South Australia: From Oceans to Outback

[Music] South Australia there are few places that so perfectly encapsulate the typical Australian experience from the rugged mountains of the outback to the glittering Southern Ocean its landscape is as diverse as its culture within its enormous state borders is an abundance of wildlife food festivals and places of extraordinary beauty over the next half an hour we'll guide you from south to north from the oceans to the outback exploring the length of South Australia we'll meet the people see the sights and taste the food that make this place such a unique part of the world [Music] it's no secret that Australia is a vast country it's the size of a continent with hugely diverse climates and landscapes within that South Australia spanned nearly half-a-million square miles with a population of around 1.6 million people that's four people per square mile compare that to the UK 670 people per square mile and you start to get a sense of just how big this place is Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest after Tasmania and Melville Island and home to a remarkable range of wildlife with over 800 native species of plants and rear sights like the endangered glossy black cockatoo Kangaroo Island is typify by unspoiled wilderness and a magnificent selection of flora and fauna it takes its name from the tens of thousands of kangaroos that make their home there including the islands very own subspecies the Kangaroo Island kangaroo this marsupial is shorter and stockier than its more common cousin the Western grey kangaroo it's thick brown fur has black tips on the ears feet and tail and can only be found in the wild in this area the south coast of the island is home to the third-largest colony of Australian sea lions in the world the endangered species is the only member of the seal family native to Australia with a long complicated breeding cycle and years of being hunted by European settlers for leather and oil in the 19th and 20th centuries its numbers are in decline but here in seal Bay Conservation Park just over a thousand sea lions live and breed in the safety of a monitored environment access to the beach is limited only to guided tours minimizing the impact on these beautiful creatures as a result seal Bay is now one of the most popular tourist attractions of Kangaroo Island [Music] the wildlife here is by no means limited to the coast a closer look at the islands dense undergrowth might reveal something remarkable an echidna it might look like a cross between an anteater under porcupine but it's not an ordinary mammal it's a monitoring it is warm-blooded with hair and the ability to feed milk to its young but it lays eggs along with the platypus the echidna is one of only two monotremes in the world both the echidna and the platypus are native to Australia another example of how the remoteness of this vast country has paved the way to a unique and fascinating selection of wildlife from the undergrowth to the treetops Kangaroo Island is a wildlife spot as paradise in eastern Australia the Koala is threatened by increasing deforestation and bush fires [Music] but after being introduced to Kangaroo Island populations have skyrocketed koalas can now be found across much of the island all you have to do is look up the koalas famous diet of eucalyptus toxic fibrous and low nutrition despite what you might have heard koalas don't get intoxicated from eucalypts in reality the leaves require a huge amount of energy to digest which koalas get by sleeping sometimes up to 20 hours a day [Music] [Applause] it's not just the wildlife that is unique on kangaroo island the aptly named remarkable rocks stand proudly in flinders chase national park magnificent granite structures that have been shaped by 500 million years of winds rain and sea [Music] a short drive down the road to cape du kuduk the naturally formed admirals arch stands as another testament to the elements as well as the shelter for a colony of New Zealand fur seals [Music] thanks to its abundance of flora and fauna Kangaroo Island is also the center of a thriving food scene locally produced cheese honey and wine are celebrated alongside fresh seafood like lobster Marin and fish [Music] many of the hotels and tourist orientated experiences focus on the care and attention brought to incredible dishes [Music] and the reason for this fantastic seafood Kangaroo Island stunning coastlines the sandy beaches and rugged cliffs here are simply beautiful to admire and explore these harbors bays and cliff tops are a refreshing change of pace from bustling cities and busy roads the dramatic and picturesque landscapes are famed all over the world [Music] marine life thrives all across the shores of South Australia the state's coastline stretches for more than 3,000 miles and after a flight of just 40 minutes from Adelaide the mighty Air peninsular awaits baird bay is a small fishing village situated on