As a way to support South Australian Tourism and businesses, the state’s tourism authority has been gifting ‘Great State Vouchers’ which enable people to have an ‘experience’ or get accommodation at a very reduced price to boost the economy in these sectors. One of these vouchers I was able to use recently to book a wine and cheese flight at a Barossa winery.
There were a number of establishments to choose from, and I chose this particular winery with the thought of also discovering a different part of the Barossa Valley that I wasn’t too familiar with. The larger towns of Tanunda and Nuriootpa are probably the busier and more well-known towns and they have very good caravan parks and loads of things to do in those centres.
This campaign was launched by Tourism Australia in January 2020, as part of a national bushfire recovery effort to encourage Australian’s to see their own backyard, whether it was for a weekend away or a longer journey. It was tapping into the idea that a lot of Australians wanted to assist communities impacted by the horrific bushfires experienced over the summer and promoted ideas to visit areas impacted directly or indirectly and spend in the shops, restaurants, hotels, caravan parks – anywhere and everywhere.
The upcoming February issue of Liquid Life and Leisure magazine has a story with very personal significance to me. The story is about supporting communities in their recovery from the devastating bushfires that hit many areas in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia over the summer of 2019 / 2020.
I was glad to be asked to write a piece on this subject, to add to the support that is already out there and in particular to help one of the areas impacted in South Australia, the Adelaide Hills. In mid-2019 I moved from the town of Woodside in the Adelaide Hills, a place where I had lived for more than 30 years. It was where my children were born, attended school, and joined sports clubs. As a family we were very entrenched in the town, as anyone who has ever lived in a rural community knows. It was a big decision to make the move but the timing felt right and we now live in another lovely small community close to the coast, but obviously keep in close touch with many hills friends still.
The ‘Let’s Go Caravan & Camping’ show is on now in Adelaide and you still have today and over the weekend to attend. It’s on at the Wayville Showgrounds just out of the city and is open from 10am – 5pm every day until Sunday 17th of February. The entry price of $17 for adults seems a bit steep but you will get your money’s worth in not having to traipse all over town to see everything caravan and camping. What I love about these shows is that you can see everything in one convenient location and do your comparisons when it comes to different makes and models of vans especially.
Have you ever been scrolling through pictures on Instagram and said to yourself ‘Wow, where is that, I want to see that one day’’? Welcome to the world of social media tourism. What is social media tourism? To me it’s the epitome of ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. I’m the first one to be hooked in by a photograph that has me saying ‘Oh I am definitely going there one day’.
