Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia - April 2015
On our first day, we were picked up by Ben Neville from Off-Piste Tours, our local guide to this beautiful, unspoilt region, less than an hour’s drive south of Adelaide. First stop was for our second breakfast of the day, of freshly-baked artisan bread, superb local cheese, and a snifter of local wines overlooking a stunning beach totally empty but for a couple of locals walking the dog.
A tour of the coast showed us miles of similarly unspoilt beaches and ended with an exhilarating drive along the beach at Silver Sands.
This region is awash with wineries and our lunchtime stop was to be in McLaren Vale but en-route Ben took us to his family home to meet his Mum and sample their very own wine – a very creditable Shiraz. The house is an old buttery in a lovely location and the wine cellar has been converted from the original water tank, which was carved out of the rock. This area is so peaceful and rural, and yet within commuting distance of Adelaide - we’d seen so much already and it wasn’t yet lunchtime!
Our lunchtime stop was at d’Arenburg wines in McLaren Vale, a winery established over 100 years ago, producing wines from a huge variety of grapes and still run by the grandson of the founder, Charlie Osborn. An introduction to the history of the winery was followed by a tasting of several varieties, sadly we didn’t have time to blend our own – a popular activity with visitors to the cellar door. Our picnic lunch, curries and breads produced for us by a local chef, was taken on the lawn outside the cellar door and very good it was too!
After lunch, we travelled to Victor Harbour to take a Big Duck boat tour out to an island where seals bask and sea-birds nest. Crossing the harbour, we were joined by dolphins, which come very close to the boat, though no pictures I’m afraid as I was too excited watching them to take pictures. There was a small girl, about 5 years old, on board: She was making dolphin sounds and I swear they were coming to her calls, it was uncanny! Best dolphin boat experience ever!
As if we hadn’t seen and done enough during our first day, our next stop was Waitpinga Farm for an exhilarating quad bike adventure. This is a working farm and we were met by the owner Kev and a sheep that thinks it’s a dog - it must have been hand-reared as it’s as demanding as a puppy! After kitting up we were led to our vehicles; being a wimp I was a bit scared but after a couple of turns around the paddock steering around obstacles and up and down inclines, we were off and it was great fun! We rode all over the farm, through all kinds of terrain and were very mucky when we got back, but we all enjoyed it. Not a game to play while wearing white though!
We arrived at our accommodation for the night – Beach Huts at Middleton. These are not like British beach huts, more like chalets in a village setting with tennis courts and gardens, close to the beach and beautifully decorated with a living area, kitchen and bathroom. Each hut had its own private patio and was individually themed for a different region of Australia. The on-site Blues Restaurant served us a magnificent dinner and we all went to bed well fed and exhausted after a very long day.
Day 2
On our second day, we travelled the short distance to Goolwa at the mouth of the mighty Murray River and from where we would canoe the Coorong – a protected wetland area with a chain of saltwater lagoons sheltered by dunes, stretching for 130 km. It was a very calm and sunny morning, a great day for paddling out to the dunes for morning tea and a walk in the sand. On the way back, we had a helpful shove from the current as the tide turned! There is a huge amount of wildlife here, especially birds as the lagoons provide shelter and food.
After physical exercise there was a need to replace lost fluid, so the next stop was – a brewery! The Steam Exchange Brewery is a micro-brewery on the wharf at Goolwa. With a lovely sunny patio outside, it’s a great place to relax and the beers are good too! They also distil their own ‘Scotch’ and a dangerous liquor called ‘Moonshine’ only to be consumed in small quantities, responsibly and amongst friends!
In the afternoon, we were catching the ferry to Kangaroo Island so, we drove to Cape Jervis for the Sealink crossing to Penneshaw, stopping only for fish and chips at the Flying Fish Café, on the beach at Port Elliot – a lovely location and excellent food.
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a lovely, unspoilt area of South Australia and well worth spending some time here on the way to or from Kangaroo Island.