Undiscovered gems
Much of the Fleurieu Peninsula has entered the 21st century, but the best is unchanged.
GOOLWA, Australia — Flocks of pelicans led the way into this Murray River port at the eastern edge of the Fleurieu Peninsula. As in other peninsula towns, some of Goolwa’s 19th century buildings have become contemporary eateries and accommodations, such as the luxury five-suite Australasian Circa 1858 hotel that resides in a renovated Georgian-style lodging.
The town of 6,000 was declared Australia’s first Cittaslow, a Slow Food-like designation that aims to improve the quality of life by slowing down the pace.
My friend Jim and I parked ourselves at Hector’s on the Wharf and watched the paddle steamboats coming and going. On the wharf nearby, a former corrugated iron railway shed is home to the craft beers of the atmospheric Steam Exchange Brewery; further along the Murray River bank was our lunch destination, Aquacaf, with local specialties such as Goolwa cockles and Mulloway fish pasties.
The Murray River’s meeting with the Southern Ocean creates a complex piece of geography. Australia’s longest river empties into Lake Alexandrina, largely blocked from the sea by a narrow 81-mile-long strip of sand dunes — the Younghusband Peninsula — that make up Coorong National Park. It’s a spectacular ecosystem for hiking and boating.
Years ago Jim and I got lost and stumbled across One Paddock Currency Creek Winery, nestled among the gum trees, some bearing the scars left by Aboriginal canoe makers when they harvested the bark almost a century ago. Now, visiting this far-flung winemaker, one of a few outside Goolwa, and its Shiraz is on our must-see list.
Nearby is Langhorne Creek (population 668), a premium red wine region dating to 1850, a sleepy rural area with much-lauded Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Then there’s the antique shops of Strathalbyn. From here it was just an hour back to Adelaide on a scenic route weaving through the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Over many years I’ve watched the Fleurieu Peninsula gradually move into the 21st century. Old stone hotels have morphed into chic inns, classic pubs have reemerged as hip microbreweries, and the food has gone from uninspired to exquisite and locally sourced. But the best part is that the Fleurieu has not changed its unpretentious character and that it’s still a largely undiscovered gem, the domain of locals.