Fantastic South Australian holiday
Sep 26th 2007, 3:41 am
#1
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Fantastic South Australian holiday
OH and I have recently returned from a driving holiday mainly through South Australia.
We live in Sydney and although I’d been to SA many years ago (really just passed through on the Indian Pacific going to Perth) it wasn’t really top of my list of places to visit. Like most people in Sydney, we tend to travel north to Queensland for our holidays.
Well we had the most fantastic time and saw some amazing diverse scenery. I cannot recommend it enough – and we didn’t even go to Adelaide. I envy anyone living or planning to live in SA – there’s no shortage of places to explore, lovely wine to drink or yummy food to eat. Can’t wait to go back and explore some more.
We basically set off for Broken Hill in the far west of NSW. The OH has always wanted to drive out that way to see the red earth etc. Took us three days to get there. The first night was spent at Mudgee (very attractive, prosperous little town) and the second night at Cobar (rather more rough and ready, but interesting none-the-less). The long drive from Cobar to Broken Hill took us through Wilcannia which was frankly, scary. It consisted of mostly boarded-up shops and intimidating Aboriginals hassling people who had stopped to fill up with petrol. We’d planned to stop for lunch there but left as soon as possible.
Broken Hill was fascinating with plenty to do and see for a couple of days. Seemed like the epitome of civilisation after Wilcannia. From Broken Hill we headed into South Australia and then turned north for the Flinders Ranges.
Well this area is just magnificent – there’s no other word for it. The scenery and light are totally unique – we have nothing like it in NSW. We stayed in the resort at Wilpena which was fantastic – wonderful facilities, super-friendly people, good coffee and great food. We did a 4-wheel-drive tour, some bushwalking in and around the Pound, had a scenic flight over the area, saw plenty of wildlife and were totally gobsmacked by it all. Highly recommended for bushwalkers, photographers and even lazy people like me.
From the Flinders Ranges, we headed south towards the Clare Valley. Fairly bleak, treeless landscape with plenty of abandoned stone houses – shows how hard life was once in this area. Stopped at Burra which was lovely. Almost totally built from local stone with antique shops, secondhand bookshops and good coffee. Clare Valley was gorgeous – rolling, green hills and plenty of riesling to taste. After Clare we made our way to the Barossa for more wine-tasting. One of the highlights there was a truly idyllic lunch in a winery (Barossa Vines) overlooking the valley. From the Barossa we went on to Goolwa near the mouth of the Murraym which was a great little town with heaps of things to do nearby.
We then had a scenic drive around Lake Alexandrina and down to the Coorong which included a chain ferry crossing of the Murray as an unexpected bonus. The Coorong area was amazing. Hundreds of kilometres with no towns, just a couple of small settlements. In a three hour drive we passed about three cars. You can only get out to the peninsular on 4WD tracks so we couldn’t explore too much but it was just beautiful.
Then we got to another of the gems of the trip. Stayed for a while in Robe, south of the Coorong. It was the cutest little town I’ve seen in years. Historic with lots of old buildings, a little harbour, a couple of lakes, some great beaches, two pubs, some good shops and restaurants and lots of really lovely houses. If I could transport Robe to NSW, I’d move there tomorrow. It was absolutely gorgeous.
We carried onto Victoria via Port Fairy (changed unbelievably since I was last there 28 years ago) and the Great Ocean Road. I’d forgotten how absolutely stunning Apollo Bay is when you drive down to it from the Otway ranges. That’s another place I’d live in if it were a few thousand k’s north! We headed back to Sydney via Ballarat, Daylesford, Echuca and Albury all of which were lovely.
The thing that impressed me most of all was that we didn’t have a single bad experience during the whole trip. We didn’t plan where to stay in advance and booked nothing beforehand. (This is obviously not something that you could do during school holidays). We mostly stayed in 3-4 star motels, rarely paid more than $100 a night and ate in restaurants, pubs and clubs. The food in SA (particularly in the pubs) was outstanding, the wine was wonderful (of course), the people were the friendliest and most helpful I’ve encountered in a long while, and the only bad coffee we had was near Cobar (in NSW!).
South Australia comes highly recommended if you’re looking for a civilised holiday in a scenic area and are fed up of traipsing north to Queensland for your holidays. I’m now planning our next trip….
We live in Sydney and although I’d been to SA many years ago (really just passed through on the Indian Pacific going to Perth) it wasn’t really top of my list of places to visit. Like most people in Sydney, we tend to travel north to Queensland for our holidays.
