Adelaide Safari Weekend
A safari weekend in Adelaide
Travel inspiration · Stephen's own trip, August 2026
A weekend from Napier, with direct flights Auckland to Adelaide
I flew out of Napier on a Friday and was back Sunday night, and in between I watched cheetahs on a dawn safari. Not in Africa. An hour from Adelaide.
I have been telling clients for years that South Australia is one of the most underrated short trips you can do from New Zealand, and in early August 2026 I did it again myself: Napier to Auckland, then the direct flight to Adelaide. This is what that weekend looked like, and why I keep sending people there.
The dawn safari
Monarto Safari Park, an hour from Adelaide
Monarto Safari Park sits about an hour out of Adelaide, and it is the largest African-style safari park outside Africa itself. We did the dawn safari and saw cheetahs, rhino and hippos; the park runs across two big areas, and the other half has lions among much else. I have done that side on an earlier trip.
There is a proper resort at the park now, with a hotel, pools and a spa, and in another part of the park there are luxury tent options where the game tours run privately by jeep.
Photos from my weekend confused a few people at home, and fairly: it genuinely looks like Africa.
If you want the safari experience without the long-haul flights, the vaccinations and the price tag of Africa itself, this is the closest thing to it, and it works for families.
On the way
Hahndorf, the German village on the way
The drive out of Adelaide took us through Hahndorf, the largest German community in Australia. It is a quaint little place, all small shops and bakeries, and we stopped for a lunch built around cheese, wine and beer pairing. Easy half-day, and it makes the drive out part of the trip.
Within reach
What to pair with Adelaide: houseboats, the Barossa and the Ghan
The reason Adelaide works so well is how much sits within reach of it, and I have done most of it across two trips now.
The Murray River
In February 2024 we did the houseboating: self-drive houseboats you take along the river yourselves, completely family-friendly, with paddle steamer cruises on the same river if you would rather be hosted.
Glenelg
Adelaide's beach suburb. Easily accessible by a tram from the city, a beautiful wide golden sand beach, with great boutique shopping, restaurants and the marina where we did a dinner cruise from.
The Barossa Valley
One of the great wine regions, under an hour away.
The city itself
Botanical gardens, little paddle boats on the river that runs through the centre, and great shopping. A piece of trivia I enjoy: the town planner who laid out Adelaide went on to lay out Christchurch, and the two city grids are near identical.
The great trains
Adelaide is where The Ghan begins its run north to Alice Springs and Darwin, and the Indian Pacific heads west to Perth. Either one bolts onto an Adelaide trip at the start or the end.
For Hawke's Bay travellers
Why I rate Adelaide for Hawke's Bay travellers
Direct flights run Auckland to Adelaide: around five hours over and four and a half back. That one flight buys you a safari, a river cruise, one of the world's famous trains, wine country and a beach city, all from the same base.
For multi-generational family trips it is one of the easiest wins there is: short flights, barely any jet lag, and something for every age from the paddle boats to the dawn safari. And for couples who have done LA, done Bali, done the usual, this is my honest answer to "what else is out there" that does not need a 24-hour haul to reach.
If any version of this appeals, from a long weekend like mine to a ten-day trip with the Ghan attached, come and talk to us at YOU Travel & Cruise Napier, 86 Tennyson Street. I have the photos, the contacts and the honest opinions on which bits are worth your time. Every trip like this is priced to your dates and party, so ask us for current pricing, and if you want something built fully around you, that is what our custom itineraries service is for.
In pictures
The weekend in pictures
Plan your own
Fancy a weekend like this?
Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we will price an Adelaide trip around you.
Written by Stephen Jennings, owner of YOU Travel Napier, 30+ years in travel. Stephen visited Monarto Safari Park in August 2026 and the Murray River in February 2024. Last updated October 2026.