South Australia has 3 main Peninsulas, Fleurieu, Yorke and Eyre, this is where all the attractions are found.
From East to west the Fleurieu Peninsula is first and this is where we find our first stop, Goolwa. Goolwa beach (south of Adelaide) has been on the list from the beginning since we saw how many Pipi’s you can collect from the beach so we were excited to tick this off the list. We get there on the perfect sunny day, so no wetsuits needed, we watch others on the beach to learn what to do to find the pipi’s and set off to give it a go ourselves. This was one of the easiest things we have collected, much better than fishing that’s for sure. All the pipi’s are hidden under the sand in the shallow waters of the beach, so all you do is twist your feet to dig down a little and you can feel them after not too long. Keep digging with your hands and there is an endless supply of pipi’s right there, just grab them before a big wave comes past so they don’t wash away.
We take a quick drive down south to find a risky camp for the night, which is behind a state forest.
Camp Location: Bedlam Road, Delamere, South Australia
Cost = Risky
Travelled From: Goolwa Beach
Distance Travelled: 63 kilometres
The next day we do our best to find a spot to go snorkelling, we have heard this Peninsula is great for this, especially to see a leafy sea dragon, which David Attenborough says is one of the most interesting animals alive. We check out both Rapid Bay Jetty and Second Valley but unfortunately the water is too rough and the weather not the best. We try the other side of the Peninsula at Victor Harbour, but it is similar and we end up running out of time. This Peninsula was a lovely drive, vast land with stunning hills and landscape, with coastal roads to enjoy stunning views. With great weather you could definitely stay around the Fleurieu Peninsula for a while.
Time to move on and get up to Hahndorf; a small German town just out of Adelaide that many of our friends and family have recommended. We are meeting friends this afternoon here, so time to do some groceries and find camp before they arrive. We head to Hahndorf Inn, a true German pub for oversized beers and a feast of German sausages. We couldn’t find any free camps around here and the paid ones were very expensive but also a long way to walk from the main part of town, so we found a large empty carpark 2 streets back from the main town that was used for Bowls over the weekends and was hidden off the street, so yes, we risked it and got out early in the morning with no worries.
Camp Location: Hahndorf Bowling Club
Cost =Risky
Travelled From: State forest – second valley – victor harbour
Distance Travelled: 142 kilometres
The main reason for our friends Rhys & Justine visit, aside from seeing us, is to head to the Barossa Valley. A weekend full of wine and food, our budget blows out of course but you have to live it up some weeks. They hired a massive campervan to come along with our camping journey; it was so massive we called it the big rig. We arrive and the weather has turned on for us, so we take up this opportunity to go bike riding around to some of the wineries. 30 seconds in and one of our friends Justine falls off the path and in front of a truck. Luckily they had been stopped at the lights so no injuries, just a mixture of fright, laughter and amazement. Our first winery we rode by was Elderton, we had not of heard of this before but we are glad we stumbled across it as it was one of our favourites!
Next stop is Penfolds, and we soon realise we definitely like the smaller, more unknown wineries a lot more. The larger ones are a little too touristy and less along the kind of wine we enjoy. A neat saving we found at Penfolds was it costs $10/person for the wine tasting but you get that back if you buy a bottle of wine, so 4 tastings for free when you buy a $40 bottle on wine, winning. We then head next door for an amazing lunch at Steins Taphouse.
The lady from Elderston told us to head around to some of the smaller wineries the suburb over from where we were, an easy bike track she said. Well we didn’t find that for ages, getting a little lost and then realising how far we had to ride to get to just one of the wineries, we had to get a move on, a storm was brewing and we were heading for it. We finally get to Saltram just in time for the massive storm to roll over. There is no way we are riding home, so we grab a maxi taxi, pile all our bikes and ourselves in and get back. A fun experience none the less, and I’d do it again that’s for sure.
Our camp is one suburb over, Greenock Centenary Park, we park up, Zac cooks up our Goolwa Pipi’s and spaghetti for dinner, and with a few wines we are off to bed.
Camp Location: Greenock Centenary Park
Cost = $5 donation/night
Travelled From: Hahndorf Bowling Club
Distance Travelled: 91 kilometres
Day 2 in the Barossa and we had a wild night with the weather and it hasn’t cleared up much at all. We rug up and Rhys is our driver for the day, rhys actually hates wine so after doing all the tastings on day 1 he was happy to sit out on some today. The big rig takes us a little further south and we go to Rockford wines 1st. A cute little dark den, that was actually really busy, the wines great, so close to buying a bottle but we save ourselves for my favourite winery in the Barossa.
We head into my all time Favourite winery called Charles Melton, I stumbled across this the 1st time I went to the Barossa and 2nd time round it was still the best. Everyone agreed that the wines were nicer, the atmosphere was more personal and it definitely was top notch. 2 bottles to add to the collection, we walk out happy and content with our experience in the Barossa. We stay one more night in Greenock, with chicken schnitzels, cards, wine and cheese, it was the perfect last night with our mates.
Our last half day with friends is spent driving back down to Adelaide and stopping into Glenelg for a walk around and lunch at the surf club, great food! We were so thankful that we had some others to share our travels around Adelaide with, Thanks Justine and Rhys, we loved your company and your big rig.
After our goodbyes, drive just over an hour and find camp at Port Parham, Zac notices most of the campers have crabbing rakes and that the beach we are staying on is great to catch Blue Swimmer crabs. He rushes out to buy a rake for $20 and off we go. We watch others, and guess what we are doing and after some practise come to the conclusion that we have done this the most hardest way possible. We eventually understand a little more about where to rake for the crabs, how deep etc but we are stuffed after trying for at least an hour or so already, so give in and hope for better luck next time. Our camping neighbours see our disappointment and give us 5 freshly cooked crabs they had leftover, and man they were amazing.
Camp Location: Port Parham Campground, Parham.
Cost = FREE
Travelled From: Greenock Centenary Park – Goolwa
Distance Travelled: 76 kilometres
This ends our trip around the Barossa and Fleurieu Peninsular, still so many places to see in both areas but now we have a taste and would definitely come back again one day!
Holly xx
Quit Ya Coward 