South Australian Outback Adventure

The South Australian capital often flies under the radar - locals like it that way, happy keeping their buzzing dining precincts, glorious gardens, and on-your-doorstep wineries to themselves. But the secret is well and truly out, and over the course of the afternoon you'll discover just how diverse Adelaide really is. After your welcome drink, you'll embark on an Adelaide tour, covering every interest base: sports (Adelaide Oval), horticulture (the Botanic Garden), culture (the Art Gallery of South Australia), and food (Adelaide Central Market). That night, why not wander up to the foodie hub of North Terrace? The city offers plenty of eateries in which to while away your evening.

You don’t have to travel far from Adelaide to be surrounded by vines. In fact, just 1.5 hours north lies the Clare Valley, and therein one of Australia’s most awarded wineries. Knappstein Enterprise Winery’s roots reach back to 1878, which yields extremely tasty drops, as you’ll discover at the cellar door before lunch in the Clare Valley’s atmospheric central town. It’s the best way to ease into the wide-open, otherworldly spaces of the Flinders Ranges – your commute is a short journey by coach, but it transports you to seemingly Martian landscapes, some 800 million years in the making and home to the Adnyamathanha people for tens of thousands of years. The Indigenous community owns and manages your base for the night, Wilpena Pound Resort, and they’ll welcome you with spirit and soul - a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.

The cliffs and craters and ravishing red rocks of the Flinders Ranges shine brightly in the morning sun, your outlook particularly pretty from Wangara Lookout. From this vantage, you’ll enjoy expansive views over the natural amphitheatre that is Wilpena Pound. It’s an awe-inspiring way to start the day, before your journey carves north through dramatic gorges. Keep your eyes peeled for endangered yellow-footed rock wallabies – only 2,250 remain in Australia, and most call this part of the country home. You’ll begin to understand why they favour the South Australian outback when you arrive in Arkaroola, characterised by ancient granite mountains and golden spinifex covered hillsides and providing a vantage over Lake Frome and the desert beyond. But the real stars here are those overhead, as you’ll discover on an astronomy tour that brings the dazzling night sky into full focus. Prepare to be humbled – in the best possible way - a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.

What was happening in Arkaroola 1.6 billion years ago? Your local guide will help decode the region’s mind-boggling geological history as you navigate the steep slopes and hair-raising ascents of the Ridgetop Track. Plants here are found nowhere else on the planet, and gorges are so vast that they seem to cleave off the edge of the earth. A patina follows your journey northwest to the Ochre Pits outside Lyndhurst, where an artist’s smudge of fiery hues paints the countryside all the way to the horizon. It’s as sacred as it is spectacular, with the Indigenous community having utilised the rich clay soil in ceremonies for centuries. You can see why this part of Australia was attractive to the 1800s settlers of nearby Farina – but you’ll also learn why they departed, leaving an eerie ghost town on the outskirts of Marree, where you’ll lay your swimming head for the night.

Much of South Australia’s outback owes its existence to the old Ghan Railway, rattling along from Adelaide to Darwin. Your morning journey along the Oodnadatta Track reveals layers of history, rivalled only by the natural spectacle of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre which you’ll glimpse along the way. Australia’s largest inland lake is typically a vast, shimmering saltpan, but occasional desert rains transform it into a vibrant oasis. You’ll witness its grandeur from above during a comprehensive scenic flight, where its abstract beauty unfolds like a living canvas. The flight also passes over the Anna Creek Painted Hills, a striking rocky outcrop bursting from the flat desert, its vivid colours forming surreal silhouettes. You’ll touch down to explore this otherworldly terrain before continuing to Coober Pedy, the next stop on your South Australia tour and your base for the next two nights. Known for its underground homes and quirky charm, this opal-mining town promises a fascinating blend of adventure, eccentricity, and subterranean discovery.

Coober Pedy has many attractions. However, most of them lie primarily below the earth’s surface. Due to the aboveground heat (temperatures can soar), many locals choose to take up a subterranean residence as well. Once you’ve explored this fascinating community – including fossicking for opals in surrounding mines, look further afield to Aboriginal-owned and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park, where you’ll travel along a stretch of the Dog Fence, a barrier spanning 5,300 kilometres across three states. As mind-boggling as the construction is, it pales in comparison to the setting’s moonscape of fossilised shells and cracked grey clay. It has provided the ideal setting for Hollywood blockbusters like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The only thing more surreal than the natural landscape is the constructed one this afternoon at Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club, where the fairways are dirt and sand. That’s one for the record books. Pick up a club to thump balls around the oil-soaked putting green. Then, learn more about the region’s history at the Big Winch 360º, a ‘circlevision’ cinematic experience that envelops you and takes you on a journey along SA’s Explorer’s Way. Make no mistake – this show is as big as the outback and as unique as the people that call it home.

It’s hard to imagine landscapes more dramatic than those you’ll have experienced so far. But the bar is officially raised by those at Lake Hart, another vast saltpan that sparked a community in the 1930s. Today, it’s all but deserted, the isolation reminding you that Mother Nature always rules. The vastness of the South Australian outback here was no doubt one of the reasons why it – specifically Woomera – was chosen to become the world’s largest military land base. Established by the British in 1947, the countryside here has been a testing base for atomic bombs, ballistic missiles and satellite boosters. It’s a piece of Australian history few know of, but that you will leave appreciating, as you head toward your evening’s repose in the natural harbour of Port Augusta.

The Barossa needs no introduction – your journey today will take in one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, and local makers know a thing or two about creating memorable vintages. Lambert Estate reveals some of the finest regional drops, and your lunchtime tipples are complemented by glorious views over the vines. Cheers to that! You’ll arrive in plenty of time for your Adelaide flight, your heart, mind and spirit filled with the natural and human wonders of South Australia.