The Barossa Valley in late spring is a little slice of heaven.

Fields of winter wheat ripening towards gold. Acre up on acre of vineyard unfurling new leaves and stretching green tendrils toward the warm blue sky after a long winter’s nap. Rolling hills dotted with sheep and cattle. I’ve you’ve been to Sonoma, or down the Adriatic Coast of Italy, you’ll recognize the feel.

It’s the perfect place to spend a long weekend sipping your way from winery to winery, or wandering the main streets of picture-postcard towns dotted with galleries and cafes that spill onto sidewalks beneath colourful umbrellas and the seductive scent of warm bakery bread.

The Tanunda Carvan Tourist Park is the perfect place to base yourself for your explorations. Centrally located, within walking distance of the center of Tanunda, you’ll find accommodations to meet a range of travel styles and budgets, from primitive tent camping sites to fully equipped three bedroom holiday homes with private garden spaces. They have bunk houses that cater to school or holiday groups, a range of cabin style lodging with full kitchens and even spa tubs in some, sleeping between three and ten persons.

Amenities include:

• Full laundry: washers and driers or open-air clothesline
• Two large bath houses
• Facilities for persons with disabilities
• Swimming pool
• Bouncy pillow
• Full kitchen, including oven and fridge for guest use
• TV and games room
• BBQ
• Camp shop with the things you might forget
• Bike hire
• Playground
• Friday night movies on a big screen after dark
• Firepit

We camped three nights at Tanunda Caravan Tourist Park as part of a group of four families with kids ranging in age from one to seventeen years old, and one with special needs. We sat late into the cool nights and sipped local wine, nibbled old cheese and told stories of far away places. The children were serenaded at bedtime by a trio of bagpipers; rather unusual lullabies, but some their unlikely to forget. We had a great time and were impressed with the range of activities and services the park provides. The staff were, in every case, helpful and cheerful. It was a great place to stage a meet up of a diverse group. The bunnies and possums that came out to play at twilight were the icing on the cake, as far as the children were concerned!

There are no shortage of wineries in the area to taste your way around, but if you’re looking for a different sort of tasting experience, don’t miss the Seppeltsfield Winery. Known for their production of port, a blended wine and a locally famous raspberry cordial. Of course we tried the full range, from tawny to deep, dark red ports and walked away with a couple tucked into paper bags. The children felt quite grown up to be handed wine glasses filled with crimson cordial mixed with sparkling water to sip as they enjoyed the art gallery downstairs.