Australie | SA | Flinders Ranges
South Australia is a state of contrasts: Adelaide is situated in the midst of vegetation, but the earth gets increasingly redder towards the Outback. Visit Kangaroo Island, the Australian version of the Galapagos, and explore the Flinders Ranges with its Wilpena Pound rock basin. Or how does fine dining in Adelaide and the Clare Valley wine region appeal to you? The volcanic landscape of Gawler Ranges is absolutely breathtaking and you may get to see the migration of whales in the Great Australian Bight.
Adelaide has a relaxing atmosphere with many small cafes and buskers that add to its ambience. It's great to take a stroll down the wide boulevards or through the many lush green parks around the city, through which the Torrens River flows. Adelaide has a great nightlife, with vibrant festivals, excellent restaurants and many boutiques. It also has Runde Mall, which is the largest pedestrianised shopping area in the southern hemisphere, which has more than 800 retailers and a network of 14 shopping arcades. A free bus service runs around and then through the centre, and an historic tram travels from the centre to the coast and the white sandy beaches of the wonderfully beautiful Gulf St Vincent.
You could describe Clare Valley as the less tourist-trodden sister of Barossa. In the middle of the 19th-century Polish, English and Irish immigrants settled here and left there mark on the area. Not only striking churches and buildings speak verses about this time, but so too do place names such as Polish Hill, Auburn and Armagh. There are no less than twenty wine houses in an area covering 200km2, with famous names such as Wilson Vineyard, Jim Barry, Taylors, Petaluma, Grosset Polish Hill and Richmond Grove Watervale. Wine tourism is developing rapidly here and the way in which it is approached, with gastronomic-cultural happenings, is very attractive: open-air classical concerts, opera performances in the vineyards and wine & food package deals.
The ancient volcanic landscape of Gawler Ranges on the Eyre Peninsula is absolutely spectacular: gorges and rocky outcrops, but also lush rolling hills and colourful rock formations that are silhouetted against the white salt lakes and copious numbers of wild flowers in springtime. Hundreds of types of fantastically coloured birds live here, in addition to many kangaroos, emus and wombats. The remote fishing village of Baird Bay is located on the west coast of the peninsula and you can swim with seals and dolphins in the bay, which is an indescribable experience. The Head of Bight in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park is one of the best places in the world to see the migration of the Southern Right Whale. The park protects not only this type of whale, but also the Australian sea lion.
The Flinders Ranges is a one million-year-old mountain range that extends 400 kilometres inland from the north of Adelaide. Trees in every possible shade of green and glistening streams contrast strikingly with the bare rocks. After a dry winter, the Flinders Range area is transformed into a colourful carpet of wild flowers in the spring, which unfortunately only lasts for a short period of time. Wilpena Pound means the 'place of the bent fingers' and it is a natural 56 km2 rock basin that is located at a high altitude between steep cliffs. Over the centuries footpaths have been worn into the rocks and these offer spectacular views across the entire area.
Nowhere else will you find such an abundance of game as on the unspoilt Kangaroo Island, which is also known as the ‘nature island'. More than a third of this island is protected National Park and as a result of the fact that no animal species have been introduced here, the endemic animals are able to thrive as they have been doing for centuries. The variegated landscape is home to all of the well known marsupials, sea lions, seals and various (mainly threatened) species of bird. A 4x4 trip with a local tour guide really has advantages: you get to see many secluded places that you would never find on your own.
