South Australia

A land for wine-lovers and lunar explorers!

Escape the eastern shores and explore Australia's southern state, aptly named South Australia. Its capital city of Adeliade is host to a miriad of festivals and events, including the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Fringe Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the Adelaide Film Festival. If the arts don't tempt you then food surely will, with the Tasting Australia festival featuring national food and wines biannualy taking place.
Historically, Adelaide was planned with ease of transport in mind and was one called the "Twenty-minute city". For the average traveller, this means Adelaide's transport system and wide roads make it an easier spot to navigate than most other Australian cities.

When you're ready to ditch the city scenes, head north-east of Adelaide to the fabled Barossa Valley, traditionally home to German settlers from the 1800's. This region of Australia is famous for its vinyards and its hand in Australia's wine industry. Most of Australia's favourite wines are produced here. If your timing is right, you can attend the week-long Vintage Festival held every two years to celebrate the region's successful wine industry.

If you prefer to stay close to the water, visit Port Lincoln, to Adelaide's west. It's location near the Spencer Gulf and the Great Australian Bight make it a necessary stopover for any southern travellers. Activities available include yachting, scuba diving, shark-cage diving and game fishing.

Earth is nice, but the outlandish scapes of Coober Pedy offer the traveller something almost alien. As the set of many Sci-Fi films, including the year 2000 flick "Pitch Black" featuring Vin Diesel, "Red Planet" and Australia's "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", step out of the ordinary and visit this remarkable place. The Breakaways and Moon Plain were also host to verious NASA experiments, testing rovers and landers.
Originally an opal-mining town, it now features an airport, linking it with the rest of Australia. Due to its desert climate, many residents have taken to renovating former mineshafts and furnishing them as designer homes to escape the intense summer heat.

With the tiny population of only 270 (or there abouts), Oodnadatta will likely be a stop-over for anyone headed from Adelaide up to the north, through Australia's barren centre. The focal point of the town is the "Pink Roadhouse" providing petrol, a general store, meals, post office facilities and canoe hire (though there is nowhere to use the canoes). Be sure to stock up if you're travelling through!