Take a drive through some of South Australia's most stunning scenery, from the Adelaide Hills to the Fleurieu Peninsula

Having made the move from Sydney's big smoke to Adelaide's, um, small smoke sometime ago, this is a drive I'm very familiar with. It's easy to slip from Adelaide up into the Hills and then down along the coast to Goolwa, Victor Harbor and then back over to Rapid Bay, and onto Adelaide in just one day. My recommendation, though, is to make the journey last a week or more. Trust me - despite it only being a relatively short drive it won't seem like a stretch or a bore.

It doesn't matter what time of year you choose to make the trip either because there are plenty of cafés and restaurants to hole up in during winter or to beat the heat of summer.

The Adelaide Hills are a destination by themselves but, on this drive, you get a nice little taste without overindulging, meaning you can always come back and visit a few more sites. Hahndorf and Mt Barker are the capitals of the Hills and offer everything the intrepid traveller could want, but I'm getting ahead of myself. There's plenty to look at between Adelaide and Hahndorf.

After you've spent some time strolling around Adelaide, and there are some very good caravan parks in Adelaide, the Adelaide Caravan Park is the closest to the city.

It's just a stone's throw from the parklands and so, if you're feeling adventurous, you could easily walk into the city via the parklands and the beautiful botanic gardens. Perfect. There are numerous other parks scattered around the city, too.

Those of you visiting from either Sydney or Melbourne will find Adelaide to be a laid back kind of place. It's still got everything you'd expect to find in a state capital city, but it's definitely more about play and enjoying life than it is about slogging your guts out at work. It's a lifestyle city.

It's called the City of Churches but Adelaide should really be called the city of great food and good coffee. There's something here to suit all tastes and budgets and the architecture is just glorious. There are a few breakouts scattered around this piece that'll point you in the direction of where to go to get more information on planning a holiday in Adelaide itself.

There are plenty of roads leading out of Adelaide and up into the Hills but the most RV-friendly is definitely the South Eastern Freeway - this leads off from Glen Osmond Road. About 17 kilometres out of Adelaide-proper is Stirling and a more beautiful place you'll struggle to find. It's truly gorgeous.

Settled way back in the 1800s, Stirling was popular with wealthy Adelaidians who built summer houses there to escape the heat of the Adelaide Plains. This means you could liken Stirling to an English village; it's got the houses, the gardens, the trees and even the cricket oval. The toffs have largely gone and Stirling has now become a tourist haven. There's no better way to unwind after the, ahem, hectic pace of Adelaide than to head for one of the local cafés and just kick back with a coffee. The Organic Market and Café in Druids Avenue is definitely worth rolling up to for a brew.

Rather than tell you where you need to go, I'd suggest you just follow your nose once you hit Stirling. I can guarantee that wherever it leads you will be good.

Take a drive through some of South Australia's most stunning scenery, from the Adelaide Hills to the Fleurieu Peninsula

Having made the move from Sydney's big smoke to Adelaide's, um, small smoke sometime ago, this is a drive I'm very familiar with. It's easy to slip from Adelaide up into the Hills and then down along the coast to Goolwa, Victor Harbor and then back over to Rapid Bay, and onto Adelaide in just one day. My recommendation, though, is to make the journey last a week or more. Trust me - despite it only being a relatively short drive it won't seem like a stretch or a bore.

It doesn't matter what time of year you choose to make the trip either because there are plenty of cafés and restaurants to hole up in during winter or to beat the heat of summer.

The Adelaide Hills are a destination by themselves but, on this drive, you get a nice little taste without overindulging, meaning you can always come back and visit a few more sites. Hahndorf and Mt Barker are the capitals of the Hills and offer everything the intrepid traveller could want, but I'm getting ahead of myself. There's plenty to look at between Adelaide and Hahndorf.

After you've spent some time strolling around Adelaide, and there are some very good caravan parks in Adelaide, the Adelaide Caravan Park is the closest to the city.

It's just a stone's throw from the parklands and so, if you're feeling adventurous, you could easily walk into the city via the parklands and the beautiful botanic gardens. Perfect. There are numerous other parks scattered around the city, too.

