Traveling to South Australia for the average American will certainly turn you around when it comes to the seasons down under.  Winter months run from June to August, summer is December to February, autumn is March to May, and spring is September to November; in other words, the weather down under is just the exact opposite of what it is in the northern hemisphere or above the equator.  That might make it somewhat confusing for Americans, but with some planning, like anything it can be fun and different. So, while we are perspiring here in the states, these folks are enjoying the cold change of winter.  Their Christmas is during the summer and so on.

Described as having landscape "like nothing you've seen before", the Lake Eyre National Park contains a huge salt sink, capable of holding water 9 times saltier than the ocean.  When filled it becomes the biggest lake in Australia and home to a teeming, thriving ecosystem.  The entire lake area is as big as the whole country of Holland or almost 6200 square miles.  The lake itself has only been filled 3 times in the past 150 years, as the Warburton, cooper Creek and Diamantina Rivers fill the lake.  It is described as a breathtaking spectacle and when the seasonal rains occur, wild birds flock to the area for the huge stock of fish.  Silver gulls, banded stilts, Australian pelicans, gull billed terns and red-necked avocets arrive in the thousands to breed and feed.  It is a fantastic sight to vision all these birds diving, zooming and flying acrobatic maneuvers to get their prey in the pink waters below.  The Lake Eyre Dragon lives here, as well as various kinds of shrimps.  Unfortunately, the lake is dry more often than it is full which creates a massive salt flat over 18 inches thick.  There are two trains of thought about viewing this magnificent terrain; one is by air with a charter plane and the other is four wheel drive.  This latter would be the option is you want to get down and dirty and really explore the small details as well as get the best possible view of the wildlife and amazing landscapes.

Perhaps the best areas to start your walkabout is in one of the many colorful towns in the Outback.  Innamincka near the end of the Strzelecki Track, was a customs post and now is a small town with a cappuccino house, trading post that creates their own brand of bread, a Laundromat part of the auto shop that doubles as a camping spot and a zany character filled hotel, where the locals come to partake of a beer or two in the renovated beer garden known as the Outamincka.  The first pub was closed in 1880.  Nearby, the remains of 2 of the best known explorers lie beside a carved Coolibah tree.  About 65 miles away is the reserve where the Coongie Lakes are, home to almost 20,000 water fowl and 150 different species of plants and animals.  Since it is a very isolated destination, strict planning is advised.  The mining town of Andamooka, famous for its high quality opals, uncovered in 1930.  Tours are from Roxby Downs and showcase historical cottages, early underground shaft mines, working mines, semi-dugout homes and noodling for opals. In the unusual town of Coober Redy, around 4000 people from 50 different countries have created their unique form of art.  Here, where the majority of the world's opals come from, you can noodle yourself for opals, visit an underground church and underground hotels, since the summers are so extremely hot. Almost half of the population live underground here and they even have their own golf course without any grass. There are more wonderful towns to explore here, including the Olympic Dam area and the town of Roxby Downs, where 9 million tons of silver, uranium, gold and copper is mined each year and this oasis was created in 1980 to support the mining families.

There are some marvelous national parks in the Outback, where you can experience nature in an entirely different aspect than you ever have.  There is no place on earth like South Australia and it truly is a fantastic state to visit.  The Flinders Ranges National Park is home to unbelievable gorges, incredible mountain ranges, and enough wildlife to fascinate anyone.  Vulkathunha Gammon Ranges National Park is a dry wilderness with gorges, ranges and fresh water springs and a land full of wildflowers and life.  The very multicolored Painted Dragon lives here, with the yellow footed rock wallaby and the rare Balcanoona Wattle.  Visit the Witjira National Park, Innamincka Regional Reserve, Desert Parks and Lake Eyre.  There are unimaginable sights, sounds and smells that await you here; and you must come to get the full experience and thrilling excitement of your life.

Only in this country, this state, can you immerse yourself in the skies above with spectacular sights of the Southern Cross and the stars shining more brilliantly and brightly than the rest of the earth. You will find some amazing tours that will help you to enjoy the sheer magnificence of the night sky. At the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, you will visit the astronomical observatory, the Stair Chairs tour and others at this great sanctuary. The Desert Cave Tours Star Gazing Evening Tour is another opportunity to watch the stars in a 360 degree panorama view. Alkirna Tours Nocturnal Wildlife Tour is yet another venue to experience the night's mystic excitement, or the star gazing presentation at Radeka's Downunder. Just imagine, just dream.

This unique and incredible country have more things to do than you have a lifetime to do it in.  The beaches are extravagant, with fantastic world class surfing, swimming, snorkeling, fishing, boating, parasailing and other underwater adventures that explode your senses with unknown possibilities stretching your imagination and fascination to the infinite limits.  The river boat leaves from Adelaide and head to the Murray River bringing you to the dry inlands that thrive off this majestic river.  Wildlife and plant life flourish and develop along the river as it heads into the interior bringing you inconceivable visions never seen before.  Become an adventurous explorer visiting a wilderness of exuberance and fantasy.  