Well we had the most fantastic time and saw some amazing diverse scenery. I cannot recommend it enough – and we didn’t even go to Adelaide. I envy anyone living or planning to live in SA – there’s no shortage of places to explore, lovely wine to drink or yummy food to eat. Can’t wait to go back and explore some more.
We basically set off for Broken Hill in the far west of NSW. The OH has always wanted to drive out that way to see the red earth etc. Took us three days to get there. The first night was spent at Mudgee (very attractive, prosperous little town) and the second night at Cobar (rather more rough and ready, but interesting none-the-less). The long drive from Cobar to Broken Hill took us through Wilcannia which was frankly, scary. It consisted of mostly boarded-up shops and intimidating Aboriginals hassling people who had stopped to fill up with petrol. We’d planned to stop for lunch there but left as soon as possible.
Broken Hill was fascinating with plenty to do and see for a couple of days. Seemed like the epitome of civilisation after Wilcannia. From Broken Hill we headed into South Australia and then turned north for the Flinders Ranges.
Well this area is just magnificent – there’s no other word for it. The scenery and light are totally unique – we have nothing like it in NSW. We stayed in the resort at Wilpena which was fantastic – wonderful facilities, super-friendly people, good coffee and great food. We did a 4-wheel-drive tour, some bushwalking in and around the Pound, had a scenic flight over the area, saw plenty of wildlife and were totally gobsmacked by it all. Highly recommended for bushwalkers, photographers and even lazy people like me.
From the Flinders Ranges, we headed south towards the Clare Valley. Fairly bleak, treeless landscape with plenty of abandoned stone houses – shows how hard life was once in this area. Stopped at Burra which was lovely. Almost totally built from local stone with antique shops, secondhand bookshops and good coffee. Clare Valley was gorgeous – rolling, green hills and plenty of riesling to taste. After Clare we made our way to the Barossa for more wine-tasting. One of the highlights there was a truly idyllic lunch in a winery (Barossa Vines) overlooking the valley. From the Barossa we went on to Goolwa near the mouth of the Murraym which was a great little town with heaps of things to do nearby.
We then had a scenic drive around Lake Alexandrina and down to the Coorong which included a chain ferry crossing of the Murray as an unexpected bonus. The Coorong area was amazing. Hundreds of kilometres with no towns, just a couple of small settlements. In a three hour drive we passed about three cars. You can only get out to the peninsular on 4WD tracks so we couldn’t explore too much but it was just beautiful.
Then we got to another of the gems of the trip. Stayed for a while in Robe, south of the Coorong. It was the cutest little town I’ve seen in years. Historic with lots of old buildings, a little harbour, a couple of lakes, some great beaches, two pubs, some good shops and restaurants and lots of really lovely houses. If I could transport Robe to NSW, I’d move there tomorrow. It was absolutely gorgeous.
We carried onto Victoria via Port Fairy (changed unbelievably since I was last there 28 years ago) and the Great Ocean Road. I’d forgotten how absolutely stunning Apollo Bay is when you drive down to it from the Otway ranges. That’s another place I’d live in if it were a few thousand k’s north! We headed back to Sydney via Ballarat, Daylesford, Echuca and Albury all of which were lovely.
The thing that impressed me most of all was that we didn’t have a single bad experience during the whole trip. We didn’t plan where to stay in advance and booked nothing beforehand. (This is obviously not something that you could do during school holidays). We mostly stayed in 3-4 star motels, rarely paid more than $100 a night and ate in restaurants, pubs and clubs. The food in SA (particularly in the pubs) was outstanding, the wine was wonderful (of course), the people were the friendliest and most helpful I’ve encountered in a long while, and the only bad coffee we had was near Cobar (in NSW!).
South Australia comes highly recommended if you’re looking for a civilised holiday in a scenic area and are fed up of traipsing north to Queensland for your holidays. I’m now planning our next trip….
Sep 26th 2007, 3:54 am
#2
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Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Peregian Springs, Sunshine Coast
Posts: 1,872
Re: Fantastic South Australian holiday
Thanks - as soon as we sell our house in UK, a camper is top of our shopping list.
Sep 26th 2007, 3:55 am
#3
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Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 4,298
Re: Fantastic South Australian holiday
cheers NickyC ! really enjoyed reading that, will definitely put south australia on the list of places to visit !
