Best Weekend Breaks in SA | Australian Traveller

From ruggedly beautiful coastline to the intrigue of the outback, you don’t need to travel far here to find blissful isolation. Here, the best weekends away in SA for your hit list.

Kangaroo Island

Australia’s third largest island is SA’s natural playground, accessible via a 30-minute flight from Adelaide or 45-minute SeaLink ferry ride from Cape Jervis.

It’s all about indulging in both locally produced food, wine and craft spirits, and unfiltered nature: from sea lions basking in the sun surveying the wild Southern Ocean and a rugged coastline studded with beautiful beaches to the wilderness of Flinders Chase National Park coming back to life after the 2019/20 bushfires.

Plan a long weekend at least to get a taste of what the island has to offer.

Vivionne Bay, Kangaroo Island. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

Adelaide Hills

Just beyond city limits and offering a countryside idyll studded with heritage architecture and contemporary interventions, the pull of the Adelaide Hills for weekending Adelaidians is strong.

A choose-your-own adventure kinda place, it offers up everything from the traditional streetscape of Hahndorf, its German heritage evident in everything from its bakeries to cuckoo clocks (also don’t miss the excellent Hahndorf Academy arts hub ), to hip spots like community-minded cellar door The Summertown Aristologist and eclectically renovated pub Crafers Hotel.

Fresh fare from the Summertown Aristologist in Adelaide Hills. (Image: Josie Withers)

And from an off-grid stay in a tiny house to the luxury of botanic garden-adjacent Mount Lofty House or its new Sequoia Lodge.

Coober Pedy

A two-hour flight with Rex from Adelaide, Coober Pedy is where to head when you’re craving something completely different. Australia’s opal capital is an intriguing proposition.

Explore its warren of underground shops, churches and art galleries and stay at subterranean hotels and motels including Desert Cave Hotel, the world’s first four-star property of its type. And up above, the landscape is totally out of this world, too.

Coober Pedy's bewitching landscape — Coober Pedy’s bewitching landscape. (Image: Jolyon Bird)

The nearby Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park is an outback lunar landscape of flat-topped mesas that glow all shades of copper and red come sundown.

Penola

Penola in the heart of the Coonawarra wine region could just be the perfect country town.

Explore its interesting history via a stroll down Petticoat Lane, with its 19thcentury timber and stone cottages, and a visit to Mary MacKillop Penola Centre, which honours the life of Australia’s first saint.

Then set about sampling the region’s superlative local produce, fresh seafood and some of the best red wines in Australia; the Coonawarra harnesses the Limestone Coast’s red ‘terra rossa’ soils to produce beautiful cabernet sauvignons.

Pretty Penola in Coonawarra. (Image: Tyrone Ormsby)

Barossa Valley

With some of the oldest vines in the world, the Barossa Valley is known around the world for its big, bold shiraz and embodies all of SA’s epicurean promise.

Some 80 cellar doors here span everything from the boutique, like David Franz Wines, to internationally renowned wines like Seppeltsfield.

Base yourself in Tanunda for ready access to some of the best wineries; Angaston, home to the Barossa Farmers Market; Bethany, the oldest village in the Barossa; or the village of Marananga, home to luxe digs The Louise and its double whammy of destination diner Appellation and relaxed little sister three75 bar + kitchen.

Dine at Apellation at The Louise. (Image: The Louise)

Clare Valley

Full of country charm and rolling vineyards, the Clare Valley is all about cycling carefree through the vineyards and stopping for a crisp glass of Riesling along the way: one of the first rail trails to be developed in South Australia, the Riesling Bike Trail follows 35 kilometres from cellar door to cellar door through the countryside.

Glamp or stay in a rustic tiny house at Bukirk Glamping while you’re here or bed down in cosy bed and breakfast Trestrail Cottage.

Bukirk Glamping, Clare Valley. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

And don’t miss a visit to Lake Bumbunga in Lochiel, which shimmers different colours throughout the year, from pink to white to blue, depending on the salinity of the water.

Burra

One of SA’s best-kept secrets, Burra occupies a sweet spot between the bucolic countryside and vines of the Clare Valley and the desert plains of the outback.

