Australia 17 - Adelaide & South Australia (Chapter)

(Darren Dugan) #1
Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

FLEURIEU

PENINSULA

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

INFORMATION

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

PORT

ELLIOT

Nino’s ̈ CAFE$$
(%08-85523501; www �ninoscafe�com �au; 17 Albert
Pl;  mains $15-33;h10am-10pm Mon-Thu, 10am-
midnight Fri-Sun) Nino’s cafe has been here
since 1974, but it manages to put a contem-
porary sheen on downtown VH. Hip young
staff and a mod interior set the scene for
gourmet pizzas, pasta, salads, risottos and
meaty Italian mains. Good coffee, cakes and
takeaways, too.


Anchorage ̈Cafe ̈ MODERNAUSTRALIAN$$
(%08-85525970;www �anchorageseafronthotel�
com;21 FlindersPde; tapas$7-14,mains$16-35;
h8-11am, noon-2�30pm& 5�30-8 �30pm) This
salty sea cave at the Anchorage hotel has
an old whaling boat for a bar and a Med/
Mod Oz menu (baguettes, pizzas, souvlaki)
peppered with plenty of seafood. There’s
great coffee, tapas and cakes, plus Euro
beers and a breezy terrace on which to
drink them.


88 Information


Victor Harbor Visitor Information Centre
(%1800 557 094, 08-85510777;www �tourism
victorharbor�com �au; Foreshore;h9am-5pm)
Handlestour and accommodationbookings�
Stocksthe Beaches on the South Coastbro-
chureif you feel like aswim,and the Old Port
Victorhistorywalk brochure�


88 Getting ̈There ̈& ̈Away


BUS
Premier Stateliner(www�premierstateliner�
com �au)runsbusestoVictorHarborfrom
Adelaide($22,1¾hours,onetothreedaily)
continuingtoGoolwa�


TRAIN
OnthefirstandthirdSundaysfromJuneto
Novemberinclusive,SteamRanger Heritage
Railway(%1300655991;www�steamranger�
org �au)operatestheSouthern Encounter(adult/
childreturn$69/36)touristtrainfromMt
BarkerintheAdelaideHillstoVictorHarborvia
Strathalbyn,GoolwaandPortElliot�TheCockle
Train(adult/childreturn$28/14)runsalongthe
EncounterCoastbetweenVictorHarborand
GoolwaviaPortEllioteverySundayandWednes-
day,anddailyduringschoolholidays�


Port Elliot
POP 3100
About 8km east of Victor Harbor, historic
(and today, rather affluent) Port Elliot is set
back from Horseshoe ̈Bay, an orange-sand
arc with gentle surf and good swimming.


Norfolk Island pines reach for the sky, and
there are whale-spotting updates posted on
the pub wall. If there are whales around,
wander out to Freemans ̈Knob lookout at
the end of the Strand and peer through the
free telescope.

2 ̈Activities
Commodore ̈Point, at the eastern end of
Horseshoe Bay, and nearby Boomer ̈Beach ̈
and Knights ̈Beach have reliable waves for
experienced surfers. The beach at otherwise
missable Middleton, the next town towards
Goolwa, also has solid breaks. You can learn
to surf (around $40 for a two-hour lesson,
including gear) with South ̈ Coast ̈ Surf ̈
Academy (%0414 341 545; www �danosurf�com �
au) and Surf ̈& ̈Sun (%1800 786 386; www �
surfandsun�com �au).
History buffs should look for the Walk
Into History at Port Elliot pamphlet (try
Goolwa Visitor Information Centre (p752))
detailing a couple of history walks around
town.

Big ̈Surf ̈Australia ̈ SURFING
(%08-8554 2399; info@bigsurfaustralia�com;  24
Goolwa Rd,  Middleton; surfboards/bodyboards/
wetsuits per  day  $30/20/15;h9am-5pm) For
surf-gear hire, check out Big Surf Australia
in Middleton.

RAPID ̈BAY

About 15km south of Normanville, fol-
low the signs past bald hills and farm-
house ruins to Rapid Bay. In the 1950s
this was a boomtown, the local lime-
stone quarry shipping 60,000 tonnes
of lime per month from the enormous
jetty. Production ceased in 1981; since
then Rapid Bay has assumed a gothic,
ghost-town atmosphere. Empty ’50s
villas and workers’ quarters line the
streets, and the local shop (closed) has
signs advertising soft drinks they don’t
make anymore. The jetty (recently
rebuilt; http://www.rapidbayjetty.org) has be-
come a popular fishing and diving site.
Rapid Bay was also the site of Ad-
elaide founder Colonel William Light’s
first landing in SA in 1836, in his ship
the Rapid. There’s a stone down by the
shore with ‘WL 1836’ carved into it.
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