Mark
Mark
Sep 26th 2007, 5:32 am
#4
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Posts: 28,176
Re: Fantastic South Australian holiday
Glad you enjoyed your stay in our beautiful state. Now stop telling everyone how lovely it is or they'll all want to come 
Sep 26th 2007, 11:58 am
#5
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Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Angle vale Sth Australia
Posts: 5,353
Re: Fantastic South Australian holiday
OH and I have recently returned from a driving holiday mainly through South Australia.
We live in Sydney and although I’d been to SA many years ago (really just passed through on the Indian Pacific going to Perth) it wasn’t really top of my list of places to visit. Like most people in Sydney, we tend to travel north to Queensland for our holidays.
Well we had the most fantastic time and saw some amazing diverse scenery. I cannot recommend it enough – and we didn’t even go to Adelaide. I envy anyone living or planning to live in SA – there’s no shortage of places to explore, lovely wine to drink or yummy food to eat. Can’t wait to go back and explore some more.
We basically set off for Broken Hill in the far west of NSW. The OH has always wanted to drive out that way to see the red earth etc. Took us three days to get there. The first night was spent at Mudgee (very attractive, prosperous little town) and the second night at Cobar (rather more rough and ready, but interesting none-the-less). The long drive from Cobar to Broken Hill took us through Wilcannia which was frankly, scary. It consisted of mostly boarded-up shops and intimidating Aboriginals hassling people who had stopped to fill up with petrol. We’d planned to stop for lunch there but left as soon as possible.
Broken Hill was fascinating with plenty to do and see for a couple of days. Seemed like the epitome of civilisation after Wilcannia. From Broken Hill we headed into South Australia and then turned north for the Flinders Ranges.
Well this area is just magnificent – there’s no other word for it. The scenery and light are totally unique – we have nothing like it in NSW. We stayed in the resort at Wilpena which was fantastic – wonderful facilities, super-friendly people, good coffee and great food. We did a 4-wheel-drive tour, some bushwalking in and around the Pound, had a scenic flight over the area, saw plenty of wildlife and were totally gobsmacked by it all. Highly recommended for bushwalkers, photographers and even lazy people like me.
From the Flinders Ranges, we headed south towards the Clare Valley. Fairly bleak, treeless landscape with plenty of abandoned stone houses – shows how hard life was once in this area. Stopped at Burra which was lovely. Almost totally built from local stone with antique shops, secondhand bookshops and good coffee. Clare Valley was gorgeous – rolling, green hills and plenty of riesling to taste. After Clare we made our way to the Barossa for more wine-tasting. One of the highlights there was a truly idyllic lunch in a winery (Barossa Vines) overlooking the valley. From the Barossa we went on to Goolwa near the mouth of the Murraym which was a great little town with heaps of things to do nearby.
We then had a scenic drive around Lake Alexandrina and down to the Coorong which included a chain ferry crossing of the Murray as an unexpected bonus. The Coorong area was amazing. Hundreds of kilometres with no towns, just a couple of small settlements. In a three hour drive we passed about three cars. You can only get out to the peninsular on 4WD tracks so we couldn’t explore too much but it was just beautiful.
Then we got to another of the gems of the trip. Stayed for a while in Robe, south of the Coorong. It was the cutest little town I’ve seen in years. Historic with lots of old buildings, a little harbour, a couple of lakes, some great beaches, two pubs, some good shops and restaurants and lots of really lovely houses. If I could transport Robe to NSW, I’d move there tomorrow. It was absolutely gorgeous.
We carried onto Victoria via Port Fairy (changed unbelievably since I was last there 28 years ago) and the Great Ocean Road. I’d forgotten how absolutely stunning Apollo Bay is when you drive down to it from the Otway ranges. That’s another place I’d live in if it were a few thousand k’s north! We headed back to Sydney via Ballarat, Daylesford, Echuca and Albury all of which were lovely.
The thing that impressed me most of all was that we didn’t have a single bad experience during the whole trip. We didn’t plan where to stay in advance and booked nothing beforehand. (This is obviously not something that you could do during school holidays). We mostly stayed in 3-4 star motels, rarely paid more than $100 a night and ate in restaurants, pubs and clubs. The food in SA (particularly in the pubs) was outstanding, the wine was wonderful (of course), the people were the friendliest and most helpful I’ve encountered in a long while, and the only bad coffee we had was near Cobar (in NSW!).
South Australia comes highly recommended if you’re looking for a civilised holiday in a scenic area and are fed up of traipsing north to Queensland for your holidays. I’m now planning our next trip….
We live in Sydney and although I’d been to SA many years ago (really just passed through on the Indian Pacific going to Perth) it wasn’t really top of my list of places to visit. Like most people in Sydney, we tend to travel north to Queensland for our holidays.