Formerly a copper mining hub, today its rich 1840s heritage is easily explored. Buying a Burra Heritage Passport from the Burra and Goyder Visitor Information Centre will give you access to 11 sites, including the underground Unicorn Brewery Cellars and dugouts.

The Unicorn Brewery Cellars in Burra. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

And don’t miss the great regional gallery tucked within the old Burra Telegraph and Post Office building.

The underground dugouts in Burra. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

Stay in cute cottage accommodation and be sure to check out the abandoned farmhouse three kilometres north of town known as the Midnight Oil House, which appeared on the band’s Diesel and Dust album cover.

McLaren Vale

On the sparkling Fleurieu Peninsula 40 minutes south of Adelaide, McLaren Vale is a hub of sustainable winegrowing, boutique distilleries, foodie experiences and beautiful beaches.

Based out of Moana, local tour operator Luke Harris fuses his passion for the region’s ocean, outdoors and wine with his Gone AWOL tours that span one to two days and combine everything from wine and brewery tours to SUPing and e-biking from coast to vines.

Or savour sustainable seafood and local wine at Pearl on Aldinga Beach.

Pearl on the Fleurieu Peninsula, SA. (Image: Andy Nowell)

Yorke Peninsula

The Yorke Peninsula is a two-hour drive from Adelaide, but feels a world away. A wild coastal escape (with 700 kilometres of jagged shorelines and beaches) where you might spend the day exploring the coastal wilderness of Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park before an evening cosying up by the fire in your cottage accommodation.

Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park's Cape Spencer — Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park’s Cape Spencer. (Image: Chalkie and the Chippy)

Or take the 15-minute boat ride off the coast from Edithburgh to the unique sand island and bird refuge of Troubridge Island, where groups of up to 12 people can stay in the lighthouse keepers’ cottage in blissful isolation for the weekend with just the migratory birds and Sammy the Seal for company.

The wildlife of the Yorke Peninsula, SA. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

Port Lincoln

Australia’s seafood capital, this city on the Eyre Peninsula is perennially popular.

Join a tour with Australian Coastal Safaris to dive straight in. Its two-day Hunt and Gather experience will see you hunting and gathering your own abalone and cockles, learning to shuck oysters and taking in the sand dunes at Lincoln National Park.

Tanonga Luxury Eco Lodges near Port Lincoln. (Image: Tanonga).

Or simply tuck into freshly shucked oysters on Boston Bay, which overlooks 960-hectare Boston Island: set to open up to visitors for signature experiences and adventures soon.

Eternal optimist and dad Quentin Long takes on the ultimate parenting challenge: a holiday his teenagers might like, at South Australia’s newest wildlife experience.

Teenagers. I can’t wait to take them on a holiday. Said no one ever. Caught between the twin evils of missing out on hanging with their mates and enduring the embarrassment of their parents, a holiday with the family for a teenager is tantamount to an act of torture.

And, for parents, forcing a teenager away from their dens and enduring the sullen moping that can escalate to outright verbal attacks is a battle for which most of us don’t have the strength. But it is the sense of responsibility to create moments of connection that keeps us signing up for more. It really is the hope that kills us.

And with that sense of hope, I rope the kids and wife into a trip to the recently opened Monarto Safari Resort. Located next to Monarto Safari Park, an hour’s drive from Adelaide, this new accommodation is set within the Wild Africa precinct, a 550-hectare conservation area that replicates the wild African savannah.

Arriving at Australia’s only safari resort

sunset over Monarto Wild Africa precinct — Monarto Safari Resort gives visitors the experience of an African safari in our own backyard. (Image: Oliver Long)

“Zebras!” the youngest exclaims after he barges through the doors of our interconnecting rooms, clattering bags against his brother and the skirting board to ensure he is first through. After all, every moment is a potential competition to be won.

“I think they are giraffes,” the eldest states as he stands on our balcony and points to a far stand of trees. I squint into the distance and murmur that my 50-plus-year-old eyesight seems to agree. “Look, an ostrich,” my wife says. “And an emu.”

a zebra in Monarto Safari Park — Zebras roam the vast conservation area that replicates their African habitat. (Image: Quentin Long)

The intertwining of Australian and African fauna in the wide, open spaces of the Wild Africa precinct is surprisingly not jarring. Rather, the cognitive dissonance of kangaroos and emus strolling past zebras and giraffes adds to the enjoyment.