the west of the peninsula it's a place of peace and tranquility but don't let the clear blue waters of the Great Australian Bight fool you snorkelling here isn't a typical experience the coastal waters are home to another colony of Australian sea lions and these ones are used to humans [Music] [Music] when the sea lions grow bored another opportunity for swimming arises pods of dolphins are common off the coast of the peninsula and swimming with them is just one of many activities that tourists indulge in [Music] of the one and a half million people living in South Australia you'll find most of them in Adelaide the state capital was founded in 1836 as a planned freely settled colony unlike the British penal colonies of Sydney and Perth [Music] Adelaide was the center of a movement for freedom and civil liberties a place where immigrants could settle free from religious persecution nowadays the city remains a vibrant bustling cultural center home to thriving markets a lively night scene and dozens of festivals a year [Music] to name just a few the locally known mad March plays host to our music festivals like the Adelaide Fringe the Adelaide Festival roam Adelaide and the clips all 500 motor sports in May tasting Australia is a celebration of flavour and culinary skill it's no wonder South Australia is known as the festival state tucked amongst the roads and buildings of the city centre the adelaide botanic gardens are a secluded but huge public space but combines a celebration of botany and architecture rare and exotic plants grow in the warmth of magnificent nineteenth-century conservatories the Bicentennial conservatory was opened as part of adelaide contribution to the australian bicentenary celebrating the 200 years since the first british settlers arrived in botany bay [Music] the influence of foreign immigrants can still be seen today from Adelaide beautiful architecture to a wealth of museums detailing its immigrant settlers Adelaide does not shy away from its multicultural history for example the South Australia Museum houses the largest collection of Aboriginal ethnographic material in the world German immigrants settled in South Australia in the 1830s after fleeing religious persecution in the Prussian province of silesia the area known now is modern-day Poland place names like hahndorf are evidence of this German influence and one region in particular blossoms even today climbing away from the coast and the bustle of the city are the quiet rural hills of the Barossa Valley [Music] just a short drive outside of Adelaide borough Suri's world renowned for its red wine the production of which employs a large number of people in the area [Music] over 80 cellar doors and 150 wineries lie within an hour's drive from Adelaide there are roughly 750 grape growing families here many of them sixth generation supplying grapes to over 170 winemakers of all shapes and sizes but the Barossa is not only home to wine it is one of the world's top culinary destinations in common with the great wine regions of the world Boris's food and wine culture has grown steadily as the knowledge of soil climates and ingredients has been refined Australian wines such as Penfolds and wolf blass have been produced in this region for decades and are well known around the globe [Music] some like Penfolds give the opportunity for people to blend their own wines working with experienced winemakers to craft new flavors and sensations [Music] [Music] other more boutique labels have their own unique character and selador experience [Music] the growth of wine is encouraged by South Australia's warm Mediterranean climate and its partner beautifully with the region's abundance of food and farmer's markets [Music] the focus here is very much from paddock to plate local bread local desserts local cheese and wine markets overflow with fresh local produce the region is bursting with color and flavor the vibrancy of South Australia doesn't end in Barossa we follow the Stuart Highway north beyond the hills and the vineyards of the clare valley to wear green turns to red and the outback begins this is the explorers way one of Australia's great Road journeys it travels the backbone of the entire country from the south to the far north ending in Darwin in the Northern Territory a short diversion to the west the Gawler ranges are a haven for native wildlife for many the jewel in the crown of this region is the dramatic stretch of rock known fondly as the organ pipes enormous solid volcanic rhyolite is stacked in the cliff face here ranging in size from stony grinning teeth to the elongated pillars that remind so many people of magnificent organs the sporadic unpredictable and fascinating nature of the rock shapes make the organ pipes a popular place for tourists as well as local wildlife who make their home here in the cooler and wetter spring months the rocks can turn into fantastic cascading waterfalls transforming the area into