Visitors to South Australia are swapping hotel bathrobes for walking gear, heading outdoors to forage, harvest or hunt for their own food.
As hands-on food experiences grow across the state, travellers are spending time with locals, exploring coastlines, vineyards and farms, and sitting down to meals they helped gather themselves
Truffle hunting in the hills
Just half an hour from the city streets of Adelaide, guests can join experts and their dogs at the Adelaide Hills Truffle Hunt and Tasting Experience to search for ripe truffles beneath the soil.
After the hunt, guests move into a tasting room overlooking the farm to enjoy a curated tasting of dishes featuring fresh truffles. The season runs from June to August.
Owner and operator Katherine Faull said they are seeing a real desire for people to slow down and reconnect with where their food comes from.
“A truffle hunt is about more than just finding something rare; it’s about being out in nature, working alongside the dogs, and experiencing something that’s genuinely seasonal and local. There’s something quite special about uncovering a truffle from the soil and then tasting it just moments later. It’s simple, but it feels very real,” she said.
“We intentionally keep our groups small to create a more personal and immersive experience, allowing guests to connect with the landscape, the process, and the product itself,” she says.
Other truffle experiences in South Australia include Kangaroo Island’s first commercial Truffiere, which opens in July this year. While on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Lovely Valley Truffles offers onsite accommodation, and truffle dogs Gus & Ruby accompany guests on the hunt.
Straight out of the water
Visitors can wade into the crystal-clear waters of Coffin Bay and experience oyster farming up close with Oyster Farm Tours. Guests relax on the semi-submerged Salt Water Pavilion, positioned beside a working commercial oyster farm, tasting oysters at their freshest and straight from the water.
The tour includes how oysters grow, stories of Coffin Bay, and a guided hands-on shucking lesson. Tours operate year-round and take approximately 90 minutes.
Tea-time in a biodynamic garden
Launching in October 2026, tea lovers will be able to hand-pick tea herbs at Jurlique’s biodynamic farm in the Adelaide Hills. The experience includes a full farm tour and the chance to harvest fresh tea herbs to dry at home.
Garden to table at a winery
At Barossa vineyard St Hugo, the Garden to Table experience sees visitors spend time in the onsite kitchen garden alongside the expertise of the kitchen and front-of-house teams.
With a glass of champagne in hand, guests take a short walk through the vineyards before a tour of the kitchen garden, where they learn about its inner workings and how it informs St Hugo’s seasonal menus. Foraging, tasting and smelling the fresh seasonal produce and herbs found in the garden are all part of the experience.
Getting there
For Kiwis keen to experience all that South Australia has to offer, getting there is easier than ever. Air New Zealand offers direct flights from Auckland to Adelaide five times weekly, along with a twice-weekly service from Christchurch restarting in October 2026.
Qantas also operates a seasonal non-stop Auckland–Adelaide route, restarting in October 2026. Qatar Airways has just announced new daily direct services between Auckland and Adelaide, launching on 18 June.
