Victor Harbour
Victor Harbour is a magnificent coastal town located on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. This family friendly town is just full of surprises with so many places to go with kids. There are numerous scenic walking trails, tram and train rides to go on. If you enjoy exploring on foot, you could venture across to Granite Island from Victor Harbour. Granite Island is also known as Nulcoowarra by the indigenous Ramindjeri people and is of great spiritual significance.
Walking along the 2.9km Kaiki walk around Granite Island, you can explore the amazing granite boulders and look at the beautiful penguins who call the island home. You will get a front row seat of the waves lapping against the rocks around the island and you may even see some whales swimming by during the whale watching season.
If you love art exhibitions, there is also an outdoor sculpture trail showcasing works from local and international artists which you can view as you walk around the island. The island can be accessed by walking across The Causeway or you can pay to take a horse-drawn tram across to Granite Island (weather permitting).
Not far from the Victor Harbour Horse Drawn Tramway you will also find the South Australian Whale Centre. For a small fee you can explore the centre and learn all about the history of whaling in the Victor Harbour area. The kids can also try their hand at digging for fossils and view a giant fossil of a whale. The SA Whale Centre also has a part replica of the MV Steve Irwin, which was one of the Sea Shepherd’s fleet until it was retired in 2018. There are interactive displays within the replica where kids can imagine themselves taking the helm of a big ship and observe what people wore whilst on the ship as well as what their sleeping quarters looked like.
Between Victor Harbour and Goolwa, there is a well-known train called the Cockle Train that runs between the two towns and makes a few stops along the way at Middleton and Port Elliot to pick up and drop off passengers. What makes this journey special is that it runs on the oldest Australian steel railway line which was constructed in the 1850’s to connect the Murray River in Goolwa to the wharf at Port Elliot. Passengers and goods were transported, initially to Port Elliot and then even further to Victor Harbour when the railway line was extended. Originally, given its name by the local settlers who used to take a horse drawn train to collect cockles from the beach, today it remains affectionately known as The Cockle Train. The train runs 3 to 5 times a day depending on the time of year and tickets can be purchased at any of the stations including Goolwa, Port Elliot and Victor Harbour. If a train trip with the kids is on the cards while visiting this picturesque part of the world, be sure to have your camera ready to snap the spectacular views overlooking the Southern Ocean.