something completely different [Music] prehistoric volcanic activity shaped the domed features of the landscape the area also holds ancient lakes that stretch for miles wind beaten and cracked as they have lost their water making enormous salt pans Lake Gardner is one of these salt lakes lying just north of the Gawler ranges it's the fourth largest in the country reaching a hundred miles in length and 30 miles wide the lake forms when water that flows into it from nearby rivers becomes trapped and evaporates the small amount of salt in the water is left behind as a solute forming a crisp layer over the lake floor in some places this layer of salt can be over a meter thick [Music] after rejoining the Explorers way the untamed rugged landscape of the Flinders Ranges epitomizes the romanticism of outback Australia big skies incredible sunsets and sunbake desert as far as the eye can see in the summer it's a hot dry landscape but it's not inhospitable it might seem daunting at first but look a bit closer and you'll find the place teeming with life this yellow footed rock wallaby is almost perfectly camouflaged with its surroundings preferring the shelter of the rocky outcrops to the open plains of its larger cousins the Kangaroos the Flinders Ranges have also been inhabited by humans for thousands of years Aborigines have walked in these hills since long before European settlers arrived using the plants and the rocks for food and creating art the ranges are now home to numerous towns and villages scattered along the highway the area is accessible as a destination for hiking cycling camping and wildlife watching giving tourists a taste of the iconic outback [Music] sheep are farmed here for their wool and have been for generations the enormous space means farms and ranches here can reach the size of small countries [Music] Rawnsley park station is a working sheep farm that has managed to find a way to blend sheep farming and tourism the owner to provide visitors with luxury eco villas 4x4 tours and scenic flights over the geological formation at the heart of the Flinders Ranges the spectacular wilpena pound wilpena pound is an ancient valley floor amidst mountains that have been eroded over hundreds of millions of years its golden walls are formed of highly resistant quartzite sand sand stone and cover an area of around 60 miles the origin of the name wilpena is debated some say it means bent fingers or cupped hands referring to the shape of the rocks itself the pound is an English edition possibly to do with the way the area was originally used by early European farmers today the indigenous people translate wilpena as acara which in their language means meeting place travelling north still and you enter a world of huge open plains and deserts sunburned and untamed life can nevertheless be found all over the northern reaches of South Australia the EMU is a large flightless bird endemic to Australia and a close relation to the ostrich it's long legs allow it to reach speeds of up to 30 miles an hour it has become an iconic image of Australia and both the EMU and the kangaroo make up the Australian National crest [Music] both animals were chosen because as well as being native to Australia neither can move backwards only forwards [Music] continuing up the spine of the country we reach the northern regions of South Australia this is opal mining country and the Painted Desert may seem barren but can be extremely lucrative for those willing to work the town of Coober Pedy is the opal mining capital of the world known for the way its people live underground in dugouts to escape the fierce desert heat although most of the country's opals are mined here in the state of South Australia Australia itself is responsible for over 95 percent of the entire world's opal supply this brings us to the far north of South Australia and to the end of our journey we've traveled from the crystal waters of the Southern Ocean to the dry beauty of the outback covering one of the most magnificent States in Australia but the road doesn't end there the explorers way crosses the state border slicing the country in half as it continues into the Northern Territory a land of enormous desert vistas and incredible wildlife the journey through this prehistoric landscape is a journey through time itself revealing some of Australia's most remarkable and iconic natural features from the outback all the way to the city of Darwin another world awaits another world to explore [Music]

Channel: Wanderlust Travel Magazine

Views: 506,814

Rating: 4.8601503 out of 5

Keywords: Australia (Country), Kanagroo Island, Adelaide (City/Town/Village), echidna, South Australia (Australian State), Baird Bay (City/Town/Village), Barossa Valley (Tourist Attraction), Flinders Ranges (Mountain Range), Lake Gairdner (Lake), Coober Pedy (City/Town/Village)

Id: pvc0EpW44JU

Length: 23min 48sec (1428 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 16 2015