KANIVA Kaniva is the first (or last) town to encounted when traveling the main Adelaide to Melbourne Highway. Kaniva is a small town and is a well presented community. Heritage is clearly important and the town has the majority of essential services. Kaniva is in the centre of the Canola and Wheat belt. The Post Office opened on 1 December 1881 as Budjik and was renamed Kaniva in 1882. The reasons for the change were not noted. Kaniva is located on the north of Little Desert National Park, in the Shire of West Wimmera local government area. It is located roughly 25km east of the South Australian border and 43km east of Bordertown. The town is commonly used as a rest point for those travelling to Adelaide. Kaniva has all of the main church denominations. Some of the buildings are quite old. The Kaniva Hotel (The Commercial)  is a grand classic.The Club being the local tavern The Kaniva War Memorial is located central to the town. Kaniva could be considered a stopover, given most essential services are available.