Australia 17 - Adelaide & South Australia (Chapter)

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.