Visitor Information
The South Australia Visitor & Travel Centre, 18 King William St. (tel. 1300/655 276 in Australia, or 08/8303 2033; fax 08/8303 2249; www.southaustralia.com), is the best place to find information on Adelaide and South Australia. It's open weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm and weekends from 9am to 2pm. There's also an information booth at the King William Street end of Rundle Mall.
For general information about South Australia's national parks, contact the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Information Centre, Australis House, 77 Grenfell St., Adelaide, SA 5000 (tel. 08/8204 1910). It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm.
Getting Around
South Australia, at four times the size of the United Kingdom, has a lot of empty space between places of interest. The best way to see it is by car. Limited rail service connects Adelaide with some areas. The Stuart Highway bisects the state from south to north; it runs from Adelaide through the industrial center of Port Augusta (gateway to the Flinders Ranges), and through Coober Pedy to Alice Springs in the Red Centre. The Eyre Highway travels westward along the coastline and into Western Australia, and the Barrier Highway enters New South Wales just before the mining city of Broken Hill. The Princes Highway takes you east to Melbourne. If you plan to drive into the Outback regions, contact the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA), 41 Hindmarsh Sq., Adelaide, SA 5000 (tel. 13 11 11 in South Australia, or 08/8202 4600; www.raa.net). The RAA provides route maps and emergency breakdown service.
Greyhound Australia (tel. 13 14 99 in Australia, or 07/4690 9950; www.greyhound.com.au) operates bus service to and around South Australia. Within the state, the largest operator is Premier Stateliner (tel. 08/8415 5500; www.premierstateliner.com.au). It runs a half-day morning city-sights tour of Adelaide costing A$52 (US$42/UK£21) for adults and A$26 (US$21/UK£11) for kids; a day trip to the Barossa Valley costing A$95 (US$76/UK£38) for adults and A$48 (US$38/UK£19) for kids; a 2-day trip to the Barossa Valley with accommodations for A$235 (US$188/UK£94) for adults and A$130 (US$104/UK£52) for kids; a half-day trip to Hahndorf and the Adelaide Hills for A$42 (US$33/UK£17) for adults; a day trip to the River Murray, including a boat cruise, costing A$119 (US$95/UK£48) for adults and A$57 (US$46/UK£23) for kids; and an afternoon excursion to Cleland Wildlife Reserve for A$52 (US$42/UK£21) for adults and A$26 (US$21/UK£11) for kids.