Experiencing Africa in South Australia

a safari truck at Monarto Safari Resort — Accessible safari trucks are equipped to explore the Wild Africa precinct. (Image: Frankie The Creative)

Winding through the expansive open fields (they are enclosures of enormous proportions), the line between South Australian wheatfield and African savannah is easily blurred.

In the morning, we watch the steamy breath of hippos plume above the water. In the evening, they waddle from the dam to more comfortable sleeping quarters. Their enormous rhythmically swinging buttocks suggest that life doesn’t get much better for a hippo. We spy barbary sheep and their ostentatious beards. Three black rhinos feeding in the golden sunset. And two blackbucks relentlessly charging and clashing horns, trying to best each other. It mirrors what happens at home.

cheetahs in Monarto Safari Park — There’s a chance to see cheetahs on a game drive. (Image: Oliver Long)

I had never seen a cheetah do anything other than meander, but here we watch two break effortlessly and silently from a slow walk into a canter, displaying their terrifyingly lethal hunting ability.

Pleasingly – relieving, to be honest – the boys are enthralled with all the wildlife. They share turns capturing the animals, in surroundings as close to natural as possible, on my old DSLR camera. Reviewing their great and not-so-great photos creates a conversation and moments of connection that any parent of teenagers craves. Perhaps even better, the drives give them an opportunity to be wowed by nature again. They take on some of the commentary from the remarkably well-qualified guides.

Parents are treated as well as teens

the Marula Soak House, Monarto Safari Park — The day spa also comprises the Marula Soak House.

You can only push teenagers so far before you need to let them return to their natural slovenly state. After the morning drive and an enormous breakfast, we literally leave them to their own devices and head for some parental pampering at the Marula Day Spa. An hour-long massage is not enough, but we steal some extra time in the recovery room, sipping the aromatic and soothing Serengé-T, a bespoke combination of vanilla, licorice, lavender and lemongrass. From here, we watch the zebras buck and bite each other, secretly hoping our kids are not doing the same.

the Marula Day Spa lounge, Monarto Safari Resort — Relax post-treatment in the Marula Day Spa lounge.

Turns out, the boys did not hate the experience or me for putting them through it. In fact, they enjoyed, maybe even loved, the majority of our two-night getaway. We got a safari experience without having to take out our passports or a second mortgage. It gave some respite to my wife, connected us with the kids and expanded their horizons. That is no mean feat. But I won’t break my arm patting myself on the back; the kids will bring me back down to Earth.

zebras in Monarto Safari Park — Zebras can sometimes be seen from the resort. (Image: Isaac Long)

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

Monarto Safari Resort is an hour’s drive south-east of Adelaide/Tarntanya.

Staying there

the Savannah King room at Monarto Safari Resort — A plush Savannah King room.

Monarto Safari Resort accommodation includes twin, king and interconnecting rooms to one- and two-bedroom suites sleeping up to four guests. Waterhole rooms and suites have views of the waterhole, Wild Africa precinct and animals, whereas Savannah rooms and suites face the front of the hotel and surrounding plains.

Breakfast can be included in your booking and is served at Kutjera Restaurant & Bar, which is also open for lunch and dinner. Rates start at $285 per night for a Savannah Twin Room.

the signature sun-kissedmango dome dessert, Monarto Safari Resort — The menu features contemporary Australian cuisine such as the signature sun-kissed mango dome dessert.

Playing there

Monarto Safari Resort in the Wild Africa precinct — The resort is located within the Wild Africa precinct. (Image: Oliver Long)

The dawn and dusk game drives are inclusive and exclusive to Monarto Safari Resort guests and the only way to access the Wild Africa precinct. Guests receive exclusive discounts for park entry to Monarto Safari Park, the largest safari experience outside of Africa. The park is home to more than 50 species of exotic and native animals. A portion of every booking at the resort is donated to the Zoos SA Conservation Fund.

Ultimate weekends away in SA