Limestone Coast

The Limestone Coast − strung out along southeastern SA between the flat, olive span of the lower Murray River and the Victorian border − is a curiously engaging place. On the highways you can blow across these flatlands in under a day, no sweat – but around here the delight is in the detail. Detour off-road to check out the area's lagoons, surf beaches and sequestered bays. Also on offer are wine regions, photogenic fishing ports and snoozy agricultural towns. And what's below the road is even more amazing: a bizarre subterranean landscape of limestone caves, sinkholes and crater lakes – a broad, formerly volcanic area that's known as the Kanawinka Geopark.

Heading southeast, trace the Limestone Coast through the sea-salty Coorong (Ngarrindjeri country), past beachy holiday towns to Mount Gambier, SA's second city (Buandig tribal lands). And if you haven't already overdosed on wine in SA, the Coonawarra wine region is here too.