16 Best Sights in South Australia, Australia

These magnificent formal gardens include an international rose garden, giant Amazonian water lilies, an avenue of magnificent Moreton Bay fig trees, acres of green lawns, and a gorgeous Victorian palm house. The Bicentennial Conservatory—the largest single-span greenhouse in the southern hemisphere—provides an environment for lowland rain-forest species such as the cassowary palm and torch ginger. The Santos Museum of Economic Botany contains fascinating exhibits on the commercial use of some species, and on-site Restaurant Botanic utilizes many plants grown on-site in exquisite degustations. In summer the Moonlight Cinema series screens new, classic, and cult films in adjacent Botanic Park at sunset; if you forget a picnic blanket you can hire one as well as buy drinks and snacks. Tickets sell fast, so plan ahead. Check the website for workshops, events, and exhibitions in the park.

Many famous Australian painters, including Tom Robbins, Margaret Preston, and Sidney Nolan are represented alongside Renaissance and British artworks. But the real jewel is the collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander works that showcases artists, including Albert Namatjira, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, and John Prince Siddon. There is also a café and bookshop on-site.

A short drive from Mt. Lofty Summit brings you to delightful Cleland Wildlife Park, where a range of native Australian animals roam free in three different forest habitats. Self-guided walking trails crisscross the park and its surroundings, and you're guaranteed to see emus and kangaroos in the grasslands and pelicans around the swampy billabongs. There are also enclosures for wombats and other less sociable animals. Koala cuddling is a highlight of the Meet A Koala Experience, while Breakfast with the Birds offers the chance to feed a variety of species before the park opens to the public, and the Echidna Encounter is a rare chance to get up close and personal with one of the planet’s two species of monotreme. The park is closed when there's a fire ban, which is most likely to occur between December and February.

Founded by Thomas Cooper in 1862, this is Australia's only large-scale, independent, family-owned brewery. The Coopers beer story began when Thomas created a sparkling tonic for his ailing wife, Ann, but other customers soon began to clamor for the all-natural ales and stout that he delivered by horse and cart. Visitors can take accessible guided tours of the production facility and enjoy samples of the award-winning Coopers ales in the tasting room post-tour. Displays on the history of the brewery are brought to life with exhibits that include vintage delivery carts and brewing equipment, while the excellent 400-seat on-site restaurant has an extensive menu designed to pair with the in-house drops. Tour run Tuesday through Saturday for over-18s.

The 1860s stone cellar door at Coriole Vineyards sits among nasturtiums and hollyhocks on a hill with stunning views of Gulf St. Vincent and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. The surrounding vines produce some of Australia's most exciting Italian varietal wines, such as Fiano, Sangiovese, and Montepulciano. Coriole also grows olives and makes olive oils, which you can taste along with their wine. Enjoy all three as part of a meal at the on-site restaurant, which foregrounds foraged and estate-grown ingredients on a seasonal menu of delicate share plates. 

Created as a wildlife sanctuary in 1919, this broad swathe of native bushland was so highly regarded that several Australian species that are not native to the island, including koalas and platypus, were introduced here to preserve their populations (a little too successfully in the case of the koalas, which have expanded into nearby timber plantations). The catastrophic wildfires that swept through Kangaroo Island in early 2020 burnt 98% of the park but within weeks green shoots had begun to reemerge and wildlife returned soon afterward. Now the regenerating landscape offers a unique chance to observe how well adapted Australian flora is to bushfires; many native species need fire to reproduce.

The best way to see the park is on foot and several short walking trails meander through shaded valleys, along spectacular coastal cliffs, and between granite boulders that have been sculpted into surreal shapes by the elements. But the undoubted highlight is the 61-km (38-mile) Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail, which adds tannin-stained creeks, mallee scrub, sugar gum forests, and isolated beaches into the mix as well as passing the aforementioned geological marvels. Walkers can hike the full five-day trail or tackle a single section with a range of licensed tour operators. The effects of seas crashing mercilessly onto Australia's southern coast are visible in the oddly shaped rocks on the island's shores.  

The eminently approachable beach in this affluent coastal suburb offers white sand, gently lapping waves, summer entertainment, and a square known for popular dining spots. You'll find families spread out along the shore, and there's plenty of space on the wide lawns to enjoy a picnic or fish-and-chips. The jetty is perfect for walking or fishing—drop a line in the water and try your luck. During summer, Henley Beach Square comes alive with live music and festivals while eateries along Henley Beach Road bring the world to your plate—Asian, African, Mediterranean, and Indian mix with local cuisine and incredible gelato. Amenities: food and drink; parking; toilets. Best for: sunrise; sunset; swimming; walking.

Numerous trails, some of them quite steep, make the Flinders Ranges ideal for bushwalking even though the park has few amenities. Water in this region is scarce and should be carried at all times. The best time for walking is during the relatively cool months between April and October. This is also the wettest time of year, so you should be prepared for rain. Wildflowers, including the spectacular Stuart's desert pea, can sometimes be found in early spring when male emus look after clutches of cute striped chicks. 

