Weekend Getaways from Adelaide: Barossa Valley, Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu

Adelaide is superbly positioned for regional wine, wildlife and coastal escapes, with two of Australia's most celebrated wine regions and a spectacular island wildlife destination all within 2 hours of the city. The Barossa Valley, 70 km northeast via the Sturt Highway, is Australia's most internationally recognised wine region and home to the world's oldest surviving Shiraz vines, with cellar doors including Penfolds (home of Grange), Jacob's Creek, Seppeltsfield and Wolf Blass all in Tanunda, Nuriootpa and Angaston. The Adelaide Hills, 30 minutes east via the South Eastern Freeway, has a cool-climate wine culture centred on Hahndorf, Birdwood and the Loop Road producers, alongside apple orchards and the Cleland Wildlife Park with koala encounters. Kangaroo Island, accessible by ferry from Cape Jervis (90 minutes south plus the 45-minute ferry) or by direct flight, is Australia's third-largest island and a wildlife sanctuary with sea lions at Seal Bay, little penguins, echidnas and the outstanding Flinders Chase National Park at the island's western end. The Fleurieu Peninsula and McLaren Vale, 40 minutes south, has a celebrated Mediterranean-influenced wine and food scene centred on the McLaren Vale village.