Backpacking
Why backpack in South Australia?
If you’ve climbed the bridge, circled the rock and snorkelled the reef, it’s time to meet the real Australia.
We’re talking about a wild night in an Outback pub with the townsfolk of Parachilna (population four).
We’re talking about a week of hiking around Kangaroo Island, the wildlife haven they’re calling the ‘Galapagos of Australia’.
We’re talking about a month’s work during the crazy ‘Vintage’ season, harvesting grapes in the beautiful Barossa Valley – doing hard yakka, earning good coin and kicking back with the locals.
It’s time to do the stuff that other people are only just beginning to discover … diving with Australia’s fearsome Great White Sharks off Port Lincoln, looking for opals in Coober Pedy, cycling through valleys and vineyards, swimming with sea lions and dolphins in Baird Bay, exploring unrivalled collections of art in Adelaide, driving cattle for a day in the Flinders Ranges, relaxing with a beer on the deck of your own houseboat as you drift down the Murray River, and doing the massive Adelaide Fringe Festival when the entire city becomes the butt of its own jokes …
South Australians are renowned for being the friendliest, most laid-back, polite people in the country. We reckon this is because we’ve got one of the world’s biggest and richest backyards and only a tiny population to fill it up. Visitors are left gasping when they discover the diversity of our landscapes, the luxury of our spaces and above all, the lifestyles we lead.
Why are we telling you this? Simple. In South Australia you’re not following a backpacker trail. You’re mixing with the rest of us, doing what we like to do – eating well, living large and immersing in what we call ‘good country’.
Find a beach to call your own (it’s easier than you think in South Australia), catch some whiting and fire up a barbecue under the stars. Sit out on the wooden verandah of a country pub, drinking Shiraz while kangaroos gather at dusk. Dive wrecks, kayak in wetlands, surf sand-dunes, camp in the desert, play nine holes over a 1,300 kilometre golf course – blaze trails, get lost, discover yourself.
And one other thing. We don’t pay big-city prices, and neither will you. Our hostels, our B&Bs, our cafes and restaurants are friendly, affordable and all part of living it up in South Australia. Which means you’ll pay less, go further and do more.
Whether you chose to join some of our award-winning tour operators or head out armed only with a hire car and a spirit of adventure, be sure of one thing. You’ll be experiencing the greatest icon of them all. The Aussie way of life.
Backpacker Guide
Download and read the South Australian backpacker guide here.
More Backpacking
- Backpacking Must See & Do
- Top ideas on what to do while you're backpacking in South Australia. Read More
- Working in South Australia
- Everything you need to know about working in South Australia. Read More
- Getting Around
- Find out about economical ways to get around South Australia. Read More
- Useful Links
- Your links to more backpacking information, including holiday ideas and getting around. Read More
