well before Adelaide.

Apart from the places I have mentioned, there are beaches close to Adelaide such as Henley and Glenelg(which reminds me of Surfers Paradise) so if you can stand the cold in Winter, there is plenty to do around Adelaide... and probably much more than I know....