South Australia

Stretched between Western Australia and Victoria is the nation’s breadbasket, South Australia. The capital, Adelaide, is a stately place known for its conservatism, parks, and churches, and is an ideal base for exploring Australia’s illustrious wine region, the Barossa Valley. Big labels like Penfolds, Seppelts, and Wolf Blass are here, but take time to sniff out the many smaller but no less outstanding vineyards. And it’s less than an hour from the city! Bring your binoculars for the massive water bird sanctuary, the Coorong. Stay in an underground hotel in the offbeat opal-mining town of Coober Pedy (it’s too hot above ground), or order a ’roo-burger at the historic Prairie Hotel in the craggy, ancient lands of the Flinders Ranges in the South Australian Outback. The greatest of South Australia’s attractions (apart from wine, of course!) is Kangaroo Island, the best place in Australia to see native animals. In a day you can spot wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, oodles of birds from black swans to kookaburras, echidnas, and penguins. The beach teems with sea lions.