A Guide to South Australia

South Australia is a nice place to visit, but you might also want to live there. We’re going to talk you through just some of the great reasons you should check out this fantastic region.

By Chris Farnell

If you’re going to start exploring South Australia, there are few better places to start than the city of Adelaide, a spacious garden city still bearing the mark of the “Light’s Vision” that the city was originally built to many years ago. Regularly named the most liveable city in Australia, and ranking pretty high among the most liveable cities in the world, as you explore the city you’ll discover some great museum such as the South Australian Museum or the Rodney Fox Shark Museum, as well as the perfect family day out at Adelaide Zoo. If you like spending a day by the way, Adelaide naturally has a host of great beaches, but you can also take paddleboats or bike trips along the River Torrens. More than this though, Adelaide is the perfect launch pad for exploring the rest of South Australia, so that you can discover things such as:

South Australia’s Wine Country

South Australia is famous for producing some truly amazing wines, and it would be a crime to come down here without taking a look at the beautiful country those wines come from- and maybe try a few for yourself!

The best place to start your wine odyssey is undoubtedly Barossa Valley, known as Adelaide’s Wine Capital. This country is riddled with vineyards and wine cellars. Highlights include the famous Lyndoch Lavender Farm, the Barossa Historical Museum and of course the world renowned Penfolds Barossa Valley Winery.

Another must-see destination for wine lovers is the historical town of McLaren Vale. There are more than 40 wineries working out of this town, and you can spend days here wandering the vineyards and enjoying tasters of some of the very best wine.

South Australia’s climate and countryside are perfect for winegrowing, but that’s not all that it has to offer. Once you’ve had your fill of the wine, you should also take a look at:

South Australia’s National Parks

You don’t have to travel far from Adelaide before you come across some amazing sites of natural beauty. Visit the splendour of places such as Innes National Park, a reserve with some ace camping grounds, from which you’re able to explore at your own leisure, enjoying the walking trails and observing the park’s carpet of wildflowers and breathtaking coastlines. For a history lesson while you’re here you can visit the Inneston Village. Once upon a time this village was totally self-sufficient, and while you’re here you can see where they had their own school, bakery, post office, and even tennis court!

Coorong National Park is another highlight. Using the river town of Murray Bridge as your base, you can head off to beauty spots such as Pelican Point, a fantastic bird-watching site, or Long Point, which is a great place to do some fishing. You can also enjoy the amazing views from Jacks Point, and if you have a permit you can even camp out at Salt Creep of Meningie.

While they’re in South Australia nature lovers should also take a ferry out to Kangaroo Island, which home to, you guessed it, lots and lots of kangaroos. However, you’ll also find the island occupied by koalas, penguins, seals and all sorts of other wildlife.

On top of the huge menagerie of animals on the island, you can also visit the lighthouses scattered across the island’s coastline, and explore Kangaroo Island’s vast network of underground cave systems at Kelly Hill.

If you like caves, you need to get to the Naracoorte Caves National Park, the only world listed heritage site in South Australia and home to the Southern Bentwing bat. You’ll find the Naracoorte Caves near Mount Cambier and Coonawarra. Here you’ll find not just the awe inspiring caves, but also impressive fossils offering you a window into Australia’s pre-history. You can learn more about the fossils at the Wonambi Fossil Centre.

South Australia is full of amazing sites of natural wonder and brilliant experiences to be had- far too many to fit into just one visit, and after just one visit, you may find you don’t want to leave!

Not Just a Great Place to Visit

South Australia is a growing state, and that means the opportunities here are growing too. Not just a pretty place, this region supplies the globe with minerals, cars, cereals, meat, seafood and of course, the all important wine. In fact, over half of all Australian wine exports from South Australia, which is the world’s sixth largest producer of wine.

Wine isn’t the only thing going on here however. The state is seeing a booming defence industry that has recently won a A$10 billion dollars in contracts creating a vast array of career opportunities. Meanwhile, companies in Adelaide are also the cutting edge of the IT and biotech industries.

Elsewhere in South Australia the mining sector is also undergoing a massive expansion. The Olympic Dam north of Adelaide is expected to create 23,000 new jobs alone.

These are all jobs that likely to give you more bang for your buck, as South Australia has much lower housing costs than the eastern States, but still boasts incomes to match them. Your average Adelaide house will cost around A$392,100- compared with A$458,900 in Melbourne, A$476,400 in Brisbane, A$492,400 in Perth  or a whopping A$510,800 in Sydney.

If you already own a modest home in London, then prepare to be amazed at what the same money will buy for you and your family in Adelaide- and bear in mind Adelaide house prices are relatively high compared with the rest of South Australia!

South Australia is a region rife with enchanting experiences and excellent opportunities. You don’t want to miss it. 

Migration South Australia Website: http://www.migration.sa.gov.au/ 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA STATSHOT

Area: 984,377 square kilometres (12.8 percent of the total Australian land mass)

Population: 1.6 million (June 2009)

Capital city: Adelaide, population 1.2 million (June 2009)

Image: Thinkstock

Issue 9, Australia & New Zealand Outlook