Top 10 Fleurieu lookouts
The best views across the Peninsula, from granite domes to clifftop trails
Where to take in the Peninsula
The Fleurieu is a peninsula of edges - ancient granite headlands on the south coast, limestone cliffs on the west, a river gorge carved into the Mount Lofty Ranges, and a ridge of scarp hills that drops straight to the sea at Old Willunga Hill. Our top ten is a mix of clifftop perches, granite domes you can climb in twenty minutes, and quiet national-park lookouts you can drive right up to.
Every one of them is free and publicly accessible. Pack a hat, take water, and in whale season (May-October) bring binoculars.
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1
Victor Harbor
The Bluff (Rosetta Head)
The signature Fleurieu lookout. A 97-metre granite dome rising straight out of Encounter Bay, with a short, steep track to the summit. In whale season this is also the single best place to spot a southern right from the shore.
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2
Victor HarborWaitpinga Cliffs Walk
A dramatic section of the Heysen Trail along 70-metre sandstone cliffs between Waitpinga and Parsons Beach. You can do a short out-and-back from either end for some of the most spectacular coastal views on the Peninsula.
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3Port Elliot
Freeman Lookout and Obelisk
A restored lookout at the end of The Strand, perched on a clifftop above Horseshoe Bay with a cast-iron railing and a bench built for taking your time. Port Elliot's best free view.
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4
Cape JervisDeep Creek National Park
The 4,500-hectare conservation area at the south-western tip of the Peninsula has a string of drive-up lookouts - Tapanappa, Goondooloo, Blowhole Beach - each pointing at a different piece of Kangaroo Island across Backstairs Passage.
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5
McLaren ValeOnkaparinga River National Park
A proper river gorge 35 kilometres from Adelaide. The Sundews Lookout drops you straight into the top of a 70-metre canyon, and you can follow the clifftop trail all the way to the estuary.
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6
WillungaOld Willunga Hill
The Willunga Scarp climb that made its name on the Tour Down Under. Pull into the dirt layby at the top for a view that runs from McLaren Vale to the sea, with Kangaroo Island on a clear day.
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7
Cape JervisCape Jervis Lighthouse
The 1871 stone lighthouse at the very southern tip of the Peninsula. Walk around the perimeter fence for views across Backstairs Passage to Kangaroo Island and down the cliffs of Deep Creek.
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8
Inman ValleyGlacier Rock (Selwyn Rock)
A 510-million-year-old glacial pavement on the foreshore of the Inman, with grooved and polished bedrock and a quiet elevated view over the river bend. Geology and scenery in one stop.
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9
Victor HarborHindmarsh Falls
A short gravel walk leads to a timber viewing platform over a 20-metre cascade on the Hindmarsh River. Best after winter rain, when the whole amphitheatre fills with spray.
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10
Myponga & Second ValleyMyponga Reservoir Reserve
A 250-hectare SA Water reservoir reserve south of Myponga with a long, quiet loop road along the foreshore. The dam wall lookout across the lake and Myponga township is the pick of the views.
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Image credits
- Victor Harbor Bluff , CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons