Stories
Longer reads, travel guides and field notes from the Adelaide Hills.
After the fire: how the Hills came back from Cudlee Creek
The Cudlee Creek fire of December 2019 burnt more than 23,000 hectares from Gumeracha to Harrogate. The Hills that grew back are worth seeing.
June 2026 · 7 min read
Winter in the Adelaide Hills: fog, firesides and long lunches
Locals will tell you the Hills are best in winter - fog in the valleys, fires in the pubs, and waterfalls actually falling. Here's how to do the cold season properly.
June 2026 · 6 min read
The quiet north: Kersbrook, the Warren and the Hills nobody visits
Beyond Gorge Road, the Hills' quiet north hides a converted-pub cellar door, a reservoir you can paddle, and the wildest walking in the ranges.
June 2026 · 6 min read
When Blumberg became Birdwood: the war that renamed the Hills
Blumberg, Grunthal, Lobethal, Hahndorf - the First World War took the Hills' German names away. Some came back. Some never did.
June 2026 · 7 min read
In their footsteps: walking the Pioneer Women's Trail
Hahndorf's pioneer women walked 35 kilometres overnight to the Adelaide markets, baskets on their backs. Walking their trail today is the Hills' most moving history lesson.
June 2026 · 6 min read
Riding the Amy Gillett: the Hills' gentlest great ride
The old Onkaparinga Valley railway is now the Hills' easiest and most rewarding bike ride - 22 gentle kilometres from Oakbank to Birdwood.
June 2026 · 6 min read
Gold fever in the Adelaide Hills
In the 1850s, the gullies around Echunga swarmed with diggers chasing South Australia's first gold. The fever passed, but its mark remains.
June 2026 · 6 min read
The high orchards of Lenswood
High on the northern ridge, Lenswood's orchards and vineyards produce some of the most prized fruit and wine in South Australia.
June 2026 · 5 min read
The southern Hills: South Australia's quiet plateau
Most visitors never venture south of Hahndorf. Those who do find the Hills' quietest, most agricultural and most surprising corner.
June 2026 · 6 min read
Koalas and bandicoots: the wild side of the Hills
The Adelaide Hills are quietly one of the best places near a capital city to see Australian wildlife in the wild - if you know where to look.
June 2026 · 6 min read
How natural wine took root in the Adelaide Hills
Low-intervention, biodynamic and organic - the Adelaide Hills have quietly become a centre of gravity for Australia's natural-wine movement.
June 2026 · 7 min read
The Gorge Road: a drive through the Torrens Valley
The winding Gorge Road is more than a route into the Hills - it's a journey through gorge, forest and orchard country in the space of an hour.
June 2026 · 6 min read