The two main sights in this section lie off the road between Adelaide and Port Augusta. The Barossa Valley lies north-east of Adelaide, on the other side of the Adelaide Hills. This is one of Australia’s oldest established and best (i.e. world-class) wine areas, and a tour of the wineries here is a vintage treat. There are around 30 wineries to choose from. The main grape is shiraz.  If you fancy seeing the Murray River (Australia’s greatest river), head east from Barossa to Loxton, where you can take a boat trip and see the Historic Village.

Running north-east from Port Augusta are the Flinders Ranges. This is prime hiking territory, with some excellent mountain scenery – gorges, peaks and a huge natural basin. The walks here vary from high performance endurance marches to civilized strolls for human beings.

You can cover this ground in less than a day, but it’s worth allowing an extra day if you want to cover all the best places to visit including the Barossa Valley in any depth; if you want to walk in the Flinders Ranges, think of setting aside at least two days.

TRANSPORT

This route is well covered by coaches such as Greyhound (www.greyhound.com.au) and more locally Premier Stateliner (www.premierstateliner.com.au). You can even get one out to Wilpena in the midst of the Flinders Ranges.