Developed without convict labour, South Australia presents differently in some respects to the other states. Certainly the large German migration in the 1800s affected both the land-use and culture of the state, greatly influencing the food and wine industries.

The Barossa, especially, thrives because of this. The German accent of the area is less apparent now, but still evident in the wide variety of deli items, breads and smallgoods, and of course the wines produced there.

The Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Fleurieu Peninsula are also rich with wine and food producers. In all these areas, farmhouse cheeses, berry producers, yabby farmers and apiarists abound, and are repeated on Kangaroo Island, a case-in-point of how diversification, due to falling prices of traditional industries, can be turned to advantage by gutsy and energetic farmers.

Yet much of the land in South Australia is wild and inhospitable to small holdings. In the north and west, large stations run cattle and sheep, or raise wheat, but the coastlines of the three peninsulas mine the wealth of seafood, oysters, fish, tuna and abalone from the Southern Ocean.

And then there is lovely Adelaide. Laid out on classic lines, encircled by parkland, backdropped by hills, this city is a gastronomic paradise. This was the first city to legalise the use of kangaroo and emu, bush foods are alive and well here, as is the state's other rich produce. From markets to outdoor dining, formal restaurants to riverside dining, this city takes its food very seriously.