South Australia Wines and Wildlife

Check in to your accommodation after exploring the food and wine capital of South Australia at your leisure.

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights Mayfair Hotel

Today, your boutique wine and food touring commences with a visit to the historic Northern Barossa with its 80 cellar doors. You’ll even visit one of the oldest vineyards in the world where Shiraz vines were planted in 1843. Enjoy running commentary from your driver as you make your way towards the fabulous Barossa Valley Region. You will be guided though some of the best wines South Australia has to offer. Tours are small groups up to 8 people only to ensure a relaxed and unhurried day. Whether you prefer red or white, there will be something to tantalise and delight with tastings at 3 wineries throughout the day, and a delicious lunch with an accompanying glass of wine included in your tour. (B,L)

Please note: Day 3, 4 & 5 on Kangaroo Island may be interchanged subject to operations of tour partners

Depart from Adelaide Airport for your flight to magical Kangaroo Island, where you will be met by your guide. Then, begin your two days of touring on Kangaroo Island enjoying the ‘Island Life’ tour. Island Life provides a taste of the way of life on the island, where things take time, drivers’ wave as they go by and passers-by stop for a chat.

Have a cuppa with some home-made treats before taking a walk down a country track through towering Eucalyptus trees, where koalas snooze overhead or chew languidly on leaves. Listen for the sounds of the bush – brightly coloured honeyeaters and brilliant parrots, cicadas or perhaps just the sound of silence. You’ll travel through the Island’s most productive countryside to the north coast and walk through the bush with your guide, learning what makes that noise and whose tracks those are. Watch for small wallabies, a kangaroo found only on Kangaroo Island, and a variety of other birds, plants and animals.

Lunch is at a private bush camp, where you’ll enjoy a delicious meal featuring King George whiting – a local sea fish, fresh salads and fine South Australian wines.

At Seal Bay Conservation Park, take a private tour with your guide among Australian sea lions on a beautiful sandy beach. Watch pups nursing or playing in the surf and old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology.

After a day of touring, you will return to your accommodation, with dinner included at your hotel. (B,L,D)

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge

Enjoy a free day to relax and enjoy the hotel facilities. Dinner is included at your hotel tonight. (B,D)

Begin the day travelling through some of the regenerating landscapes of Kangaroo Island. Learn about fire ecology and how nature deals with this natural hazard. Some of the native flora species only flower following fire.

Travel into Flinders Chase National Park and explore the massive shapes of Remarkable Rocks, a natural sculpture perched impossibly on top a granite dome plunging into the ocean. Then you’ll break for an elegant picnic lunch in the bush, or if weather permits, on a spectacular clifftop. Evidence of the power of the Southern Ocean swell continues at Admirals Arch – a coastal grotto that provides a haul out for a large colony of Long-nosed Fur Seals, which swim effortlessly through the crashing waves.

After your touring is complete, you’ll be transferred to the airport for your return flight to Adelaide. Upon arrival into Adelaide, you will be transferred to your CBD accommodation to enjoy your evening at leisure. (B,L)

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights Mayfair Hotel

As far as gourmet experiences go, today you are about to indulge in one of Australia’s best. The legendary Penfolds Magill Estate, where some of the world’s great wines are produced, is your venue for an epicurean adventure you’ll never forget.

Make your way from the hotel to Penfolds Magill Estate by your own arrangements, ready to enjoy tastings, including Grange, in the Estate’s private rooms, before heading to the Magill Estate Cellar Door for a sumptuous lunch. (B, L)

Board The Ghan in Adelaide for an iconic showcase journey of inland Australia. As the train leaves the city heading for the Flinders Ranges and beyond, the dramatic changes in landscape will ignite your imagination over the next two days. (B, L, D)

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights The Ghan

After your first night enjoying the fine dining and relaxed comfort of this iconic train, you’ll wake to an unforgettable outback sunrise at Marla – a remote outpost 160 kilometres from the Northern Territory border that marks the start of the Oodnadatta Track. Enjoy the magnificent outback scenery as you make your way onwards to Alice Springs. (B, L, D)

When the landscape transforms into rocky gorges and fast-flowing canyon streams, prepare to experience one of the Top End’s most impressive natural wonders, Nitmuluk Gorge. Continue to Darwin, where your journey concludes. (B, L)