Australia Guide
South Australia
South Australia, the driest state of the driest continent, is split into two very distinct halves. The long-settled southern part, watered by the Murray River, with Adelaide as its cosmopolitan centre, has a Mediterranean climate, is tremendously fertile and has been thoroughly tamed. The northern half, however, is arid and depopulated, and as you head further north the temperature heats up to such an extreme that by Coober Pedy people are living underground to escape the searing summer temperatures.
Food and especially wine are among the area's chief pleasures: this is prime grape-growing and wine-making country. The superb wineries of the Barossa Valley, originally settled by German immigrants in the nineteenth century, are only an hour from Adelaide on the Sturt Highway, the main road to Sydney. This crosses the Murray River at Blanchetown and follows the fertile Riverland region to the New South Wales border. As well as wineries, nearby Kangaroo Island is a wonderful place to see Australian wildlife at its unfettered best.
Following the southeast coast along the Princes Highway, you can head towards Melbourne via the extensive coastal Coorong lagoon system, before exiting the state at Mount Gambier, with its deep blue crater lakes.
In contrast with the gentle and cultured southeast, the remainder of South Australia – with the exception of the relatively refined Eyre Peninsula and its strikingly scenic west coast – is unremittingly harsh desert, a naked country of vast horizons, salt lakes, glazed gibber plains and ancient mountain ranges. Although it's tempting to scud over the forbidding distances quickly, you'll miss the essence of this introspective and subtle landscape by hurrying. For every predictable, monotonous highway there's a dirt alternative, which may be physically draining but enables you to get closer to this precarious environment. The folded red rocks of the central Flinders Ranges and Coober Pedy's post-apocalyptic scenery are on most agendas and could be worked into a sizeable circuit. Making the most of the journey is what counts here though – the fabled routes to Oodnadatta, Birdsville and Innamincka – are still real adventures.
Highlights
1 Barossa Valley A day-trip from Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is home to some of Australia's finest wineries.
2 Kangaroo Island Spectacular scenery and wildlife everywhere.
3 Murray River Stay in a houseboat on the beautiful Murray River, lined with majestic river red gums.
4 The Nullarbor Plain Drive or catch a train across the plain and appreciate how vast Australia is.
5 Coober Pedy Gape at the cool underground homes of the residents of scorching Coober Pedy.
6 Wilpena Pound The main attraction of the Flinders Ranges National Park is the enormous natural basin of Wilpena Pound.
7 The Strzelecki, Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks Fill up your tank and head off into the Outback on one of Australia's fabled journeys.
8 Lake Eyre This colossal salt lake has filled with water only five times in over 130 years – the last time, in 2009, it became an inland sea.
The Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's Mississippi – or so the American author Mark Twain declared when he saw it in the early 1900s. It's a fraction of the size of the American river, but in a country of seasonal, intermittent streams it counts as a major river and, like the Mississippi, the Murray helped open up a new continent. Fed by melting snow from the Snowy Mountains, as well as by the Murrumbidgee and Darling rivers, the Murray flows through the arid plains, reaching the Southern Ocean southwest of Adelaide near Goolwa. With the Darling and its tributaries, it makes up one of the biggest and longest watercourses in the world, giving life to Australia's most important agricultural region, the Murray– Darling basin. For much of its length it also forms the border between New South Wales and Victoria, slowing as it reaches South Australia, where it meanders through extensive alluvial plains and irrigation areas. Almost half of South Australia's water comes from the Murray; even far-off Woomera in the Outback relies on it.
The best way to appreciate the beauty of the Murray is to get out on the water. Several old paddle steamers and a variety of other craft still cruise the Murray for pleasure – try the Murray Princess (three-night wetlands cruise from $775 per person, four-night Outback cruise $1033 per person, seven-night Murraylands and wildlife cruise $1596 per person; 
08/9206 1122, 
www.captaincook.com.au ), based at Mannum, an hour's drive east of Adelaide (or take the Murray Bridge Passenger Service; Mon– Fri 1 daily; 08/8532 2633). Other cruises from Mannum include sporadic trips on the paddle steamer Marion (book at Mannum visitor centre, 67 Randell St; 08/8569 1303, www.psmarion.com ), and regular outings on the MV Proud Mary (morning tea cruises Mon 11am; 1hr 15min; two-, three- and five-night cruises also available; book at Mannum visitor centre or on 08/8231 9472, www.proudmary.com.au ).
Renting a houseboat is a relaxing and enjoyable way to see the river. All you need is a driving licence, and the cost isn't astronomical if you get a group of people together. A week in an eight-berth houseboat out of season should cost around $1250, in a four-berth $950. The South Australian Tourism Commission ( 1300 655 276, www.southaustralia.com ) has pamphlets giving costs and facilities and can also book for you; alternatively, contact the Houseboat Hirers Association ( 08/8231 8466, www.houseboat-centre.com.au ).
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