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Published: November 26th 2019
With our 48th wedding anniversary on 22 October 2019 Kev booked us into the Links Lady Bay Resort on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula for four days. The Links Resort is situated on the cusp of the magnificent Lady Bay adjacent to the seaside town of Normanville with a magnificent golf course between our apartment and Normanville Beach. Mind you, we didn't play any golf, but we did drive round the course in a golf buggy!!
Flying into Adelaide, we picked up a hire car, with our destination a drive of 75 kms from Adelaide airport. Having the car meant that we were able to discover the delights which the Fleurieu Peninsular had to offer. The Fleurieu Peninsula’s green hills - which showed no signs of drought in the region - are complemented by clifftops with some amazing rocks, stunning beaches and the winding Murray River.
On our first lot of travels, five minutes drive out of Normanville we stopped at the HMAS Hobart memorial which was sunk as a dive site in 2002 and, I'm told, now hosts an incredible host of marine life. HMAS Hobart's distinguished career included being the first Royal Australian Navy
combat ship deployed to fight in the Vietnam War and took part of the Royal Australian Navy disaster relief effort following Cyclone Tracy in Darwin in 1974 before being decommissioned in 2000.
On the Main South Road en route to Cape Jervis - the gateway and departure point for the ferry services to Kangaroo Island and located on the western tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula - we called in to explore many beaches along the way. Our first stop, after the HMAS Hobart memorial, was Second Valley. Reminiscent of a Cornish fishing village and hugging Yankalilla Bay, Second Valley has some absolutely amazing geological formations. Named Second Valley as it was from there that Colonel William Light - the British-Malayasian naval and army officer and first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia who chose the site for Adelaide - settled at Rapid Bay. Leonards Mill, just up the road from Second Valley beach and jetty is now a restaurant which unfortunately was closed when we were there.
Then it was off on the 61 km scenic drive to Victor Harbour where we ate lunch in a local pub, For thousands of years, the
Ramindjeri people hunted and gathered in the region they called ‘Wirramulla’ then in 1802 the first Europeans to sight Victor Harbor were Captain Matthew Flinders of the British sloop Investigator and Captain Nicholas Baudin of the French ship Le Geographé. While there was so much more to see in and around Victor Harbour we only had time to explore Customs House which is now the National Trust Museum. Built in 1866-67 for the collector of customs and a house for the harbour master it became the stationmaster’s residence in 1911 and is believed to be built of ship's ballast. For the drive back to our accomodation we drove inland across the peninsula.
Another of our excursions saw us heading off to McLaren Vale to the famous wine growing region so we not only took in some of the wineries but also called into yet more beaches on the drive back to Normanville.
On the day of our anniversary we enjoyed a lovey lunch at the Victory Hotel which overlooks Sellicks Beach and Aldinga Bay. Sellicks Beach is one of the few beaches which allow parking on the sand which makes it popular with family
Kev beside the HMAS Hobart Memorial
Commemorating the two vessels named HMAS Hobart - a cruiser and a destroyer - and those who served in themgroups. As for the Victory Hotel, which is on Main South Road, it's a lovey hotel which was established in 1858 and modernised somewhat since then. The food was delicious so it was a great spot for an anniversary lunch. Then the evening we enjoyed another delicious meal, this time at the restaurant which was part of the resort where we were staying.
Before we caught any early morning flight from Adelaide to Sydney other adventures saw us visiting the Yankalillia District Historical Museum which had some good exhibits of local history and well preserved historical items including lots of farm equipment and details of cheese making in the area. The area was colonised in the late 1830s and the town established in 1839.
We also visited beautiful Myponga Bay and, towards the end of our stay we enjoyed a fantastic sunset over Normanville beach.
South Australia's Fleuriea Peninsula is certainly somewhere we'd like to return and explore some more of what this fascinating region has to offer.
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RACHEL EVERSON-CRANE
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Belated Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations! You both look great - hope you had a wonderful romantic time . Lots of love, Rachel and James xxx