The top 10 South Australian tourist attractions for Gather Round visitors
Gather Round offers a chance for interstate fans to enjoy some of the many great SA attractions. Here’s our top 10 picks based on who you support.
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Heading to South Australia for the AFL’s Gather Round? Or looking for the best recommendations for visiting family and friends?
We’ve rounded up 10 of the best things to do while in SA – with a cheeky view on where to go based on which footy team you follow.
1 Kangaroo Island
Why you should go: Long established as the jewel in South Australia’s tourism crown, Kangaroo Island offers a multitude of attractions for footy fans keen to squeeze an overseas trip into their sojourn. The island features untouched landscapes, unique wildlife, wineries, eateries and unbelievable beaches. Stokes Bay, on KI’s north shore, was this year named Australia’s best beach, Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park are … well … remarkable and the seals at … wait for it … Seal Bay have been enthralling SA families for generations.
Who should visit: Obviously everyone … but especially anyone who supports North Melbourne, who should be delighted to learn they are the only AFL team to have an actual island named after their moniker!
2 Visit our wine regions
Why you should go: With more than 200 cellar doors on its doorstep, Adelaide is the wine capital of Australia. The Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale are the headline acts and each is less than an hour’s drive from the CBD. If you go to McLaren Vale, make sure you drop in at the d’Arenberg Cube, which offers five storeys of food, wine and art experiences. Or go north to the Barossa and visit wineries including Seppeltsfield, Yalumba and Jacob’s Creek. Just a bit further north is the Clare Valley, famous for its rieslings.
For anyone heading to the Hills for the Brisbane v North clash, the Mount Barker oval is only a few Malcolm Blight torpedoes from a plethora of Adelaide Hills vineyards including The Lane, Shaw+Smith, Ashton Hills, Golding Wines, Greenhill Wines and Sidewood Estate.
Who should go: Far be it for us to stereotype, but we reckon Melbourne fans, who are accustomed to sipping on a pinot noir around the open fire at the ski chalet, would particularly enjoy a day visiting our wine regions.
3 Adelaide Central Market
Why you should go: For a quintessential Adelaide experience, step into a thriving hub of food and culture in the heart of the CBD. A favourite spot for locals, countless eateries offer a gastronomic gateway to Asia, while products from all over SA, including fruits, vegetables, cheeses, small-goods, chocolate, honey and bread pack stalls manned by local producers.
Grab yourself some breakfast, then embark on a guided tour, taking you through the market’s rich history, beloved characters and flavours from all corners of the globe.
Who should go: Anyone who likes to eat, and we are presuming that’s most people. But considering Melbourne’s famous inner-city restaurant strip of Lygon Street runs through Carlton, the Central Market is a perfect destination for Blues fans, who will have plenty of time on their hands after opening the Gather Round on Thursday night.
4 Head to the Hills
Why you should go: The Mount Barker game between Brisbane and North Melbourne is a sellout, but you don’t need a ticket to enjoy the fabulous villages of the Adelaide Hills. From Hahndorf to Birdwood, Gumeracha to Oakbank, or Stirling to Lobethal, each town in the Hills has its own unique feel and its own list of attractions.
There’s a host of conservation or recreation parks (including Morialta, Cleland, Belair and Black Hills) to explore on foot or bike if you are feeling energetic, or wineries, local food and shopping options nestled among the leafy towns with picture-perfect country views. Heck, there’s even a giant rocking horse!
Who should go: Many Hills towns (especially Hahndorf) boast a rich German heritage, so this is somewhere Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt, whose paternal grandparents immigrated from German in the 1950s, should take the Tiger army after he locks horns with Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
5 Explore the River Murray
Why you should go: River towns from Renmark to Murray Bridge have just emerged out of the biggest flood event since 1956, so there’s never been a better time to check out the mighty River Murray’s natural wonder. Though the river has dropped back to pool level in most places, the aftermath of the flood is still well and truly on show and backwaters in the Riverland and Murray-lands are thriving.
The Murray herself remains a sight to behold, and there’s a host of tourist attractions along her banks. If you’re a stargazer, the only dark sky reserve in Australia is between Blanchetown and Bowhill and in an area protected from light pollution offering an intergalactic adventure.
