Only 1 hour to the Murray from Adelaide

South Australia has 2 sensational regions the Murray runs through: Murraylands and the Riverland.

Murraylands: Recharge on Australia's mighty Murray River as it winds its way through the heart of the Murraylands, carving out steep cliffs that turn orange at sunset, winding past giant red gums and spilling into wild lagoons. There are so many ways to take it all in. You can paddle a canoe through quiet backwaters; charter your own houseboat, from budget to budget-breaking luxury; take a five-night cruise on the PS Murray Princess and the Proud Mary; or take a short day trip out from the historic river ports of Mannum and Murray Bridge. You can water ski, swim and fish, or sprawl out with a good book on the banks. Many of the best attractions in the Murraylands are within an easy hour's drive of Adelaide

Riverland: Cruise among great little riverside towns in your own floating home. Stop for a round of golf at some of the best courses in South Australia; or explore charming pioneer villages and internationally renowned bird sanctuaries before getting down to the serious business of food and wine. There's a good reason why nearly half of South Australia's wine grapes (and 90 per cent of our oranges, stone fruits and nuts) are grown in the Riverland. It's all the sunshine … and it's sure to do you some good. The Riverland is a couple of hours from Adelaide, and perfectly located for a few days of rest and relaxation on the drive between South Australia and the eastern states. Source

Mallee: The mallee in South Australia is also the gateway to Victoria and New South Wales (Canberra and Sydney). The vegetation are mainly mallee eucalypts. For all practical purposes is a very low-lying region consisting of sandy soils. The Mallee is a primarily agricultural region: apart from possible mineral sands in the wheat and salt from certain ephemeral lakes there are no mineral deposits of value and industry is generally on a small scale and confined to food processing.

Wheat and barley are widely grown on the less infertile soils in the southeast of the region. Tourism is also significant industry with a small number of festivals. The many Mallee national and conservation parks include the Ngarkat Conservation Park, the Scorpion Springs Conservation Park, the Karte Conservation Park and the Peebinga Conservation Park along with the Wyperfeld, Hattah-Kulkyne and Murray Sunset National Parks in Victoria. The area also contains the endanged Malleeflow a large ground dwelling bird that roosts in trees.

Major towns in South Australia
Renmark
Mannum
Murray Bridge