Up High or Down Low? Guess right and you could win a life-changing adventure to discover another Down Under. G Adventures, in partnership with Australia’s Northern Territory and South Australia, wants to send you Down Under on our Outback to the Great Ocean Road in Style tour—airfare included! Check out today’s featured photo and enter now!
The state of South Australia is an epic—and I mean that in the truest sense of the word—place that visitors will remember forever. Its landscapes are vast and colourful and any journey to Australia isn’t complete without a trip to the country’s rocky backbone. It’s not good enough though to see the Outback from the windows of a bus. To really experience this strange place, by far the best way is to embrace it with outdoor activities. Here are the top five outdoor ways to see South Australia.
Driving the Oodnadatta Track. Photo courtesy Greg Snell.
1. Driving the Oodnadatta Track
This is one of the most famous roads in South Australia and has a history to match. The Oodnadatta Track is a stretch of highway following the old Ghan railway and was the first route taken by explorers looking to cross the great Australian desert in the early 19th century. It is a hairy road with sections often closed for months at a time. Well worth a modern day exploration
Cleland Wildlife Park, Adelaide Hills. Photo courtesy Greg Snell.
2. Cleland Wildlife Park, Adelaide Hills
Within easy travel distance from Adelaide, Cleland is the best place to get up close and personal with iconic Australian animals. It plays host to some stunning views of the city from atop Mt Lofty and is also one of the best places in all Australia to hold a koala. Why? They’re generally larger, fluffier and all-around cuter here.
In the cage underwater off the Neptune Islands. Photo courtesy Greg Snell.
3. Shark cage diving in the Neptune Islands
Diving with great white sharks is truly incredible. There are only a few possible places to do this in the world and South Australia is one of them. Being face-to-face with an apex predator in its own environment is something special—and here the rush is heightened because the great white is such a globally feared (and misunderstood) animal. The sharks are powerful and majestic, and the experience of diving with them is difficult to convey in words. Make sure you experience this for yourself someday.
Mountain biking, Mt Lofty, Adelaide Hills. Photo courtesy Greg Snell.
4. Mountain biking, Mt Lofty, Adelaide Hills
This is one of the best half-day tours from central Adelaide. Only a half-hour drive up, you’ll get dropped off at 700m and have a 28km single run back down to the bottom. Go! The trails are open to the public, but it’s best to hire a guide who knows where they’re going, as it can get a little confusing as you snake your way through (and over) the hills. This is an incredible rush and something very accessible from the city centre of Adelaide, which is beautiful, too.
Swimming with dolphins at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island. Photo courtesy Greg Snell.
5. Swimming with dolphins at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island
Off the north coast of Kangaroo Island, there are a couple of pods of bottle-nosed dolphins who call the shallow waters home. There is a great dolphin watch and swimming tour possible almost any day of the year, and it’s amazing to be face-to-face with such iconic creatures in their own environment.
Australia has so much to offer first-time or repeat visitors. Be sure to take some chances though when you visit. With so many things to experience in South Australia, you’ll be happy you stretched your limits and tried things outside of your comfort zone. Embrace the outdoors here and come back a better traveller because of it.
Enter Now
Think you know all there is to know about Australia? It’s time to discover another Down Under. Tell us if today’s featured photo is “Up High” (Northern Territory) or “Down Low” (South Australia) — and you could be heading there yourself on our Outback to the Great Ocean Road in Style tour (airfare included). Check out today’s featured photo and enter now!
