Thank heavens for the Lutheran faith. If not for Lutheran migrants and their passion for fine wine, the Australian wine industry might not be the international powerhouse it is today. Australia’s Lutheran heartland, the Barossa Valley, is home to many of the country’s biggest and best-known wine producers and generates more wine each year than any other region.
Visitors can also thank the early settlers for the quality of Barossa produce. The migrants brought their traditional diet of black breads, pickled vegetables, smoked meats and farm cheeses. This heritage adds European spice to local restaurant menus and to the groaning shelves of the valley’s bakers, butchers and delis.
The 57 km Barossa Scenic Heritage Drive is an easy day drive and a great introduction to the valley. The drive begins and ends in Tanunda — ask at the town visitor centre for a map with the drive marked and then follow the signs.
Most of the best wineries, restaurants and primary producers are concentrated around the Tanunda-Nuriootpa-Angaston triangle. Cellar doors open to the public include industry giants such as Penfolds, Orlando, Wolf Blass, Yalumba, Peter Lehmann and Seppelts. Please appoint a designated driver if you plan to taste wines.
The mild Mediterranean climate and rich soil nourish not only grapes but apples, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, citrus fruit, olives, figs, quince and countless varieties of vegetable. Visitors have the happy dilemma of deciding between dining at one of many first-class local restaurants and cafes or picking up a shopping basket and creating their own picnic menu at a local deli.
— by Steve Fraser
Call: 1800 812 662
Visit: www.barossa-region.org
Buy: NRMA’s More Great Drives of Australia
Locals promote the Eyre Peninsula as ‘Australia’s best detour’. But the beautiful and gentle drive around the Eyre Peninsula is a destination in its own right. There’s little traffic (the trucks thunder along the main highway way up north) and drivers are friendly. Most will wave g’day as they pass.
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular chunk of land that juts southwards between Spencer Gulf (west of Adelaide) and the Great Australian Bight.
The two coastlines of the peninsula are strikingly different. The south-east has a string of small coastal towns facing safe beaches and sheltered waters. In contrast, the western edge is constantly exposed to the full force of the Southern Ocean, producing a rugged, cliff-lined, wave-battered coastline. The amazing thing is that, tucked away behind the cliffs and dunes, there are secluded bays full of peace and colour.
It’s possible to do this drive as a huge triangle from Port Augusta, heading south on the Lincoln Highway, north on the Flinders Highway and back via the main road, the Eyre Highway.
Highlights include picturesque Franklin Harbor, beautiful broad Boston Bay, the Port Lincoln vineyards, Coffin Bay National Park and Murphy’s Haystacks.
— by Ron Crittall
Call: 1800 067 739
Visit: www.epta.com.au
Kangaroo Island is alluring at any time. .
Modern visitors find a landscape not greatly changed from that which the young English explorer Matthew Flinders observed in 1802. Kangaroo Island’s clean air, uncluttered roads, abundance of wildlife and remoteness are a perfect antidote to city life.
The island is 155 km long and 55 km wide. With a scattered population of 4,000, public transport is limited and the best way to sightsee is by car.
Road conditions vary from ‘Great’ to ‘Let’s turn around now!’ The island’s major highways are surfaced but well-graded, unsealed roads predominate.
Some of the more remote stretches of coastline demand a four-wheel drive but all major tourist attractions are accessible in a conventional car.
Although Kangaroo Island is serviced by regular flights from the mainland, most people arrive on the fast Sealink passenger and vehicle ferries. The crossing takes about 45 minutes from Cape Jervis on the mainland to the pretty town of Penneshaw.
Sea lions and seals are probably Kangaroo Island’s most popular attractions. Seal Bay is part of a national park where a colony of protected Australian sea lions heave their tonnage from surf to sand as the mood takes them.
Wildlife officers lead several small groups into their midst each day, ensuring a safe distance is maintained between tourists and the bay’s territorial inhabitants.
An easy hour’s drive from here is Flinders Chase National Park, where koalas loll nonchalantly.
Docile wallabies and the ubiquitous kangaroos seemingly pose for photos by the roadside.
Kangaroo Island remains a place for explorers. Flinders would be pleased.
— by Leonie Coombes
Call: (08) 8553 1185
Visit: www.tourkangarooisland.com.au
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