A group of Travellers Choice members recently visited South Australia as guests of the South Australian Tourism Commission. Their itinerary included some iconic attractions, along with opportunities to taste a selection of regional food and beverages. Among the highlights was a visit to Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, Yalumba in the Barossa, the ‘taste your birth year’ experience at Seppeltsfield, and a trip to Renmark for an introduction to the historic Twenty Third Street distillery’s spirited wares.
There were also plenty of surprises, including hot lap in a V8 Mustang around the Bend Motorsport Park’s racing circuit in the Murraylands, watching the sun set from a houseboat on the Murray River, and a visit to the biodynamic Jurlique Farm in the Adelaide Hills.
For Cathy Hewett from Tewantin Travel in Queensland the tour offered a chance to return to a state she thought she knew well.
“Having previously lived in South Australia I was amazed at the extent of the tourism development underway in rural areas,” says Hewett. “These regions now offer so much more than wine, with experiences for all kinds of clients.”
Trinity Hastwell from Hastwell Travel & Cruise in Adelaide was particularly impressed by the quality of accommodation options now on offer.
“The stand-out for me was the five-star Riverland retreat, The Frames, which offers self-contained villas that jut out over the Murray River. These kinds of experiences compare with those available in Africa, and they are in our own backyard.”
