These lie just 10 km or so inland from the city, forming an enclosing arc. They contain several pleasant parks and gardens, as well as the ‘picturesque’ German village of Hahndorf.

The easiest spot to reach from the city is the Cleland Wildlife Park (www.clelandwildlifepark.sa.gov.au; 20-minute bus ride from the city centre). This has a wide range of wildlife, and some fine walks. Nearby is the Mount Lofty Summit, which is over 700 m up and has some fine views out over the city on the plain below, plus restaurant and cafe.

Just under 10 km north of here is the Morialta Conservation Park, with a gorge, waterfalls and some walking trails. (You can get here in just over half an hour from Grenfell Street on the bus – www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Morialta_Conservation_Park.

Hahndorf lies 30 km south-east of Adelaide. This was founded by émigré Germans who fled from Prussia to escape religious persecution in 1839, and is named after the captain of their ship, Kaptain Hahn; ‘Dorf’ is the German for village. The village is now a classic tourist spot, complete with Bavarian style restaurants and gift shops. (The fact that Prussia is 500 km from Bavaria and has no ‘picturesque’ architecture is not the point.) However, as anyone who has visited Germany will tell you, it too has a number of fake picturesque villages just like this – so Hahndorf has every claim to be authentic. Go and see the giant cuckoo clock in the Antique Clock Museum; and then view the works by the local 19thC artist Hans Heysen at the Hahndorf Academy (www.hahndorfacademy.org.au). After this you qualify for a glass or two of authentic locally brewed Pilsner at the suitably rustic bar of the German Arms Hotel. Or head for the German Cake Shop where the kuchen are sufficiently stuffed with cream to be utterly authentic.

(For Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and other sites south-west of Adelaide, click here)