On Kangaroo Island, enjoy the American River attractions set to a more relaxing pace allowing you to thoroughly enjoy the town set in its native bush land that looks over the Eastern Cove and Pelican Lagoon.  Watch the frolicking wallabies and possums at night or enjoy bird watching like never before with various species of exotic birds.  In Arkaroola, visit a resort and wildlife sanctuary created to harmonize with nature and the surrounding environment.  Experience the Beltana Station campsite with 4 wheel tours around the countryside.  With attractions, tours, walkabouts, museums, exhibits, farms and the like, you can visit and enjoy Bordertown, Cygnet River, Edwardstown and other areas of the state's amazing landscape.  In Williamstown you can visit the Barossa Reservoir and the famous Whispering Wall, with many historical buildings in the town's center. Here you can hit the wonderful trails on foot, horseback or cycle, bicycle or 4 wheels, that is.  Whyalla, the city by the sea enjoys over 300 days of the sun shining each year and has many things to do and places to see.  The Maritime Museum holds the biggest land-locked ship in Australia, built at the local shipyards with steel and iron from the close by Iron Knob.  This port was used to ship the ore as well as having the battery on Hummock Hill for defense during WWII.  Also nearby is the Point Lowly Lighthouse and Mount Laura Homestead Museum. It is the state's third largest city and offers visitors many attractions and events.  This is the starting point for drives and trails leading into the interior with beautiful sights all along the paths.  Each year between May and August, hundreds of thousands of cuttlefish come to spawn at the rocky shores of Point Lowly and Black Point.  An awesome adventure for underwater divers and adventurers.

In 1837, when the first whaling station was started in Victor Harbour, this was to become a very special place to visit. If you stand on the Bluff overlooking Rosetta Harbor, you might see the Southern Right whales as they migrate past the harbor. Near the harbor is Granite Island, home to thousands of small penguins returning to their island home after fishing all day. One way of seeing the island is the tram pulled by Clydesdale horses. To get there from Adelaide, they have a special train called the Steam Cockle Train from Goolwas that runs only on Sundays. In Victor Harbor, you have an opportunity to visit the Greenhills Adventure Park, Urimbirra Wildlife Experience, Victor Harbor Tramway, the Waggon Wheel Pottery and Whyte House Gallery.  Amid towering cliffs, Swan Reach is home to Big Bend, suspected to be 20 million years old and containing large amounts of flora, fauna and fossils from the past. The Aborigines called this area Kongorong because of the many black swans that habitate the area.

The beaches in the Port Lincoln are spectacular and the town itself is a great starting port for some of the best tuna fishing anywhere. Here the Mikkira Koala Sanctuary is and you can get a permit to enjoy the little furry things as much as you want. For the braver adventurers, the Dangerous Reef might be something that would interest you as it is a breeding ground for great white sharks. If you are really brave, you can go down in a cage and see these monsters up close and personal, if you dare. The town has many interesting activities besides these, including the Tunarama each year and some historical buildings. Going alone on your trek across the state, you will come to Mt. Gambier built over a large extinct volcano. There are walkabouts galore and the views and scenery are spectacular. Here you can go cave diving in the Engelbrecht Cave, a favorite among many visitors and locals. The area is a great place to camp out and enjoy the landscape and animals and especially the skies at night. In the hills east of Barossa Range , Springton is home to 2 distinctive drinks; wine and milk. With large amounts of rain each year the dairy farming and vineyards have thrived. You can visit the wineries, the Friedenberg school and church built in 1861 and now a museum, with the pioneer cemetery nearby. A huge hollow gum tree was the first home to the Herbig family in the 1850s and there for your perusal. A popular town in South Australia is Hahnsdorf, the oldest German community started in 1839, with beautiful craft shops, galleries, souvenir shops and the Academy giving local artists the chance to display their works. You will love the fresh odors of just baked bread from the German bakeries and also go strawberry picking. Or just relax and visit the Hahndorf Hill winery.
During the 1850s the town of Echunga was the center of an amazing gold rush, where you can visit the old mines, diggings and historic areas where you can look for fossils.
The Opal capital of Australia is Coober Pedy which is in a lonely, isolated, arid inimical land. In 1915, mines started being dug and still goes on today. You are welcome to search out your own or even go fossicking yourself. The film Mad Max III was filmed here and there are many dugouts or underground homes that help the residents live better with the extreme conditions that exist here. 

With almost 80 different towns in the area, there are multitudes of attractions, places, and things to do in this fabulous land that is downunder.  For the vacation, holiday or visit of a lifetime, South Australia and the Outback are part of the wonders of this world.  There are places and times when this immense land will make you feel so small and insignificant that you will wonder if you are still existing.  And because of the magnitude of this great expanse of land, rivers, valleys, deserts and blue skies, you might remember that you are alive with a wonderful new feeling of living in a world that is as different in landscapes as are the people that live and work in these places.