Introduction to Adelaide and South Australia

South Australia is a state of extremes: It's the country's driest state with some of the most inhospitable deserts on the continent, and at the same time, it's also one of the country's most fertile -- the lush green valleys and hills produce some of the best wines in Australia, if not the world. With its red, rocky gibber plains and wild windswept coastlines, pristine beaches, ancient mountain ranges, wide sweeping rivers, soft forested hills, and sea-scrapped islands, South Australia is Australia in microcosm.

Despite all this variety, it's the one state that often gets left off travelers' itineraries in favor of other states, with their reefs, rainforests, tropical beaches, big bustling cities, and monolith rocks. I reckon it's not such a bad thing really, because it means that those who do make the effort to get here don't have to share it with hordes of others.

The capital, Adelaide, is an elegantly laid out city, the only metropolis in the country other than Canberra that was actually planned, and it's big enough to offer lots of variety and excitement without losing its country-town vibe. On its doorstep are the vineyards of the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Clare, and Barossa valleys, but wherever you venture in the countryside, you're almost always guaranteed to find some of the freshest and best food and wine in the country.

Australia's longest river, the Murray, spills into the sea in the east of the state; to the west, the spectacular cliffs of the Great Australian Bight follow the path of the longest, straightest road in the world across the Nullarbor Plain. Along the Indian Ocean, peninsulas and islands provide a rugged and beautiful coastline.

Offshore, Kangaroo Island is the place to be bowled over by the wildlife -- spend a couple of days here and you'll see more wild kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, penguins, and sea lions than you thought possible in one place.

You don't have to travel very far north of the capital city to find yourself in the midst of some of the meanest, harshest, and most ethereally beautiful desert landscapes in the world; 70% of the South Australia is "Outback." Out here you'll find bizarre opal-mining towns, such as Coober Pedy, where summer temperatures can reach 122°F (50°C), where most people live underground to escape the heat. The beautiful Flinders Ranges, the eroded stumps of mountains that were once higher than the Himalayas and are some of the oldest in the world, are another "must see."

If you prefer your landscape with more moisture, head to the Coorong, a water-bird sanctuary rivaled only by Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.