Experiences

Beyond the cabin door.

From the Barossa's legendary vineyards to Kangaroo Island's wild coast, every Autra stay opens onto more than a place to rest.

Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

Walk Among the Vines

Stay where the vineyard begins.

Set within the private vineyards of Burge Family Winemakers (burgefamily.com.au), this is a rare opportunity to experience the Barossa from the heart of a working wine estate.
Walk among the vines at your own pace.
Visit the cellar door just moments away.
Experience the rhythm of vineyard life throughout the seasons.
Meet Libbi, the friendly Cellar Door Manager at Burge Family Winemakers, who'll warmly welcome Autra guests. As part of your stay, enjoy a complimentary wine tasting at the cellar door.

Explore Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

The Oldest Vines

A single dry-grown acre that has weathered 183 Barossa seasons.

Walk Langmeil's Freedom 1843 block, believed to be the world's oldest surviving Shiraz vineyard, planted by Silesian pioneer Christian Auricht
Book the Freedom Experience: a guided walk through the 1840s buildings and vines, closing with a seated tasting
Linger over the Old Vine Garden Collection, poured in variety-specific Riedel glassware

Explore Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

The Long Lunch

An unhurried afternoon among the vines above Greenock Creek.

Settle in at Hentley Farm Restaurant, set in the vineyard overlooking Greenock Creek and the Beauty Shiraz block
Give the Discovery tasting menu its full three hours, paired with estate wines from the Seppeltsfield and Mount Crawford vineyards
Reservations open three months ahead, so plan the visit before you arrive

Explore Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

Barossa Valley (Lyndoch)

From Market to Lookout

Begin with the growers, end with the light over the valley.

Arrive early at the Barossa Farmers Market in the Vintners Sheds, Angaston (Saturdays 7.30 to 11.30am) for a bacon-and-egg roll and a word with the growers
Gather a hamper at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop on Pheasant Farm Road, Nuriootpa: verjuice, pheasant pate, vino cotto
Carry it to the Mengler Hill lookout and sculpture park for sunset over the whole valley, among the 1988 symposium stoneworks

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Middleton

The Whale Season

From June, the bay fills again with old, slow visitors.

Southern right whales return to Encounter Bay between June and October to court and calve close to shore; Basham Beach, a short walk from Middleton, is itself a known calving ground
Watch for free from the land at The Bluff (Rosetta Head) or Kondoli, the Encounter Bay whale lookout, where mothers and calves often lie within sight of the dunes
For a closer reading, the Big Duck's 90-minute Southern Ocean Adventure leaves the Granite Island Causeway, passing Wright, West and Seal Islands and their fur seals along the way

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Middleton

The Long Wave

A break that asks you to slow down and trim.

Middleton Point is the Fleurieu's classic longboard wave — a long, forgiving right that peels off the point and holds shape across the tides, a few minutes' walk from the village
Each autumn the beach hosts the Southern Surf Festival, a single-fin and longboard gathering of more than 200 surfers that is as much picnic as competition
First-timers can take a lesson with Surf & Sun, who run learn-to-surf sessions on the gentler beach sand at Middleton before the point gets serious

Explore Middleton

Middleton

Headland to Horseshoe

Walk the coast until the village arrives.

An easy 4.2km coast walk links the edge of Middleton to Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot, threading sandy coves, granite headlands and coastal heath above the surf
It traces part of the 30km Encounter Bikeway, the shared path running the four towns from Goolwa through to Victor Harbor's Bluff
Arrive at Horseshoe Bay for fish and chips in a cone on the deck at the Flying Fish Cafe, or join the patient line at the Port Elliot Bakery for a pie

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Middleton

Dusk on Granite Island

Wait quietly, and the smallest of them come ashore.

Granite Island, off Victor Harbor, shelters a wild colony of little penguins — the world's smallest — best met on a guided dusk tour with Granite Island Nature Park, who keep groups small to protect the birds
Reach the island on foot across the rebuilt causeway, or ride the heritage Clydesdale-drawn tram, one of only two daily horse trams still running anywhere in the world
Linger afterwards among the island's granite tors and boulder-strewn shoreline as the light goes, the colony quiet beneath your feet

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Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

Among the Colony

A guided walk onto the sand, where wild sea lions sleep in the dunes.

Join the 45-minute ranger-guided beach tour at Seal Bay Conservation Park, walking among one of Australia's largest Australian sea lion colonies (around 800 animals) as they rest and nurse pups on the open sand.
Prefer to wander quietly? The 900-metre return boardwalk threads through the dunes to viewing platforms, open daily from 9am with last entry at 4pm.
Forty-five minutes from Kingscote on the south coast, and a short drive from Raptor Domain's free-flight birds of prey presentations at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

Explore Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

The Wild Coast

Granite shaped by wind, and an arch where the fur seals haul out.

Stand among the Remarkable Rocks at Flinders Chase National Park — wind-sculpted granite boulders atop a domed outcrop, now reached by a rebuilt boardwalk and viewing platform completed after the 2019–20 bushfires.
Walk down to Admirals Arch at Cape du Couedic, a weathered rock arch above a noisy breeding colony of long-nosed fur seals lounging on the rocks below.
The far western end of the island rewards an unhurried day; pair it with the wide curve of Vivonne Bay, long celebrated as one of Australia's finest swimming and beachcombing beaches.

Explore Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

The Island Larder

A slow day among makers, from sea oyster to native gin.

Shuck-fresh Pacific oysters at The Oyster Farm Shop in American River, served straight from the working farm across the road with a regional tasting plate (oysters in season roughly April to January).
Taste at Kangaroo Island Spirits in Cygnet River — Australia's first dedicated gin distillery (est. 2006), set in a botanical garden of 75-plus native species, with guided tastings and a gin-blending masterclass.
Round out the day at The Islander Estate Vineyards, the island's only Halliday 5-star winery, founded by Bordeaux winemaker Jacques Lurton, and at Clifford's Honey Farm for pure Ligurian honey — the only such bee sanctuary strain left in the world.

Explore Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

Under the Darkest Skies

When the last ferry has gone, the whole galaxy comes out.

Once the day's last ferry departs, the island's empty roads and quiet bush leave almost no competing light — Flinders Chase National Park is named among South Australia's premier dark-sky locations.
Lay a blanket out at Vivonne Bay or away from Kingscote's glow and trace the Milky Way overhead with the naked eye, no telescope required.
Time a visit to 2026's solar maximum, when astronomers expect brighter planets and richer meteor activity across the southern sky.

Explore Kangaroo Island (Willoughby)

McLaren Vale · Opening soon