Well we had the most fantastic time and saw some amazing diverse scenery. I cannot recommend it enough – and we didn’t even go to Adelaide. I envy anyone living or planning to live in SA – there’s no shortage of places to explore, lovely wine to drink or yummy food to eat. Can’t wait to go back and explore some more.
We basically set off for Broken Hill in the far west of NSW. The OH has always wanted to drive out that way to see the red earth etc. Took us three days to get there. The first night was spent at Mudgee (very attractive, prosperous little town) and the second night at Cobar (rather more rough and ready, but interesting none-the-less). The long drive from Cobar to Broken Hill took us through Wilcannia which was frankly, scary. It consisted of mostly boarded-up shops and intimidating Aboriginals hassling people who had stopped to fill up with petrol. We’d planned to stop for lunch there but left as soon as possible.
Broken Hill was fascinating with plenty to do and see for a couple of days. Seemed like the epitome of civilisation after Wilcannia. From Broken Hill we headed into South Australia and then turned north for the Flinders Ranges.
Well this area is just magnificent – there’s no other word for it. The scenery and light are totally unique – we have nothing like it in NSW. We stayed in the resort at Wilpena which was fantastic – wonderful facilities, super-friendly people, good coffee and great food. We did a 4-wheel-drive tour, some bushwalking in and around the Pound, had a scenic flight over the area, saw plenty of wildlife and were totally gobsmacked by it all. Highly recommended for bushwalkers, photographers and even lazy people like me.
From the Flinders Ranges, we headed south towards the Clare Valley. Fairly bleak, treeless landscape with plenty of abandoned stone houses – shows how hard life was once in this area. Stopped at Burra which was lovely. Almost totally built from local stone with antique shops, secondhand bookshops and good coffee. Clare Valley was gorgeous – rolling, green hills and plenty of riesling to taste. After Clare we made our way to the Barossa for more wine-tasting. One of the highlights there was a truly idyllic lunch in a winery (Barossa Vines) overlooking the valley. From the Barossa we went on to Goolwa near the mouth of the Murraym which was a great little town with heaps of things to do nearby.
We then had a scenic drive around Lake Alexandrina and down to the Coorong which included a chain ferry crossing of the Murray as an unexpected bonus. The Coorong area was amazing. Hundreds of kilometres with no towns, just a couple of small settlements. In a three hour drive we passed about three cars. You can only get out to the peninsular on 4WD tracks so we couldn’t explore too much but it was just beautiful.
Then we got to another of the gems of the trip. Stayed for a while in Robe, south of the Coorong. It was the cutest little town I’ve seen in years. Historic with lots of old buildings, a little harbour, a couple of lakes, some great beaches, two pubs, some good shops and restaurants and lots of really lovely houses. If I could transport Robe to NSW, I’d move there tomorrow. It was absolutely gorgeous.
We carried onto Victoria via Port Fairy (changed unbelievably since I was last there 28 years ago) and the Great Ocean Road. I’d forgotten how absolutely stunning Apollo Bay is when you drive down to it from the Otway ranges. That’s another place I’d live in if it were a few thousand k’s north! We headed back to Sydney via Ballarat, Daylesford, Echuca and Albury all of which were lovely.
The thing that impressed me most of all was that we didn’t have a single bad experience during the whole trip. We didn’t plan where to stay in advance and booked nothing beforehand. (This is obviously not something that you could do during school holidays). We mostly stayed in 3-4 star motels, rarely paid more than $100 a night and ate in restaurants, pubs and clubs. The food in SA (particularly in the pubs) was outstanding, the wine was wonderful (of course), the people were the friendliest and most helpful I’ve encountered in a long while, and the only bad coffee we had was near Cobar (in NSW!).
South Australia comes highly recommended if you’re looking for a civilised holiday in a scenic area and are fed up of traipsing north to Queensland for your holidays. I’m now planning our next trip….
now every tosser with a set of car keys ,and a map ,will want to come here.................
mm
Sep 26th 2007, 12:35 pm
#6
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Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Waterford, Qld
Posts: 1,920
Re: Fantastic South Australian holiday
Sounds great...would love to do a trip like that one day!
Sep 26th 2007, 12:42 pm
#7
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Joined: Feb 2006
Location: In an ice box
Posts: 2,969
Re: Fantastic South Australian holiday
Nice post Nicky, now you see why I am so sad to leave SA, I know I would never be able to love another place in Australia like I love it here.
