Attractions

Woodside -- Visitors come to Woodside for Melba's Chocolate Factory, Henry Street (tel. 08/8389 7868), where chocoholics will find a huge range of handmade chocolates -- and you can watch them being made on historic machinery. Most likely though, you'll just want to gobble as much as you can. Melba's is part of Woodside Heritage Village, a complex that includes a fantastic cheese maker (Woodside Cheesewrights) and the Mill Shop which sells a range of crafts and fabrics. It's open daily from 9am to 4:30pm.

Birdwood -- At first glance, it seems a little strange that this tiny village would be home to one of Adelaide best museums, but who says that all the top shelf attractions need to be in the city? Even if you don't like cars, plan to spend a couple of hours in the National Motor Museum (tel. 08/8568 4000) here. Not just for rev heads, this museum examines the social influence of the motor car in Australia and has some great fun interactive family exhibits, as well as one of the largest collections of cars, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles in the world, with more than 300 vehicles dating from the turn of the century to the present day. You'll find it on Shannon Street and it's open daily 9am to 5pm. Admission is A$9 (US$8.10/£4.05) adults, A$4 (US$3.60/£1.80) children, A$24 (US$22/£11) families.

Hahndorf -- This historic German-style village (pop. 1,850) is one of South Australia's most popular tourist destinations. Lutherans fleeing religious persecution in eastern Prussia founded the town, which is 29km (18 miles) southeast of Adelaide, in 1839. They brought their winemaking skills, foods, and architectural inheritance, and put it all together here. Hahndorf still resembles a small German town in appearance and atmosphere, and is included on the World Heritage List as a Historical German Settlement. The main street is packed with a range of craft shops, art galleries, and specialty shops, and can become quite crowded on weekends.

Mount Lofty -- Visitors make the pilgrimage to the top of 690m (2,263-ft.) Mount Lofty, 16km (10 miles) southeast of Adelaide, for the panoramic views over Adelaide, the Adelaide plains, and the Mount Lofty Ranges. There are several nice bushwalks from the top.

Almost at the top of Mount Lofty, off Summit Road, is the Cleland Wildlife Park (tel. 08/8339 2444; www.parks.sa.gov.au). Here you'll find all the usual Australian animals, including the largest male red kangaroo I've ever seen. Though the park is not as good as similar wildlife parks elsewhere in Australia, it does have a very good wetlands aviary. One of the drawbacks of Cleland is that it has some unimaginative enclosures, notably the one for the Tasmanian devils. The park is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm. Visitors can meet at the Tasmanian devil enclosure at 2pm and join the animal feed run by following a tractor around the park as it drops off food.

Admission to Cleland is A$14 (US$12/£6) for adults, A$8 (US$7.20/£3.60) for children 3 to 14, and A$37 (US$33/£16) for families. Koala holding is allowed during photo sessions from 2 to 4pm daily (but not on very hot summer days); on Sunday and public holidays there's an additional session from 10am to noon. The privilege will cost you A$15 (US$14/£7) per photo. A kiosk and restaurant are on the premises.

Public transport to either place is a bit of a hassle, so this is one trip that is best done with your own wheels.