sa road trip Page 523

For an SA road trip that actually feels like a holiday, start in Adelaide, nip up to the Barossa (about 70 km) for the obligatory cheese-pairing bravado, then roll to the Clare Valley for quieter vines.

Point the bonnet north to the Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound (roughly 300–450 km from Adelaide, depending where you aim), where the scenery does all the heavy lifting.

Loop back via the Yorke Peninsula for beaches and bakery carb-loading, then drop to the Fleurieu Peninsula and the ferry to Kangaroo Island for wildlife that refuses to read your itinerary.

Prefer shorter hops? Stick to a Fleurieu–McLaren Vale–Victor Harbor loop and spend the fuel money on oysters.

Pack water, a spare tyre, and a sense of humour—the distances are big, the skies bigger, and the servo coffee is character-building.