Category: South Australia

Port Germein is where the Ranges truly meet the sea. Located 27 kilometres north of Port Pirie on National Highway One, Port Germein is a tranquil and safe holiday haven, especially for families with young children. Originally settled as a deep sea trading port in the late 1800s Port Germein is now a peaceful seaside town of 200 residents, serving the local farming community and catering for ecologically sound tourism. The tidal beach provides endless hours of activity for every member of the family. The shallow tides ensure fun and safe swimming for small children. Search for sand crabs among the tidal pools. At low tide the eastern side of the beach gives vehicle access to the deeper water. Land yachting is also a popular low tide past time. To allow you to continue your beachside experience, amenities include a children’s playgrounds, a number of coin operated electric barbecues and gazebo. When Port Germein was a major seaport for wheat shipping it had the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Those days are gone, but the structure of the 1881 jetty remains jutting out into the sea for local fishing. Port Germein is a popular resort town as evidenced by the many holiday shacks located here. The beach is safe for swimming. Crabbing is popular when the tide is right. Enjoy a scenic drive through Port Germein Gorge with its deep ravines and magnificent gum trees to Melrose and Mount Remarkable. There’s good walking with spectacular views of Spencer Gulf nearby at Telowie Gorge Conservation Park. On the western side of the Mt Remarkable National Park is the settlement of Mambray Creek and headquarters of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The area is the starting point for several walking trails through the park.

Mannum has a beautiful riverfront and excellent recreational facilities including Mary Ann Reserve, home to a playground, boat ramp, picnic tables and kiosk. Visitors can hire water-skis, jet-skis, canoes, kneeboarding equipment or simply drop a line and enjoy the fishing. Mannum’s attractive main street has an art gallery, antiques, craft and bric-a-brac shops, and there is a good choice of cafes and hotels, including the award-winning Pretoria Hotel, which offers quality riverfront dining. There are several scenic and historic walks in the town and nearby Mannum Falls has easy and moderate level tracks passing winter-flowing waterfalls, abundant bird life and interesting rock formations. Having celebrated its 150th birthday in 2004, Mannum is a town steeped in history. Blacksmith brothers John and David Shearer spearheaded the settlement of the town after they established their farm machinery factory where they created a string of inventions. In fact in 1897, David Shearer produced one of the first two cars in Australia, which featured a differential gear in an enclosed case. Mannum is also the birthplace of the Murray River paddle steamers, including the first ever built, the Mary Ann, which was constructed in 1853 by Captain William Randell. At the Mannum Visitor Centre you can discover the history of the river and visit the Randell Dry Dock. Installed at Mannum in 1876 it is listed on the National Estate and the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The visitor centre is also home to the PS Marion – a restored 105-year old paddle steamer that is open to the public daily, except when cruising. There is also an art exhibition and fossil display. The Mannum Olde Days and Olde Ways Museum also provides an insight into pioneering days, while Mannum Minerals, which has one of the state’s largest displays of gemstones, minerals, fossils and shells, tells the geological history of the area.

Named after William Allen Crouch, an early landholder in the district, Allendale East is situated 22 kilometres south of Mount Gambier. The town is famous for the cave in the middle of the main road through the town where the road divides. Allendale East Area School is situated in the town as well as the Kirinari Kindergarten which, both combined, cater for pre school to year 12.

Once the most important gold fossicking area in South Australia, today Echunga is a pleasant farming town with a good selection of historic buildings to admire. The Jupiter Creek Heritage Trail interprets the mining craze that took place in the mid to late 1800s and includes visits to the 80 metre New Phoenix Tunnel and several old shafts. Don’t forget to take your torch! There’s also a heritage walk available in town, and a treasure market on the first Saturday of each month. Surrounded by rich farmland and natural bushland, the 18 hole Echunga Golf Club is another attraction.

Driving to the Barossa through the Adelaide Hills, the road leads past reservoirs and forests to the pretty hamlet of Williamstown. Williamstown is home to the Barossa Reservoir and its famous Whispering Wall. An engineering feat when it was built, this acoustic phenomenon allows messages whispered at one end to carry audibly to the other end, 140 metres away. The town is an access point to Mount Crawford Forest and its walking, cycling and horseriding trails. Many of the original stone buildings in the town centre are still in use, including the hotel, first licensed in 1854, and Cundy’s Bridge, built in 1867 over Victoria Creek. Having withstood both time and flooding, the bridge has been altered but still retains its original stone piers.

Situated in a valley surrounded by ranges, Spalding is a pleasant farming town. The nearby Broughton River offers excellent trout fishing and Geralka Rural Farm offers pony rides, hay rides, blacksmithing, working Clydesdales and more. The Broughton River, the only river to rise and set in South Australia, flows through the area. A popular spot for trout fishers, fingerlings are released into the river on a regular basis. Mining first began in the district in 1858, when the sample showed 50 perc ent metallic copper and traces of both silver and gold. Mining ceased in the area in the 1920s. William Lunn opened the first business in Spalding in March 1875, a store and post office.

A tiny coastal village that’s become a popular holiday retreat, thanks to its white sandy beach and fabulous views over Roma Mitchell Bay and Yankalilla Bay. The HMAS Hobart was sunk here and is a unique diving attraction. Holiday homes, reef snorkelling and fishing also combine to make Carrickalinga a treasured location. The best approach is from the north via Myponga Reservoir to enjoy dramatic coastal views.

The pretty Flinders Ranges town of Quorn is home to the Pichi Richi Railway, a treasured steam journey which chugs its way through glorious rugged countryside to Port Augusta. Quorn retains much of its old world character, with charming street frontages and a pub on almost every corner. Stop in at a cafe for coffee and cake, or wander through bric-a-brac stores and an art gallery. The discovery of rich mineral deposits in the Flinders Ranges and the opening up of the Willochra Plains for agriculture made it necessary to construct railways to serve the north of the state. To meet these needs the town of Quorn was surveyed and proclaimed in 1878 and soon became an important railway town. Mount Brown 14 kilometres south, is the highest peak rising majestically over 900 metres. Nearer to the town, Devil’s Peak and Dutchmans stern overlook the valley with their rocky outcrops richly coloured, to the north where Warren and Buckaringa Gorge carve through the hills to Mount Arden.