At the center of the park is Wilpena Pound, a craterlike 80-square-km (31-square-mile) natural bowl ringed by hills that curve gently upward, only to fall away from the rims of sheer cliffs. Geologists will tell you that it is in fact a synclinal basin while for the Adnyamathanha traditional owners it was formed by two giant serpents who went to sleep. The only entrance to the Pound is a narrow cleft through which Wilpena Creek sometimes runs. The best way to see it is from above—scenic flights are available at Wilpena Pound Resort (from A$186) and are well worth the splurge.

The park's most spectacular (and strenuous) walking trail leads to the summit of 3,840-foot St. Mary's Peak, the highest point on the Pound's rim and South Australia's second-tallest peak. Visitors are asked not to climb all the way up because of its great spiritual significance to Adnyamathanha traditional owners; fortunately, the views from nearby Tanderra Saddle are just as spectacular, stretching far over the surrounding landscape toward vast glittering salt pans in the distance. Give yourself a full day to get up and back.

Renowned cook and food writer Maggie Beer is an icon of Australian cuisine. Burned-fig jam, ice cream, aged red wine vinegar, verjuice (a golden liquid made from unfermented grape juice and used for flavoring), and her signature Pheasant Farm pâté are some of the delights you can taste and buy at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop. Treat-filled picnic baskets are available all day to take out or dip into on the deck overlooking a tree-fringed pond full of turtles. Book ahead for interactive paid cooking demonstrations (A$60) and guided tastings.

Since 2001 this winery on the former Jurlique herb farm has practiced biodynamic farming by following lunar cycles, growing vegetables, raising livestock, and abstaining from chemical treatments. The welcoming cellar door is open for tastings and on Friday and Sunday morning guests can embark on a vinous journey on the Vine-to-Glass tour. The winery also hosts occasional events including memorable paddock-to-plate dining experiences showcasing Ngeringa wines (try the sprightly pét-nat) alongside incredible produce grown on-site. The farm supplies most of Adelaide's top restaurants and there is also a dedicated chamber music venue on-site.

Founded in 1844 by immigrant English doctor Christopher Rawson Penfold, this is the birthplace of Australia's most famous wine, Penfolds Grange, and one of Australia's only city wineries. Introduced in 1951, Grange is the flagship of a huge stable of wines priced from everyday to special-occasion (collectors pay tens of thousands of dollars for complete sets of Grange). Book ahead for the two-hour Magill Heritage Experience (10 am daily) to hear some of the stories behind the site; if you're a serious wine lover take the Ultimate Penfolds Experience to visit the original Penfold family cottage followed by some some premium wine tastings, or go for the Iconic Penfolds Experience, which includes a three-course lunch and wine pairings in addition to the tour.

If you find yourself needing a break from the heavy reds for which the Barossa is famous, this glass-fronted cellar door is the perfect antidote. Winemaker John Hughes is the titular Riesling Freak, and sources fruit from all across the state to make everything from lean, acid-driven numbers bursting with minerality and citrus to sweeter, European-style wines, sparkling, and even fortified versions of Riesling.

This top Kangaroo Island attraction gives you the chance to visit one of the state's largest Australian sea lion colonies. Several hundred animals usually lounge on the beach, except on stormy days when they shelter beneath the vegetation in the surrounding dunes. You can visit the beach and get surprisingly close to females, pups, and bulls on a 45-minute tour with an interpretive officer; otherwise, you can follow the self-guided boardwalk to a lookout over the sand. The park visitor center has fun and educational displays, and a touch table covered in sea-lion skins and bones. There is also a souvenir shop.

Joseph Seppelt was a Silesian farmer who purchased land in the Barossa after arriving in 1849. The wine-making business flourished under the control of his son, Benno, and today Seppeltsfield Winery and its splendid grounds are a tribute to the family's industry and enthusiasm. Fortified wine is a Seppeltsfield specialty; this is the only place in the world where you can find an unbroken lineage of vintages stretching back to 1878. Most notable is the exquisite 100-year-old Para Liqueur Tawny. Book ahead for the Centenary Tour (A$229) that allows you to walk through the cellar and taste it directly from the barrel. The Rosé Grenache and No. EC3 Portuguese blend are also worth tasting before exploring the rest of the complex that includes an excellent on-site restaurant, an art gallery and studios that you can visit, a soap factory that runs workshops, a gin distillery, and a coffee roaster as well as the Seppelt family mausoleum that overlooks an avenue planted with more than 2,000 palm trees.

This is an enormous underground complex with an original mine, a noteworthy video on the history of opal mining, exhibits examining the Indigenous and European history of the region, and examples of underground bunk camping and cooking facilities. Learn about the story of opal, different types and qualities of opal, examples of hand-dug and modern dugouts, and the experience of living underground. Guided tours of the mine are available at 10, 2, and 4 daily. There is also an opal shop and museum with noteworthy opals and fossils that are free to view.

The ancient sands of Blewitt Springs produce the finest Grenache in the country, and the most sought-after fruit in this subregion comes from Yangarra’s beachlike High Sands vineyard. While the A$325 price tag means the High Sands Grenache is best reserved for special occasions, there are plenty of other options ready to be tasted at this modern, light-filled cellar door, which lets you peek into the working winery and see how the wines age in ceramic eggs, clay amphorae, and large format oak barrels. The white Rhône varietals are also well worth trying.