2021 Discover South Australia

Arrive today in Adelaide, one of Australia’s great cities. Once known as the city of churches, it is now more renown for its thriving arts and culture scene and host to some of Australia’s biggest sporting events, including the Santos Tour Down Under.

Your staff will meet you at the Adelaide Airport, and transfer you to our Adelaide Hotel. Our team mechanic will assist you with assembling your bike as we prepare for our afternoon ride to the beaches. This evening we have our welcome dinner including some local wine at a local restaurant.

This morning we’ll enjoy a scrumptious breakfast, helping us fuel up for our ‘koala-spotting’ ride. As we head for the hills we’ll also seek out some of the infamous climbing locations of the Santos Tour Down Under.

Adelaide Hills is home to a resilient koala population, and in the cool of the morning you’ll often see the koala’s move between their favourite eucalypts. Our guides over the years have developed a keen eye for spotting the koala’s in the gums, so we can take a steady pace and help you search for them in their natural habitat. Even if the koala’s are a little elusive today, you’ll have a chance this afternoon to visit the Adelaide Zoo, a great place to visit with a diverse range of animals. It is one of my favourite zoos to visit and so close to the city.

Another fuelling breakfast this morning before we head for the Adelaide Hills once more. This time we head toward the South East of the City to one of our favourite spots to visit when at the Santos Tour Down Under, Hahndorf. Colonisation was an important part of South Australia’s history, especially for its prosperity. Hahndorf plays a big part in contributing toward South Australia’s wealth, even to this day. Lutherans fled the persecution of the King of Prussia in the mid 19th century, and many arrived at Hahndorf to settle.

Hahdorf has iconic streets lined with chestnut, elm and oak trees. You’d easily be mistaken for being in Europe. Oh, the German’s also brought with them their ability to make great apple strudel, wurst and bier. There are many craft stores and tea houses throughout Hahndorf, a great spot to pick up some locally made products and enjoy lunch as well as some shopping.

We’ll depart from Adelaide today and head for the Fleurieu Peninsula for the next couple of nights. It’s a great opportunity for us to base ourselves in one of Australia’s famous wine regions, McLaren Vale. Every cycling tour has a queen stage – the stage that is most significant toward winning the race. For Santos Tour Down Under, this is invariably the Old Willunga Hill stage and undoubtedly the king of this climb is Richie Porte, who appears impossible to beat on it.

McLaren Vale produces predominantly red wine, most often using Shiraz as the main constituent. It is a world class wine region, and their premium wines often feature Grenache and Cabernet. Producers have become household names, such as Wirra Wirra, d’Arenburg, Hardy’s and Coriole. This afternoon we will taste a few varieties after our ride on Old Willunga Hill.

Simply, the more we explore the Fleurieu Peninsula, the more we fall in love with it. Predominantly farmland, you are rewarded with stunning coastal views, fresh air and open landscapes. The often quiet roads and challenging terrain make it popular for local road races, including the South Australian state road cycling titles.

You’ll appreciate our support vehicle today as we meet up at several locations and help you maintain your ride nutrition. We source our produce from the Grand Central markets in Adelaide, an institution for quality produce and supporting many paddock to plate initiatives. Many of the local restaurants will deal directly with the stall proprietors. Our ride destination is Victor Harbor, a popular fishing and holiday village. There is also a great pub!

We retrace some of our steps today and return to Adelaide. However, we’ll explore some more wonderful villages within the Adelaide Hills. Another one of our favourite locations is Stirling, particularly the cycling route that gets us their, depending on which you choose.

Stirling is a main commercial hub of the Adelaide Hills which serves the small farm properties that produce some of Australia’s finest. There are great laneways and a diverse commercial strip that has fashion, art, dining and great coffee outlets. A number of parks also line the main street adding to the charm of this great village. We’ll enjoy lunch in Stirling before descending back into Adelaide for the afternoon. This evening, we’ll enjoy a final dinner together and celebrate our adventure in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula.

Sadly today we farewell our guests on our cycling adventure through the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Peninsula. We’ve chosen our most favourite rides to share from our years of experience at the Santos Tour Down Under as well as some unique adventures of the common routes.

We have various shuttles to the airport throughout the day, enabling you to connect with your preferred flight back home.