Fleurieu Uncorked

South Australia’s sun-drenched Fleurieu Peninsula – just a short drive from Adelaide – blends world-class Shiraz, fresh seafood, quiet beaches and raw nature into one cool package…

By Doug Wallace

I pay the $20 cover without batting an eyelash. As you would if you were on holiday, indulging in the moment. And yet, where are all the men? This is supposed to be Adelaide’s most popular gay club. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, the boys start rolling into Mary’s Poppin just as the drag show starts. Perfect timing.

We already know that South Australia’s capital is going to be livelier than usual, arriving as we are at the height of the Adelaide Fringe, the world’s second-biggest arts festival after Edinburgh. The streets are packed, as are the pubs, as revellers move between the venue hubs, both temporary and permanent. It’s a time of year that locals refer to as Mad March, the Fringe being only one of five events taking place in the city at the same time. Stepping into The Garden of Unearthly Delights, we soon see why: an entire city park has been transformed into a carnival, a playland of colour and light, food vendors and beer gardens, performers and artisans. We step into a large bandstand-style theatre to watch a cabaret show of singers, aerialists, comedians and acrobats. 

We (understandably) have a late night, but the cobwebs begin to wash away the next morning when Ben Neville from Off Piste 4WD Tours picks us up in a smart SUV. We admit to being “dusty,” Australian slang for slightly hungover, and begin our drive south of Adelaide into the Fleurieu Peninsula and the renowned McLaren Vale wine region. This swath of First Nation landscape between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island comprises national parkland, rolling farmland and a number of Australia’s best-kept beach secrets.

When we reach our first stop, the Onkaparinga River National Park, Ben has his best smirk on as he fishes in the back of the car for…wine, of course. One more surprise from the trunk: a didgeridoo, which Ben calls by its Indigenous name, yidaki. He sits himself down on the picnic basket and begins a stream of breath-controlled blows, the hypnotic tonal drone reaching up into the surrounding trees. It couldn’t get more Australian than this, wine and song and all.

More wine awaits at nearby Dandelion Vineyards, where homegrown snacks accompany our tasting of a few Shiraz specialties, plus a refreshing Roussanne. The vineyard is a regular wine-tourism award winner due to its full restaurant-open kitchen – dubbed the Wonder Room – and the sloping front lawn, replete with cushions and blankets for enjoying the view, glass in hand. 

“We have about 100 cellar doors here,” Ben says of this stretch of his hidden-gems tour, the rugged beauty of the region providing a natural counterpoint to the manicured estates. “The McLaren Vale has some of the cleanest soil in the world, the wineries all following biodynamic principles. A lot of the young winemakers are couples, with strengths in different fields, and so proud to have the eco-certified or the organic stamp on the back of their wine.”

We spot a few kangaroos under the trees beside the road and stop to say hello. A shy joey appears from among the twigs and slowly but purposefully retreats back into his mother’s pouch. He barely fits, leaving a tail and one foot sticking out. The moment is a serene, natural spectacle that remains in my mind for weeks, another genuine Australian moment.

“People come here for adventure and to see the wildlife going through the national parks,” Ben says. “It’s raw, and there are a ton of things to do. We’re also the gateway to Kangaroo Island – the zoo with no fences – an island with its own incredible charm.”

Our scene changes with lunch overlooking the unusually calm St. Vincent Gulf at the Star of Greece restaurant high above Port Willunga Beach. This stretch of sand is not crowded at all, merely a dozen or so beach canopies with their little sand anchors. A few sailboats are moored just out a ways, and a few buff guys are playing soccer. 

Ben has brought an unlabelled bottle of Shiraz from his own family winery to help us along with heirloom beetroot carpaccio, barbecued pork and King George Whiting, a mild, flaky fish particular to South Australia that we see on menus everywhere we go. While in Australia, I’ve been having fun ordering food I’ve never heard of before and/or can’t pronounce, which continues as I tackle a dish of crispy Coorong mullet, an oily fish that is tempered by a juicy peach-and-pomegranate salsa. More Shiraz, please. The decanter quickly empties, and I’m glad I don’t have to drive.

Port Willunga is just north of the town of Aldinga Beach, where you can actually drive your car onto the sand, the speed limit posted right on the shore. It looks so much like Florida’s Daytona Beach that I’m expecting far more blond hair than I in fact see. Little vans are kitted out with retractable awnings, and matching folding chairs are set up beside coolers. Kids’ plastic stuff spills out everywhere. I feel like an interloper driving through the set of a 1970s beach movie. 

“People visiting for a few days or a week can easily find some type of short- or long-term rental and be just a few steps from the beach but also a short drive from some excellent eateries,” Ben says.

The adjacent Aldinga Conservation Park provides the hiking and the wildlife, with kangaroos, possums, echidnas, and ample birds and butterflies to spot across 340 hectares. The flora here, too, makes it high-biodiversity land, filled with a range of plants within the wetlands, from rare orchids to lacy coral lichen.

Apparently, Aldinga has its own airport if you want to just fly in for the day. But my return visit is securely set on Maslin Beach, a tiny town with a clothing-optional beach, a favourite among the 2SLGBTQI+ crowd. Ben stops to point out a private residence with an exterior spiral staircase up to what he says is a martini bar on the roof. Perhaps we’ll ring the doorbell next time.

DOUG WALLACE is an international travel and lifestyle writer, photographer and custom-content authority, principal of Wallace Media and editor-publisher of TravelRight.Today. He can be found beside buffet tables, on massage tables and table-hopping around the world.