Australian Wines and Wildlife in Adelaide

Morning
Charter an aircraft for the 30-minute flight to Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide. Once you’ve touched down, travel 30 minutes by car to Seal Bay on the island’s southern coast. Enjoy a 45-minute guided tour of the Seal Bay Conservation Park, following a boardwalk along the beach and through the dunes, stopping at viewing platforms to witness Australia’s third-largest sea lion colony. Drive 30 minutes north to the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, where you can get up close with a koala and feed wombats, pelicans and little penguins. After you’ve immersed yourself in Australia's unique wildlife, enjoy a relaxed barbecue lunch.

Afternoon
After lunch, travel 30 minutes by road to Reeves Point on the eastern side of the island for an ‘Amazing Race’ style team-building experience. Finish the challenge at Island Beehive, where you’ll discover the secrets to ‘Sweet Success: 10 things corporations can learn from the teamwork of honey bees’. Learn about Kangaroo Island’s prized Ligurian bee colonies during a personalised tour of the hives, followed by honeycomb ice-cream and a Ligurian latte for afternoon tea in the café. Next, it’s time to explore the island’s rugged landscape with Kangaroo Island Outdoor Action. Go quad biking through 200 hectares of native bush and grasslands, sand boarding on the ‘Little Sahara’ sand dunes or kayaking on the Harriet River. 

Evening
Fly back to Adelaide after an amazing day to refresh at your accommodation before you dine at Koomo on the 10th floor of the Crowne Plaza Adelaide. Available for exclusive dining for up to 156 guests, enjoy a drink on the terrace with views of the city and as far as the Adelaide Hills before heading inside to dine on a fusion of Japanese, Asian and South Pacific cuisine, perfectly complemented with South Australian Wines. 

Morning
Enjoy a light breakfast  at your hotel before a behind-the-scenes tour of Adelaide Central Market. After recharging with a coffee, join chef and stallholder Mark Gleeson of Central Market Tours for a morning walk through the covered market, established in 1869, meeting some of the 80 producers and tasting their wares. Next, take a transfer to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, a 10-minute drive northeast of the markets, where you can stroll through 50 hectares of manicured gardens, including the Garden of Health and the Australian Native Garden. 

Afternoon
Make your way through the grounds to Restaurant Botanic, where guests can savour the Short Path degustation showcasing a unique array of dishes including coral trout and aged duck, peppered with Indigenous ingredients matched with wines. After lunch, hire a fleet of vintage Mustangs, GTs and Chevrolets for the 30-minute drive from central Adelaide to Cleland Wildlife Park. Sign up for a guided one-hour tour for the chance to get up close with wallabies and emus, and spot red kangaroos, reptiles and Tasmanian devils.

Evening
Take the short drive back to Adelaide for sunset cocktails on the rooftop of 2KW Bar and Restaurant, which boasts impressive views from the ocean to the Adelaide Hills, looking over Adelaide Oval, the Torrens River and Government House. The open-plan venue can host up to 260 people for a cocktail function, and features a range of flexible spaces for smaller groups. Finish the evening with dinner at Fugazzi Bar & Dining Room, a short six minute walk away. This Italo-American style restaurant has a semi private dining room for up to 20 guests, or for larger groups The Fugazzi Basement can be exclusively booked for 100 guests.

Morning
Head an hour’s drive northeast of the city to the Barossa Valley. Regarded as one of Australia’s premier wine regions, the Barossa is home to esteemed wineries such as Penfolds and St Hugo. Visit historic Seppeltsfield winery, where you can enjoy a fortified wine and canapé tasting, or sample a vintage tawny from the year of your birth, straight from the barrel. A Segway tour of the property, established in 1851, will provide you with an overview of the region, after which you can browse the JamFactory art gallery and artisan workshops located within the estate. 

Afternoon
After a lunch at Seppeltsfield’s FINO restaurant, take a 10-minute drive to the Penfolds Cellar Door in Nuriootpa, where you can sample the prized Penfolds Grange in a tasting, and try your hand at mixing your own red wine blend in the Winemaker’s Laboratory. Once you’ve bottled your bespoke wine, pay a visit to the Jacob’s Creek Heritage Vineyard, a 20-minute drive south, for a private wine and chocolate pairing in the garden or within its heritage homestead. 

Evening
Return to Adelaide for dinner in the Mortlock Chamber of the State Library of South Australia, a grand Victorian-era space that can accommodate 200 for a seated event, or 300 standing. During the summer months, you could instead host an exclusive laneway event in the city and turn the dining precinct of Vardon Avenue into a private open-air restaurant. East End Cellars and Keito Events can create food stations for a roaming meal or long tables for an alfresco banquet, complete with Australian wines and live entertainment. Once you’ve finished dinner, enjoy a nightcap in the HENNESSY Rooftop Bar, on the 13th floor of the 170-room Mayfair Hotel.