South Australia tempts with free guide to the good life

South Australia, unabashed in its indulgence in the art of good living, has published a mouth-watering guide to tempt even more New Zealanders to visit.

The 16-page "Feast For the Senses" booklet is a menu of banquet proportions of the culinary, wine and other sensory delights of South Australia.

In eight "courses" – or chapters – it takes readers from the gourmet capital of Adelaide out into the country towns and wine growing districts, from the Clare Valley in the north to the Coonawarra/Limestone Coast region in the south east.

Just to the north of Adelaide is the celebrated Barossa Valley with its Mediterranean style climate and rich Eastern European heritage. The guide gives tips on how to enjoy the region to the utmost – from the wineries, many of them housed in historic buildings and offering tastings and cellar door sales, to the bakeries with traditional breads, cakes and pastries and the butcheries with their savoury line up of small goods.

It also mentions two must-visit festivals: the International Barossa Music Festival held every spring (September 29-October 7 this year) and the Barossa Vintage Festival held every second year in April (next one April 2003).

Immediately south of Adelaide – 45 minutes to be exact – is the equally appealing Fleurieu Peninsula region, including the McLaren Vale winegrowing district. Here olives and almonds grow next to the grapes, providing rich bounty for the area's restaurants and cafés.

Two Fleurieu festivals for food and wine-minded visitors are the weekend-long McLaren Vale Wine Bushing Festival (October 27-28 this year) and the McLaren Vale Sea and Vines Festival every June in which leading Australian chefs pair their cuisine with the area's wine.

Other chapters/courses in the guide are devoted to the Tuscan-like Adelaide Hills, the Murray Riverlands where house boating (complete with gourmet picnics) is a popular past-time, the Clare Valley (said to be Australia's Garden of Eden), Kangaroo Island which is famed equally for gourmet foods and wildlife, plus the Coonawarra/Limestone Coast region, the wellspring of some of Australia's finest wine and most succulent seafood.

The guide is available at no cost by calling 0800 11 00 58.