Those of you visiting from either Sydney or Melbourne will find Adelaide to be a laid back kind of place. It's still got everything you'd expect to find in a state capital city, but it's definitely more about play and enjoying life than it is about slogging your guts out at work. It's a lifestyle city.

It's called the City of Churches but Adelaide should really be called the city of great food and good coffee. There's something here to suit all tastes and budgets and the architecture is just glorious. There are a few breakouts scattered around this piece that'll point you in the direction of where to go to get more information on planning a holiday in Adelaide itself.

There are plenty of roads leading out of Adelaide and up into the Hills but the most RV-friendly is definitely the South Eastern Freeway - this leads off from Glen Osmond Road. About 17 kilometres out of Adelaide-proper is Stirling and a more beautiful place you'll struggle to find. It's truly gorgeous.

Settled way back in the 1800s, Stirling was popular with wealthy Adelaidians who built summer houses there to escape the heat of the Adelaide Plains. This means you could liken Stirling to an English village; it's got the houses, the gardens, the trees and even the cricket oval. The toffs have largely gone and Stirling has now become a tourist haven. There's no better way to unwind after the, ahem, hectic pace of Adelaide than to head for one of the local cafés and just kick back with a coffee. The Organic Market and Café in Druids Avenue is definitely worth rolling up to for a brew.

Rather than tell you where you need to go, I'd suggest you just follow your nose once you hit Stirling. I can guarantee that wherever it leads you will be good.

Hanhdorf to Goolwa

My favourite place to stop and just watch the world go by would have to be the German Arms Hotel and also the Hahndorf Inn. Both do honest German comfort food and good German beer by the stein and, having eaten at similar places in Munich, I can tell you both have the air of authentic German restaurants.

Famous artist Hans Heysen had his home and studio, The Cedars, in Hahndorf and these days it's open to the public. Take a guided tour and see some of his paintings, his notes, his tools and the studio where he worked.

Just a short drive along Hahndorf's main street is the Beerenberg Strawberry Farm where, from October to May (sheesh, start planning for the next season) you can pick your own strawberries. It's a great place to stock up on Beerenberg produce and the jams and chutneys are, well, better than my mum's. Sorry mum. It'll cost you around $3.00 to tour the farm.

Down the road from German-flavoured Hahndorf is Mt Barker which was settled by British immigrants in the 1830s. It has continued to grow to this day and is now one of the fastest-growing regional centres in the entire country. The town has its share of historic buildings but, for me, it lacks the story-book cosiness of Hahndorf.

The theme of cafés and trinket shops continues in Mt Barker but there are two standout features you shouldn't miss. The SteamRanger is one, a train that runs between Mt Barker, Strathalbyn, Goolwa and Victor Harbor, and the Jurlique farm is the other. This leading natural skincare company had its beginnings in Mt Barker, and its original herb farm is still in operation and can be toured by appointment.

Besides Hahndorf and Mt Barker, you should make the time to get around to some of the smaller villages dotting the Adelaide Hills. Places like Balhannah, Woodside and Macclesfield just shouldn't be missed. Nor should you shy away from touring the wineries. The Hills are famous for producing some very fine cool-climate wines, and cellar doors like Abbey Rock and Shaw and Smith in Balhannah and Petaluma in Bridgewater are just a few to choose from. With more than a dozen antique shops and more than just a few galleries in Strathalbyn, there is no way you should go home empty handed.

This drive continues onto Strathalbyn, and believe me if you haven't seen it before, it'll blow you away. It's one of the best-preserved and easiest-to-get-around places I've ever visited. It's absolutely beautiful.

Settled by Scottish immigrants in the 1830s, the town's centrepiece is the Soldiers Memorial Garden which flanks the Angas River that flows through the town. This is a top spot for a picnic and to commune with the ducks. The icing is that there are a number of cafés surrounding the park so don't pack a picnic; rather, you should pick up some bits and pieces from all around. I can recommend the Portuguese custard tarts from the Argas House Patisserie.

