Many consider Adelaide to be the most beautiful of all Australia’s state capitals, with its well laid-out central district and surrounding green parklands. It is a curious mixture of the conservative and the liberal, with a staid history (no convict settlement) and a lively lifestyle. The best places to visit here include an excellent art gallery, and some interesting sights nearby such as Port Adelaide, the historic dockside suburb just 10 km north-west of the town centre; the beaches, which lie a similar distance to the west; and the inland Adelaide Hills with their parks and peaks.

The road to Port Augusta has a couple of sights worth a detour. The Yorke Peninsula, just across Gulf St Vincent from Adelaide, has beaches, a penguin island and a historic copper-mining district. Some 50 km south-east of Port Augusta is Mount Remarkable, which has walking trails, a gorge and some great views.

You can easily travel between Adelaide and Port Augusta in a day, but allow two or three if you want to stop off and see the sights. And it’s worth spending at least as long as this in Adelaide itself.

TRANSPORT

There are bus links to all the main sights, but if you want to explore you’re better off with a car.