Once described as the ‘Garden of Victoria’ by the first Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, the Grampians is home to more than one third of the state’s flora - and has about 20 species that can’t be found elsewhere else. The surrounding towns of Hamilton, Stawell and Ararat are all easily accessible from our base in the delightful village of Halls Gap – nestled in the heart of the Grampians National Park.

The Clare Valley is just two hours north of Adelaide, in a region known as the Mid North. Of course Clare is famous for its wineries. The oldest winery in “the valley” is Sevenhill Cellars, established in 1851 by the Jesuit Brothers. The first vines came from Bungaree Station which was established by the Hawker family even earlier, in 1841. The area’s copper mining heritage is also very evident, particularly in Burra. It was the copper from Burra's “Monster Mine” that saved South Australia from bankruptcy in the 1840's.

Kangaroo Island, because of its variety and abundance of wildlife, has often been described as a "zoo without fences". It’s the third largest in Australia after Tasmania and Melville Island. Separated from the mainland for thousands of years, it retains plants and animals extinct elsewhere in Australia. It was named when Matthew Flinders saw Kangaroos on his 1802 discovery voyage. Kangaroo Island’s first official settlers arrived in July 1836 aboard the Duke of York.

South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula covers a vast area, stretching 1000kms from the Western Australia/South Australia border to the Iron Triangle City of Whyalla and 400kms from the Gawler Ranges to Port Lincoln in the south. It contains more than 2000kms of spectacular coastline ranging from towering limestone cliffs, sweeping surf beaches, sheltered coves and bays, to a hinterland of rolling hills, farmland, remarkable rocks and rugged ranges.

The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast - with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single exposure of limestone bedrock, and occupies an area of about 200,000 square kilometres. At its widest point, it stretches about 1,100 kilometres from east to west across the border between South Australia and Western Australia.

Copper was first discovered near Kadina in 1859. Moonta and Kadina soon became famous for both the copper production and the Cornish heritage. Along with Wallaroo, which provided the smelter works for the copper mines, the area is now known as the Copper Coast. The Yorke Peninsula is also known as the golden plains because of it's grain farming – mainly wheat and barley. Every 2nd year the Kernewek Lowender is held. This biennial event is held in Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo and is the world's largest Cornish Festival.

When Mark Twain visited South Australia more than 100 years ago he declared himself amazed that he would find, half a world away in the River Murray, the mirror image of the mighty Mississippi. Only the fat bales piled high atop the river boats were filled with prime Australian wool, not cotton. Today Mark Twain would find the Mississippi almost unrecognisable through industrial development and pollution - while the River Murray remains much the way it was. South Australians are lucky enough to have the best of it, the river at its widest and its grandest.

From Port August at the top of the Spencer Gulf this tour takes us to Maree at the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks – and then to the remote opal town of Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy was built on the riches of its mines. No cave-dwelling native animal could ever have dreamed up luxury accommodations to match the ingenuity of the locals who live and play underground to avoid the searing summer heat.

The Flinders Ranges National Park is world-renowned for its geological history, its ruins of early European settlement and its stunning scenery. Wilpena Pound in the Southern Flinders Ranges is a large, naturally shaped amphitheatre covering nearly 80 square kilometres. Within the Park are special gorges, cool waterholes and towering peaks. The colours, the vastness, the stories and the wildlife will have you agree this is indeed a special place. To the north, is the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary - one of Australia’s true tourism gems.

Overlooking the Gulf St Vincent and surrounded by some of Australia's best wine country, Adelaide is a great place to visit at any time of the year. The city is located on a flat fertile corridor of land between the sea and the Mount Lofty Ranges. The climate is Mediterranean with warm to hot, dry summers and cool to mild winters. The city is surrounded by Parklands or the Green Belt as its known.

Ease into a slower pace – “river time” as its called – and explore the main centres of Loxton, Berri, Renmark and Barmera. See Australia's largest rose garden and sample delicious fruits, chocolates, nuts, lavender and wines. Take a cruise downstream with some local characters from Berri and take a look at Lake Bonney which was the venue for Sir Donald Campbell’s world water speed record attempt in the 1960s.

Locally the area around Mount Gambier is simply called the “South East” – because that’s where it is on a map of South Australia! Other names have been put forward – the Greater Green Triangle, reflecting the area’s brilliant greenness and geometrical shape, the Limestone Coast, evoking its ancient geology, the Lakelands because of the fascinating mix of lakes in volcanic craters, sinkholes and underground rivers and waterways, even Kanawinka , the geographical fault line that runs like a spine through the landscape.