Who should go: Every drop of floodwater that came our way in the past six months was sent down from our eastern neighbours in the Murray-Darling Basin, so anyone from Victoria, Queensland or NSW should head to the river to see what we have done with their not-so-welcome gifts.
6 Dive with Sharks
Why you should go: Confront your fears and swim with the ocean’s apex predator, the great white shark. South Australia is famous for the invention of shark cage diving, and Port Lincoln is the undisputed shark-diving capital of the world.
Lincoln is less than an hour’s flight from Adelaide, then it’s just a matter of jumping on board a boat out to Neptune Islands, 30km offshore. It can be a rough ride out there, but the thrill of experiencing a close encounter with a great white shark makes it all worthwhile.
Who should go: Port Adelaide and Fremantle are the two AFL clubs with tight maritime links, so this experience should be a must for Power and Dockers fans. Oh, and let’s not forget the sharks already appear to be circling around Power coach Ken Hinkley this season.
7 The Flinders Ranges
Why you should go: Australia’s largest Outback mountain range offers a brilliant opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the most ancient landscapes on the planet. From the rugged, sometimes lush terrain of Mount Remarkable National Park in the south to the wild and sometimes desolate Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges in the north, the Flinders is also a gateway to the Outback, with wildlife ranging from kangaroos and wallabies to emus and wombats. Hike to the top of St Mary Peak, take the famous Slytrek 4WD track, or a more casual drive to Parachilna and Brachina Gorges. Camp in a swag or enjoy luxury accommodation.
Who should go: You’ll see kangaroos, wedge-tailed eagles and plenty of sun during a visit to the Flinders, so North Melbourne, West Coast and Gold Coast fans should feel right at home.
8 Explore Adelaide Oval
Why you should go: Since its revamp about 10 years ago, Adelaide Oval has become a tourist destination in its own right. Oval tours and roof climb experiences are a hit with us locals and should be on the to-do list for anyone visiting for Gather Round.
The roof climb offers spectacular views of both the oval and its surrounds, as patrons walk along the roof of the western stand and then arrive at a platform at the front of the Riverbank stand, about 50 metres above the goalsquare.
If you are going to any of the games at Adelaide Oval this weekend, there are still spots available to do a roof climb during a match, where you get to see the AFL from a vantage point unlike any other in Australia.
Who should go: Watching footy from the roof of the Riverbank stand offers a bird’s-eye view, so it’s ideal for Collingwood, Hawthorn, West Coast and Sydney fans. You are also close to the heavens, hence St Kilda fans won’t feel out of place, neither will anyone backing the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
9 Life’s a beach
Why you should go: Adelaide is spoilt for choice when it comes to beaches – and anyone visiting our metro hot spots ranging from Semaphore in the north to Willunga in the south won’t be disappointed.
Destinations including Glenelg, Henley, West Beach, Noarlunga, Christies and Brighton are part of SA folklore and perfect locations for an Insta-worthy sunset photo or a casual stroll along the sand. Surfers can catch the perfect wave a bit further south, at Southport, Waitpinga and Parsons.
Who should go: Any sandgropers from Western Australia will obviously feel right at home on SA’s sandy beaches as will surfers from Geelong or the Gold Coast. Surfers might even catch a glimpse of local stars Travis Boak and Rory Sloane, who can often be found catching waves.
10 Tree Climb, Adelaide and Kuitpo
Why you should go: These aerial adventure parks in the Adelaide parklands and in a forest about an hour south of the city are a thrillseeker’s paradise. The parks are a mixture of zip lines, bridges and climbing obstacles perched in a tree canopy more than 10 metres from the ground. TreeClimb Adelaide was Australia’s first capital city aerial adventure park when it opened in 2018, while the Kuitpo version opened earlier this year.
Who should visit: Cats, Tigers and Lions are renowned tree climbers, so fans of Geelong and Richmond are a monty to enjoy this one. Fans of both these clubs have also spent plenty of time sitting atop of the AFL ladder in the past decade or so, so should feel right at home perched above the rest of the world.
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