Audley in South Australia
Driest of all Australia’s states, South Australia has an easy-going capital city, temperate national parks, dramatic deserts and quirky, remote communities.
Adelaide is a friendly place ideally explored on foot, nearby Kangaroo Island is one of the country’s most significant wildlife reserves, while the coast is dotted with national parks, including Coorong’s magnificent waterbird haven, the orchids, ferns, bandicoots and whales of the Fleurieu Peninsula, and the sealions, koalas, echidnas and platypus of Baird Bay. Head inland and - unless you get no further than the Barossa or Clare Valley wineries - the landscape dries into the little-visited but spectacular Gawler and Flinders ranges, the strange opal-mining town of Coober Pedy and vast Outback stations.
The summer from November to March is the best time to visit the coast, though the Outback will be hot and fly-blown, while cool winter months can see rain along the coast but a more comfortable and relaxed Outback.