The Fleurieu Peninsula

With its temperate climate, coastal temptations and central hinterlands, the Fleurieu Peninsula offers wine, water and wildlife in delightful abundance.

The beautiful McLaren Vale wine region is located between hills and the sea and is just 40 minutes south of Adelaide. Wine tasting along the Fleurieu Peninsula is a great way to spend a weekend with more than 60 regional cellar doors to choose from, extending further than just McLaren Vale. Many of the wineries in the region also have restaurants attached where you can taste some delicious regional cuisine. Roadside stalls also offer the freshest seasonal produce to top up your picnic basket.

Seaside Towns

The beautiful seaside towns of the Fleurieu Peninsula attract beachgoers by the thousands. Long stretches of white sandy beaches provide the perfect place for a long walk with the rolling hills as a backdrop. From Port Noarlunga down to Rapid Bay, the coastline offers endless locations to enjoy coastal scenery, fishing, swimming, surfing, snorkelling, sailing and diving.

The HMAS Hobart was scuttled in November 2002 in Yankalilla Bay to the delight of divers Australia-wide. It now represents a premier eco-tourism dive site full of marine flora and fauna waiting to be discovered.

Whale Watching

On the other side of the Fleurieu Peninsula visitors will find Australia's only registered inland port, Goolwa, and during school holidays the Cockle Steam Train runs along the coast from Goolwa to Victor Harbor. The coastal resort of Victor Harbor is an ideal spot to watch Southern Right Whales. They breed from June to October and come close in shore making them very easy to spot. You can see more than 1,000 fairy penguins nesting on Granite Island at sunset. To get there, take the horse-drawn tram over the causeway – a unique experience.

There are many national parks on the peninsula. They include Granite Island, Deep Creek, Onkaparinga River, Newland Head and Talisker and offer fantastic bushwalking, camping and picnicking sites.

Because of its beautiful landscape, the Fleurieu Peninsula is home to many artists and crafts people whose work can be found at various galleries, shops and markets in the region.