Remarkable Adelaide to Kangaroo Island

The ‘City of Churches’ is, it turns out, also the honorary ‘City of Food’. You only need to wander around the Adelaide Central Market to discover a smorgasbord of local produce. If you have the time to explore slightly further afield, it’s a short drive to the orchards, vineyards and cheesemongers of the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa. Plenty of tasty reasons to arrive early in the South Australian capital. Meet your fellow adventurers this evening with a drink at your hotel.

This morning, embark on a city sights tour  before discovering the pretty-as-a-picture Fleurieu Peninsula, the gateway to all manner of wild and wonderful destinations. Not in the least Kangaroo Island, accessed via the Cape Jervis ferry, cruising south over the Great Australian Bight bound for Penneshaw. Bubbling with excitement to arrive on KI? So is Mike, your host at Kangaroo Island Brewery. This is no ordinary brew-house – Mike makes all his beers using rainwater he collects from the roof of his shed. Try a paddle of his liquid gold, or sip wine and cider while chatting with your affable host.    

Today mingles wilderness, wildlife and wonderful food in equal measure. Your outlook begins on a high at the Remarkable Rocks. Formed some 500 million years ago, the precariously balanced, rust-hued granite boulders cut a dramatic form against the inky blue of the Southern Ocean and silvery shrubs that cover the countryside. Your outlook is just as wild at Admirals Arch, a natural rock formation within Flinders Chase National Park, and a popular hangout for cacophonous New Zealand fur seals. The colony loll about on just about every surface you can see. They’re petite compared to the creatures found at Seal Bay, where playful seals tumble down the sand to splash about in the water – metres from where you stand. And onto that food and drink. After a two-course lunch at Vivonne Bay Bistro, Peter at Island Beehive will dish up samples of the honey (and delicious honey ice-cream) he makes here using Ligurian bees. They’re found on KI, and nowhere else in Australia. Meanwhile, the owners of Islander Estate Vineyard will pour you a glass or two and talk through the production of their wines.

One of the reason bees are so happy on Kangaroo Island is because they have an immense floral bounty to buzz over at Emu Bay Lavender Farm. Maria and Tony have been tending the land for two decades, and today grow 10 varieties of this fragrant flower. They turn it into all kinds of products, from soaps and beauty products to ice-cream, jam and scones. Dig in. Before you leave the island, follow your nose to Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery. If Australia was an aroma, this would be it. Pick up essential oils, body creams, sweets honey and soaps, and taste their cider. Then bliss out knowing that anything you eat or use not only tastes and smells great, but also has therapeutic properties. Back in Adelaide, relax this afternoon before joining your fellow foodies for a Farewell Dinner.

Bags a few kilos heavier thanks to all that honey, lavender and eucalyptus, it’s time to bid farewell to Adelaide and Australia’s second-largest (but perhaps most beguiling) island.