Victor Harbor SA

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We had briefly visited Victor Harbor during one of our trips to Adelaide to visit our niece Brittaney, who was working there as a teacher. Our brief experience of the Fleurieu Peninsula drew us back to spend more time in this popular summer destination for South Australians. We crossed the mighty Murray River at the township of Murray Bridge, and then headed south, passing near The Coorong, of Storm Boy fame.

Matthew Flinders in “HMS Investigator” visited the bay at Victor Harbor on 8 April 1802, while on the first circumnavigation of the continent, mapping the unsurveyed southern Australian coast from the west. He encountered Nicolas Baudin in “Le Geographe” near the Murray Mouth several kilometres to the east of the present day location of Victor Harbor. Baudin was surveying the coast from the east for Napoleonic France. Although their countries were at war, each captain was given documents by the other nation's government, stating that the ships were on scientific missions, and were therefore not to be regarded as ships of war. Together, the ships returned to the bay and sheltered, while the captains compared notes. Flinders named the bay Encounter Bay after the meeting.

Around 1837, two whaling stations were established, one at Rosetta Head, popularly known as "the Bluff", and the other near the point opposite Granite Island. Whale oil became South Australia's first export. The town of Port Victor was laid out on the shores of Victor Harbor in 1863, when the horse-drawn tramway from Goolwa was extended to the harbour.

Our first activity was to walk from our caravan park into town, and over the bridge to Granite Island. After walking around the island, which houses hundreds of little penguins, we caught the Clydesdale-drawn Historic Tram back across the bridge to town. Following our 12.4 km walk, we drove to The Bluff, and watched a pod of dolphins doing stunts near the shore.

The next day we hiked to the top of The Bluff, hoping to see Southern Right Whales, which according to the South Australian Whale Centre located in Victor Harbor, were due any day. No luck, but the views were sensational. After stopping off for my Flu and Covid shots, we walked 5 kms from The Bluff to Kings Beach, along a coastal walk that reminded us of the great English coastal walks.

Apart from catching up on washing the car and caravan and picking up some items from Bunnings that will be required as we head outback, the only other highlight for our visit to Victor Harbor was to revisit our favourite fish and chip restaurant, Flying Fish Café at Port Elliott. It did not disappoint.

Despite returning to the Whale Watching platforms several time, we didn’t see any Southern Right Whales.

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