A short hop down the road from Strath is Goolwa and its heritage goes back to the paddle steamers that used to ply their trade up and down the Murray during the 1800s. It's a quaint little town. Just across the Murray is Hindmarsh Island, and yep, this is the bridge that caused so much drama all those years ago. There's not a lot on Hindmarsh Island but it's worth getting across to see the mouth of the Murray.

Port Elliot to Port Willunga

From Goolwa you'll pass through Port Elliot before hitting Victor Harbor. Port Elliot is a beautiful little historic town and I reckon it's nicer than Goolwa. Head down to Horseshoe Bay - you'll see the signs as you roll into town - and then follow them to Flying Fish café. This place does amazing fish and chips and the view across the water - well, it's priceless.

Funnily enough, there were plans to make this the major sea port in the area but that battered break water opposite Flying Fish is all that remains of that failed grand plan.

Hmmm, I'm thinking I should have allocated more pages to this feature; I'm only just halfway through the drive and there are so many great things I'm going to miss.

Ah well, that just means you'll be able to enjoy more of an adventure drive as you seek out places not included in this feature. And believe me, I've just skimmed the surface.

Victor Harbor is one of South Australia's whale watching centres, and I reckon the Southern Right whales should be rolling into Encounter Bay about now-ish. History lesson: it's called Encounter Bay after navigator and map maker Matthew Flinders bumped into French explorer Nicholas Baudin.

Thanks to development, Victor Harbor has lost a lot of its yesteryear charm but with a decent caravan park close to the centre of town and being the biggest town along the coast, there's plenty to see and do for visitors. One of this town's major attractions is the Granite Island Penguin Tour which commence at dusk every night. You'll be accompanied by a guide and watch the penguins clamber ashore and return to their burrows after a day's fishing.

From Victor Harbor you'll want to head up and over the hill towards Rapid Bay and Second Valley. The former is easily overlooked because it hasn't yet succumbed to any sort of development. It's an important site because when SA's founding father, Colonel Light, stepped ashore he was alleged to have remarked: “I have hardly seen a place I like better”. And I'd have to agree with him.

Second Valley is a small coastal village that the tourist brochures claim is reminiscent of a Cornish fishing village. Hmmm, sort of. Anyway, if you're itching to wet a line, it's one of the best spots along the Fleurieu with the jetty and the rocks both yielding good catches.

The road winds through the hills with occasional glimpses of the water until you get close to Normanville when the road wraps right around the edge of the coastline and, when the sun is shining, there's no better strip of coastal blacktop. There are a couple of roadside stop areas where you can pull over and enjoy a cuppa while admiring the view.

Normanville is a popular seaside town and there's a great caravan park just a little way out of town that sits right on the beach. Well, you've got to cross a couple of dunes, but you get the picture. If you're feeling energetic you can stroll along the beach to Carrickalinga and Lady Bay.

Don't think that just because you're inching your way back towards Adelaide that we're running out of places to stop and visit. Not even slightly. Between Normanville and Adelaide are a whole host of sleepy little gem-like villages, and don't forget McLaren Vale is on your right-hand side as you're heading back into Adelaide. Just this run into the big little smoke could keep you busy for a week. More even.

It deserves more editorial space, but we just don't have the room. Anyway, Sellicks Hill is the next point of interest on our journey. It is home to the Victory Hotel which is one of the best spots on the whole coast to enjoy a bevvy and watch the sun sink into the sea.

From here head to Port Willunga and gaze out onto the rotting bones of the Star of Greece, a cargo ship wrecked here in 1888. The famed Star of Greece restaurant takes its name from the wreck. While you're here, and if you're feeling peckish, grab a bite to eat from the restaurant.

I've changed my mind as to how I'll end this feature. I was going to try and lead you all the way back into Adelaide, but I'll leave you to find your own way back, if that's okay.

The reason for that is I just don't think you'd want to pass up a side-trip into McLaren Vale. There's not the room to take you there myself and I forgot to mention that from Victor Harbor you could head out to Cape Jervis and take the ferry over to Kangaroo Island. I'll leave it up to you where you go from here. Enjoy.