Great Southern Road Trip
A 10-day adventure
Sample the cultural heartbeats of two cosmopolitan cities, plus the coast and inland Australia on this 10-day cultural adventure.
The one-way road trip starts in cosmopolitan Melbourne / Naarm in Victoria and ends at the dramatic natural amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound in South Australia, with highlights in between including The Great Ocean Road, Mount Gambier, Adelaide and the Barossa Valley.
Buckle up for this drive through Australia’s past and present.
South Australia
Follow the Journey
Click on a marker to find out more about the key locations.
Victoria
Follow the Journey
Click on a marker to find out more about the key locations.
South Australia
NSW
Victoria
South Australia | Victoria
Day 1
Experience Country
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (RBGM) was a traditional camping and meeting place for Aboriginal people before white settlement, making it a respectful place to learn more about bush tucker, bush medicine, tools, customs and ceremony during this 1.5-hour Aboriginal Heritage Walk.
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
Aboriginal Heritage Walk | Adult from AU$45
Day 1
Experience Country
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (RBGM) was a traditional camping and meeting place for Aboriginal people before white settlement, making it a respectful place to learn more about bush tucker, bush medicine, tools, customs and ceremony during this 1.5-hour Aboriginal Heritage Walk.
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
Aboriginal Heritage Walk | Adult from AU$45
Day 1
Alternatively, you can learn more about the city’s Aboriginal history during a walking tour along the Yarra River / Birrarung, which runs through the heart of Melbourne / Naarm. Your Koorie Heritage Trust guide will share stories of how their ancestors practised their culture in this area and how they continue to keep it alive today.
The tour begins at the stunning, architecturally-designed KHT building at Federation Square, which is also home to permanent and temporary Indigenous art and exhibitions.
Koorie Heritage Trust
Birrarung Wilam (River Camp) Walk | Adult from AU$40
Option
After your morning tour, head to Geelong and enjoy a stroll along the picturesque waterfront.
Overnight in Geelong (drive time approx 1 hour)
Day 1
Alternatively, you can learn more about the city’s Aboriginal history during a walking tour along the Yarra River / Birrarung led by a Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) guide. The river runs through the heart of Melbourne / Naarm, and the walk includes scar trees that bear evidence of the sustainable practices that enabled Wurundjeri people to sustainably harvest bark for canoes.
The architecturally designed KHT building is also home to both permanent and temporary Indigenous art and exhibitions.
Koorie Heritage Trust
Birrarung Wilam (River Camp) Walk | Adult from AU$40
Option
After your morning tour, head to Geelong and enjoy a stroll along the picturesque waterfront.
Overnight in Geelong (drive time approx 1 hour)
Day 2
Iconic drive
Some tourism spots are overhyped. The Great Ocean Road is not one of them. Get your camera ready and take it slow so you can enjoy the views of this ancient landscape that has been home to Australia’s diverse Aboriginal nations for tens of thousands of years.
Recommended stops to stretch your legs and fill your stomach include the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery and the ecotourism venture Wildlife Wonders outside Apollo Bay, where you can spot animals in their natural environment, including possibly the cutest animal in the world – a paddymelon. Be sure to book.
Overnight at Port Campbell (drive time approx 2 hours)
Day 2
Iconic drive
Some tourism spots are overhyped. The Great Ocean Road is not one of them. Get your camera ready and take it slow so you can enjoy the views of this ancient landscape that has been home to Australia’s diverse Aboriginal nations for tens of thousands of years.
Recommended stops to stretch your legs and fill your stomach include the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery and the ecotourism venture Wildlife Wonders outside Apollo Bay, where you can spot animals in their natural environment, including possibly the cutest animal in the world – a paddymelon. Be sure to book.
Overnight at Port Campbell (drive time approx 2 hours)
Day 3
Eel tasting
The Gunditjmara were the original fish and eel farmers, turning the volcanic wetlands into a giant and efficient aquaculture system. At the World Heritage-listed Budj Bim site, your Aboriginal guide will explain how the traps worked, and how the Gunditjmara traded eel (kooyang) throughout Australia.
You can complete your experience by indulging in a kooyang tasting board, complete with smoked eel, eel arancini balls and eel pâté.
Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism
Tae Rak (Lake Condah) Cultural Tour | Adult from AU$89
Overnight at Mount Gambier (drive time approx 3 hours)
Day 3
Eel tasting
The Gunditjmara were the original fish and eel farmers, turning the volcanic wetlands into a giant and efficient aquaculture system. At the World Heritage-listed Budj Bim site, your Aboriginal guide will explain how the traps worked, and how the Gunditjmara traded eel (kooyang) throughout Australia.
You can complete your experience by indulging in a kooyang tasting board, complete with smoked eel, eel arancini balls and eel pâté.
Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism
Tae Rak (Lake Condah) Cultural Tour | Adult from AU$89
Overnight at Mount Gambier (drive time approx 3 hours)
Day 4
Lakes and sinkholes
Mount Gambier is not only South Australia's second biggest city, it’s a geological treasure. Built on volcano country, it houses a trove of cobalt blue water filled volcanic craters, sinkholes, lakes and mountains.
Start with a slow loop of the crater lakes, including the striking Blue Lake / Warwar, whose intense colour shifts with the seasons. Nearby, the sunken garden of Umpherston Sinkhole / Balumbul offers a powerful example of how water, lava and limestone have interacted over time, creating places of shelter, food and story for local Aboriginal people. When you've finished exploring the town's natural wonders, you’ll want to indulge in its cafe culture.
Umpherston Sinkhole / Balumbul
Overnight at Mount Gambier
Day 4
Lakes and sinkholes
Mount Gambier is not only South Australia's second biggest city, it’s a geological treasure. Built on volcano country, it houses a trove of cobalt blue water filled volcanic craters, sinkholes, lakes and mountains.
Start with a slow loop of the crater lakes, including the striking Blue Lake, whose intense colour shifts with the seasons. Nearby, the sunken garden of Umpherston Sinkhole offers a powerful example of how water, lava and limestone have interacted over time, creating places of shelter, food and story for local Aboriginal people. When you've finished exploring the town's natural wonders, you’ll want to indulge in its cafe culture.
Umpherston Sinkhole / Balumbul
Overnight at Mount Gambier
Day 5
Adelaide City
Hop back in the car today for a cheeky drive (five hours) to Adelaide / Tarntanya. Set off after breakfast and you’ll easily reach the city in time to join a 3pm Cultural Tour of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.
Led by an Indigenous guide from Southern Cultural Immersion, you’ll learn how the Kaurna use plants not only for food, but for healing and wellness. During this tour through the gardens in the heart of Adelaide / Tarntanya, you’ll also have an opportunity to experience the benefits of ‘forest bathing’ by hugging trees!
Southern Cultural Immersion
Cultural Tour of Adelaide Botanic Garden | Adult from AU$61
Day 5
Adelaide City
Hop back in the car today for a cheeky drive (five hours) to Adelaide / Tarntanya. Set off after breakfast and you’ll easily reach the city in time to join a 3pm Cultural Tour of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.
Led by an Indigenous guide from Southern Cultural Immersion, you’ll learn how the Kaurna use plants not only for food, but for healing and wellness. During this tour through the gardens in the heart of Adelaide / Tarntanya, you’ll also have an opportunity to experience the benefits of ‘forest bathing’ by hugging trees!
Southern Cultural Immersion
Cultural Tour of Adelaide Botanic Garden | Adult from AU$61
Days 6-7
Wine & dine
An overnight stay in the Barossa Valley, on Ngadjuri Country, is a great way to break up the drive to the Flinders Ranges. Spend the day slowing down and go beyond the cellar door to discover a diverse range of behind-the-scenes, culinary, and hands-on experiences offered by Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia. Gentle walks, long lunches and lookout points offer a chance to notice how the land changes as you move away from the city.
The Barossa is a great place to rest, reset and stock up on supplies before heading into more remote Country.
Treat yourself with a stay at The Louise the Barossa Valley (drive time approx 5 hours)
Days 6-7
Wine & dine
An overnight stay in the Barossa Valley, on Ngadjuri Country, is a great way to break up the drive to the Flinders Ranges. Spend the day slowing down and go beyond the cellar door to discover a diverse range of behind-the-scenes, culinary, and hands-on experiences offered by Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia. Gentle walks, long lunches and lookout points offer a chance to notice how the land changes as you move away from the city.
