Heartland Heritage Trail

• Two Wells is a town with strong indigenous heritage. The Purdnala Aboriginal Food, Craft and Medicine trail leads to the waterholes once used by the native peoples.
• Auburn is a delightful and character-filled town made prosperous by the 'bullockies'; when the bullock drivers were lured to the Victorian goldfields, Chilean muleteers took over their lucrative routes.
• Mintaro is a tranquil time capsule and home to one of Australia's finest stately homes, Martindale Hall; Mintaro slate from the local quarry was of such quality it became the preferred surface for premium billiard tables
• Burra is an historic treasure trove and site of the magnificent Monster Mine; in its heyday, it was the seventh largest town in Australia, with a population larger than Melbourne. The Burra Heritage Passport literally gives visitors a key to exploring major attractions at their own time and pace.
• Eudunda is a striking town of stone, and was once a critical junction for Sir Sydney Kidman's stockmen droving their herds to Adelaide.
• Kapunda is the birthplace of Australia's copper industry; today it's home to no fewer than ten museums, plus a 10 kilometre trail that takes in the original workings.
• Gawler is South Australia's oldest country town; 168 steam locos were made at James Martin's foundry, one of the nation's most prolific.

Along the Trail you'll find over 30 pubs (many of them with histories as colourful as you might expect!), a slew of wineries, great restaurants and your choice of accommodation - everything from Georgian Mansions to caravan parks, restored miner's cottages to chic bed and breakfast retreats.

Bungaree Station, Clare:
Pastoral settlers began pushing north in the 1840s. Bungaree was one of the earliest stations in the region, established by the Hawker family in 1841. Today, it's still run by the Hawkers and still running sheep. Visitors can stay on the station in heritage accommodation.

Redbanks Conservation Park, near Burra:
These meandering gorges covered in Mallee scrub and Bluebush are home to wombats, echidnas and euros - and the remains of mega-fauna no longer walking the earth. The traditional owners of the land, the Ngadjuri people, recently initiated an excavation in the park leading archaeologists to uncover an Aboriginal Burial Ground. As well as a window into the past, it was an opportunity for Ngadjuri Elders to reconnect themselves with their traditional country and to care for their ancestors.

Sevenhill Cellars, Sevenhill:
Not only the region's oldest winery (wine-production began 1851), but indicative of the tolerance shown by South Australia to people of all religions.

'Map the Miner', Kapunda:
Kapunda was the town that spawned an industry and saved a colony. In 1838, a pastoralist stumbled across some 'moss-coloured stones'; soon after, the colonies would have their first copper mine, yielding ore so rich it saved the fledgling South Australian colony from bankruptcy. In 1845, a deposit found in nearby Burra would give rise to the world's largest mine. Migrants came in their thousands, most heralding from the mining communities of Wales, Scotland, central England and Cornwall.

The Rising Sun Pub, Auburn:
Auburn was one of the many towns that sprang up to service the Gulf Copper Trail - the route between Burra and the ships waiting at the head of the Gulf. Men who drove the bullock teams, their drays loaded with copper ore or mining supplies, could be assured of a fine feed, a few cleansing ales and a quiet place to rest for the night. Bar the bullock-drays, little has changed...

Martindale Hall, Mintaro:
Nutrient-rich soils and mineral-rich rock meant cash-rich people. The wealth and influence of the land-and mine-owners can be seen in stunning mansions around the region. Martindale Hall was built in 1876 by Edmund Bowman; the elite of Adelaide society flocked to the place to enjoy its social and sporting occasions.