DAY 1
The finest elements of McLaren Vale including unspoiled coastline, an ancient gorge and the best of regional food and wine.
Highlights include a morning walk into Onkaparinga Gorge, the Wirra Wirra barrel hall and wine tasting, lunch at Red Poles or Wirra Wirra, a visit to an Indigenous art gallery, tour and wine tasting at d’Arenberg where architecture took inspiration from a Rubik’s Cube, meet the owners at Bekkers Wine and a savour a wine masterclass overlooking their estate, and finish the day with a stunning drive down Silver Sands Beach.
The Fleurieu adventure ends at Cape Jervis, the departure point for the Kangaroo Island ferry and the next part of your adventure.
After a 45-minute sea crossing to Kangaroo Island you will take a short transfer to your accommodation for the next two nights. Usually this will be the Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge – all reservations will be on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.
DAY 2
Welcome to Island life – where things take time, drivers wave as they go by – or even stop for a chat.
Have a cuppa with some home-made treats before taking a walk down a country track through tall Eucalyptus trees where koalas snooze overhead or wake briefly for a feed. Listen for the sounds of the bush – brightly coloured honeyeaters and brilliant parrots, cicadas or perhaps just the sound of silence.
Travel through the Island’s most productive country to the north coast. Walk through the bush with your guide – through strangely shaped trees learning what makes that noise, whose tracks are those, and who left THAT little pile there? Look for small wallabies almost extinct on the mainland, a kangaroo found only on Kangaroo Island and a variety of other birds, plants and animals.
Break for lunch at a private bush camp and enjoy a delicious meal featuring King George whiting (local sea fish), fresh salads and fine South Australian wines.
At Seal Bay Conservation Park take a private tour with your guide among Australian sea-lions on a beautiful sandy beach – an experience similar to that of the Galapagos. Watch pups nursing or playing in the surf, see old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology.
DAY 3
Begin the day travelling through some of the fire-affected landscapes of Kangaroo Island, which are recovering quickly following generous winter rains.
Learn about fire ecology and how nature deals with fire. Some of our native flora species only flower following fire!
Travel into Flinders Chase National Park and explore the massive shapes of Remarkable Rocks, a natural sculpture perched impossibly on top a granite dome plunging into the ocean
Break for an elegant picnic lunch in the bush, or if weather permits, on a spectacular clifftop. Lunch features marinated poached chicken, fresh salads, cheeses accompanied by local wine, beer, soft drinks and spring water.
Evidence of the power of the Southern Ocean swell continues at Admirals Arch – a coastal grotto which provides a haul out for a large colony of Long-nosed fur seals which swim effortlessly through crashing waves.
At the end of the day, fly back to Adelaide where you will be transferred to your hotel.