The Barossa is a great place to rest, reset and stock up on supplies before heading into more remote Country.
Treat yourself with a stay at The Louise the Barossa Valley (drive time approx 5 hours)
Day 8
Drop your jaw
Continue north into the ancient landscapes of Ikara / Wilpena Pound. On the traditional homelands of the Adnyamathanha (or rock people), Ikara is home to rugged mountain vistas and 500-million-year-old fossils (believed to be remnants of prehistoric sea life).
Check in to the Wilpena Pound Resort, which sits inside the jaw-dropping natural amphitheatre, known by the Adnyamathanha as Ikara. The resort offers ‘glamping’ safari tents as well as hotel rooms and camp sites.
Overnight at Wilpena Pound (drive time approx 5 hours)
Day 8
Drop your jaw
Continue north into the ancient landscapes of Ikara / Wilpena Pound. On the traditional homelands of the Adnyamathanha (or rock people), Ikara is home to rugged mountain vistas and 500-million-year-old fossils (believed to be remnants of prehistoric sea life).
Check in to the Wilpena Pound Resort, which sits inside the jaw-dropping natural amphitheatre, known by the Adnyamathanha as Ikara. The resort offers ‘glamping’ safari tents as well as hotel rooms and camp sites.
Overnight at Wilpena Pound (drive time approx 5 hours)
Day 9
Sacred Canyon / Yura Mulka
About 20 kilometres from Wilpena Pound Discovery Park is the Sacred Canyon / Yura Mulka, which can only be accessed in the company of an Adnyamathanha guide who can explain their powerful connection to this ancient landscape. Symbols, both painted on and carved into the sandstone rock faces, provide a library of survival and cultural information dating back thousands of years.
Both Wilpena Pound Resort and Wadna offer tours of the area led by Indigenous guides who will explain the significance of the symbols and show you the bush tucker and medicines that have allowed the Adnyamathanha to thrive in this harsh landscape.
Wadna
Sacred Canyon / Yura Mulka | Adult from AU$120
Discovery Parks Wilpena Pound
Yura Mulka (Sacred Canyon) - Cultural Walk | Adult from AU$240
Overnight at Wilpena Pound
Day 9
Sacred Canyon / Yura Mulka
About 20 kilometres from Wilpena Pound Discovery Park is the Sacred Canyon / Yura Mulka, which can only be accessed in the company of an Adnyamathanha guide who can explain their powerful connection to this ancient landscape. Symbols, both painted on and carved into the sandstone rock faces, provide a library of survival and cultural information dating back thousands of years.
Both Wilpena Pound Resort and Wadna offer tours of the area led by Indigenous guides who will explain the significance of the symbols and show you the bush tucker and medicines that have allowed the Adnyamathanha to thrive in this harsh landscape.
Wadna
Sacred Canyon / Yura Mulka | Adult from AU$120
Discovery Parks Wilpena Pound
Yura Mulka (Sacred Canyon) - Cultural Walk | Adult from AU$240
Overnight at Wilpena Pound
Day 10
Hike
On this final day of your road trip adventure, join a Traditional Owner on a tag-along tour that includes a three-kilometre hike to Akurra Adnya (Arkaroo Rock) within the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park.
Akurra Adnya showcases some of the best examples of ancient rock art and your guide can interpret the ancient ochre and charcoal paintings, and even older petroglyph rock carvings, which include creation stories that record the origin of the area’s creek beds, dramatic gorges and the crater-like amphitheatre.
Discovery Parks Wilpena Pound
Akurra Adnya Adnyamathanha Rock Art Tour | Adult from AU$85
Overnight at Wilpena Pound
Day 10
Hike
On this final day of your road trip adventure, join a Traditional Owner on a tag-along tour that includes a three-kilometre hike to Akarroo Adnya (Arkaroo Rock) within the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park.
Akarroo Adnya showcases some of the best examples of ancient rock art and your guide can interpret the ancient ochre and charcoal paintings, and even older petroglyph rock carvings, which include creation stories that record the origin of the area’s creek beds, dramatic gorges and the crater-like amphitheatre.
Discovery Parks Wilpena Pound
Akurra Adnya Adnyamathanha Rock Art Tour | Adult from AU$85
Overnight at Wilpena Pound
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