Top 10 Fleurieu winter days
Whales, fires, hot food and short walks - the Peninsula is a winter destination
The secret season
Locals know the Fleurieu's best season is winter. The southern right whales arrive in Encounter Bay between June and October to calve. The cellar doors light their fires and the wines suddenly make sense. The waterfalls are full. The cliffs go dramatic in the slanting light. And the summer crowds are gone.
This list is built around the things that only work in winter, or work better.
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1
Victor HarborThe Bluff (Rosetta Head)
The single best whale-watching lookout in southern Australia. Between June and October, southern right whales come into Encounter Bay to calve and you can see them from the granite summit, sometimes with calves close to shore.
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2
Victor HarborSouth Australian Whale Centre
The South Australian Whale Centre on the Victor Harbor foreshore - exhibits on whale biology, the history of Encounter Bay whaling, and a real-time sightings board updated daily through the season.
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3
Victor Harbor
Hindmarsh Falls
The Hindmarsh Falls run at full force in winter - a 20-metre cascade that is barely a trickle in summer. The short walk to the lookout takes 10 minutes and the spray fills the whole amphitheatre.
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4
Normanville & YankalillaIngalalla Falls
Same story - Ingalalla is at its best in winter when the rains have filled the rockpool and the falls are running. Picnic shelters and electric BBQs in the reserve.
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5Victor Harbor
Whalers Inn
Long lunch with a clifftop view over Encounter Bay - on a good day, you can spot southern rights from the dining room. Open log fire and a proper Mediterranean menu inside.
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6McLaren Vale
d'Arenberg Cube
Five storeys of art, wine and surrealism with sweeping views of the McLaren Vale vines in their winter livery. Indoor, weather-proof, and one of the few cellar doors that actively benefits from a cold day.
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7
Cape JervisDeep Creek National Park
Winter is when Deep Creek is at its best - the trails are dry, the temperature is perfect for hiking, and the kangaroos are out at dawn and dusk in big mobs around the campgrounds.
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8McLaren Vale
Pizzateca
Wood-fired pizza in a vine-shaded courtyard with the heaters going. The winter tasting menu is heavier and richer and the wine list opens up to bigger reds.
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9
GoolwaGoolwa Barrage
The fur seals haul out on the downstream side of the barrage in winter and you can watch them from the walkway. Pelicans, swans and ibis on the freshwater side.
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10Goolwa
Steam Exchange Brewery
Cellar door beer flights in the heritage Goolwa Wharf goods shed, paired with a walk along the river and a Cockle Train ride. The whole wharf precinct is at its quiet, atmospheric best in winter.
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