Wildlife & Nature
One of South Australia’s best attractions is its wildlife. Most can be found in natural habitats that vary from coastal and river waters, arid deserts, and native forests to majestic mountains.
Adelaide
Adelaide Zoo is home to many native animals. Temptation Sailing offer cruises to watch or swim with the dolphins that inhabit Adelaide waters. Explore some of South Australia’s most unique ecosystems can be explored without impacting the natural ecology of these pristine areas, include paddling through 10,000 year old mangrove forests with Dolphin Sanctuary Kayak Tours. Along with fantastic opportunity to get up close to the resident bottlenose dolphins that live in the area.
Adelaide Hills
Cleland Wildlife Park and Gorge Wildlife Park has many friendly native animals including kangaroos, wallabies and emus. Koala cuddling is available daily. PureSA offer tours to Cleland Wildlife Park and walking tours in the surrounding National Parks.
Eyre Peninsula
At Head of Bight, on the western coast, Southern Right whales and their calves can be seen during the breeding season from May to October. Great white shark cage-diving or swim with sea lions at Port Lincoln and sea lions and dolphins at Baird Bay. Gawler Ranges Wilderness Safaris offer tours of the Gawler Ranges National Park with its amazing wildlife.
Fleurieu Peninsula
Victor Harbor is a prime whale-watching spot and The Big Duck Tours offers whale watching tours from June to September. Spirit of the Coorong Cruises operate tours that depart from Goolwa to see the birdlife or see New Zealand fur seals on a kayaking tour with Canoe the Coorong.
Flinders Ranges and Outback
The rare Yellow-footed Rock wallaby can be found in deep gorges and waterholes in the Flinders Ranges. The Wedge-tailed eagle, Australia’s largest bird of prey, can be spotted at Wilpena Pound and throughout the region. Desert wildlife is attracted to the wetlands in Innamincka Regional Reserve.
Kangaroo Island
At Seal Bay Conservation Park visitors can take a guided beach tour to observe Australian sea lions. Numerous tour operators take visitors to known animal habitats to observe wildlife such as koalas, platypus, goannas, Glossy Black cockatoos, wallabies, and the Island’s own species of kangaroo.
Limestone Coast
Bool Lagoon is one of the largest and most diverse freshwater lagoon systems in southern Australia and is home to a wide range of wildlife including the spectacular brolga. Possums can be hand-fed at dusk at Umpherstone Cave in Mount Gambier. At Valley Lake Wildlife Park and Boardwalk in Mount Gambier, guests can explore the natural beauty of the lakes district and see kangaroos, koalas, emus, and abundant birdlife.
Murray River
There are more than 300 species of waterbirds and thousands of migratory birds that live around the Murray River. Banrock Station Wine & Wetland Centre has an eight-kilometre (five mile) boardwalk through river wetlands. Encounter lots of wildlife, waterbirds and spectacular bird life on the guided four-day three-night Murray River Trail (part of Great Walks of Australia). While Monarto Zoo is well known for African wildlife they also have an extensive native breeding facility that is successfully breeding and releasing into the wild rare and endangered Australian wildlife such as greater bilbies, bettongs, rock-wallabies and tammar wallabies.
Yorke Peninsula
Dhilba Guurandha – Innes National Park offers visitors plenty of wildlife including emus, Western Grey kangaroos, and White Bellied sea-eagles.
Birdwatching
The birdlife in South Australia is prolific, with a diverse range of habitats including mudflats, wetlands, heathland and forests, desert and semi-dry Mallee.
Banrock Station Wine & Wetland Centre, a large property on the banks of the Murray River that has been restored to a native wetland and woodland. Visitors can go for walks and enjoy the amazing variety of birdlife.
Coorong National Park, one of the most important waterbird habitats in Australia with about 230 bird species.
Gluepot Reserve is a birdwatcher’s delight located 175km from Adelaide. The semi-arid belt of Gluepot is considered to be one of the crown jewels in Australia's reserve system.
The Flinders Ranges present a very dry habitat for birdlife.
Kangaroo Island, some 267 recorded species of birds can be found among a diverse range of habitats and is also the only place in South Australia with the endangered glossy black cockatoos.
Bellbird Tours specializes in high-quality small-group birdwatching expeditions across Australia, offering scheduled tours with regular departures and fully customizable, privately guided tours of any duration led by our passionate and experienced professional guides.
Geology & Fossils
The Flinders Ranges is one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth and it is here that visitors will find the most complete significant geological and fossil sites in the world. It is internationally renowned for its Ediacaran fossils. Join a guided tour to Nilpena Ediacara National Park, a mesmerizing journey into the past and a living chronicle of Earth's earliest complex animal life, offering an unparalleled glimpse into the origins of life itself, making it a must-visit for any history, nature, or science enthusiast.
The World Heritage-listed Naracoorte Caves on the Limestone Coast, dating 350,000 years, are home to one of the richest fossil deposits in the world.
National Parks
South Australia boasts more than 300 reserves covering more than 21 percent of the state. A wide range of experiences are available in parks, including Outback adventures, bushwalking trails, four-wheel drive tracks, wildlife watching, scuba diving, fishing, snorkelling, surfing, rock climbing, canoeing and adventure caving. Many National Parks can be booked online.