EASE ON DOWN
The Fleurieu Peninsula, off the well-worn path, has mellow, rustic charm
>>> FLEURIEU PENINSULA, Australia — Just 27 miles south of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia, is a little-known Mediterranean-style region called the Fleurieu Peninsula with world-class wines, local produce and passionate growers, stellar beaches and small towns with a thriving cuisine scene. ¶ Though it is off the beaten path for international travelers, it is on the driving route between Adelaide and popular Kangaroo Island. It’s also worth a special trip for those who seek a mellow area rich with local culture and a low level of commercialism. ¶ I’ve explored this roughly 3,000-square-mile region (including Kangaroo Island) countless times since 1979 with my buddy and fellow journalist, Jim Hutchison, who grew up in Adelaide. We have honed an ideal itinerary over the years, often heading here on breaks from book and magazine assignments. It’s one of my favorite places in Australia. ¶ The boot-shaped peninsula, its toes pointing toward Kangaroo Island, can be explored on an activity-packed 125-mile trip on quiet country roads over a long weekend. ¶ We always rent a cottage on one of the wide sand beaches that start in Adelaide so that we can forage in this region of cheesemakers, olive groves and artisan charcuterie-makers, and throw whatever we want on
our barbecue with a view — marinated kangaroo steaks being a favorite.
On our last visit in 2014 we chose to stay on Moana Beach, a quiet-during-theweek place with the laidback Deep Blue Café serving breakfasts of free-range Kangaroo Island eggs opposite the surf life-saving club. We sipped espressos while listening to crashing waves and lorikeets screeching as they flashed red and green among the Norfolk Island pines.
Jim and I spent a week there taking day trips and doing day hikes, starting in wine-rich McLaren Vale, where we always take a morning exploring back roads, a picnic under construction on our back seat.
Alexandrina cheeses were plucked fresh from the dairy and warm venison steak pies were scooped up from the butcher in nearby Mount Compass.
Puttering along between grapevines and gum trees, we stopped at cottage producers for smoked trout, warm bread and oysters nestled on ice.
We topped off with a bottle of white wine wrapped in a beach towel to keep it frosty.
Then we head to Maslin, our favorite among the dozens of nearby beaches and South Australia’s oldest “unclad” beach. On a quiet stretch of sand we had all to ourselves, we indulged in a gourmet picnic where not just the oysters were au naturel.
At the end of our stay we headed south along the beaches and through eucalyptus forest to the old-style holiday town of Victor Harbor.
From there it’s not far to the mouth of the Murray River and the vast string of dunes that make up spectacular Coorong National Park.
A winding road through the Langhorne Creek wine area and the Mount Lofty Ranges led back to Adelaide.