Top 10 Fleurieu sunsets
Where the Peninsula faces the setting sun
A coast facing the sun
The Fleurieu's geography is unusual on the South Australian mainland - its western shore faces directly out across the Gulf St Vincent, with no land between you and the horizon. Almost every beach from Sellicks down to Cape Jervis pays off at sunset. The trick is knowing which ones offer the right framing - jetty pylons, ochre cliffs, granite domes, vineyard ridges - to turn a good sunset into a great photograph.
This list is ordered by drama, not popularity.
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1
Aldinga & Port WillungaPort Willunga Beach
The signature Fleurieu sunset shot - the ochre cliffs glow, the ruined pylons of the original 1855 jetty stand against the gold, and the silhouette of the Star of Greece bluff above closes the frame. Be there 30 minutes before sundown.
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2
Aldinga & Port WillungaSellicks Beach
Drive onto the sand and park facing the gulf. The northern end of Sellicks gives you a long flat beach with the southern cliffs blazing red as the sun drops behind Yorke Peninsula.
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3
Victor HarborThe Bluff (Rosetta Head)
Climb the granite dome 30 minutes before sundown. The view sweeps from Encounter Bay across to Wright Island and the Western horizon - one of the highest sunset perches on the Peninsula.
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4
Myponga & Second ValleySecond Valley Beach
The curved jetty, the granite headlands and the sheltered cove all line up west. The reflective shallows at the foot of the cliffs catch the last colour after the sun is gone.
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5
Aldinga & Port WillungaMaslin Beach
The southern end of Maslin sits below the multi-coloured ochre cliffs - the cliffs themselves catch the last hour of sun and turn red-gold while the sand below drops into shadow.
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6
Normanville & YankalillaCarrickalinga Beach
Three kilometres of empty white sand pointing west. The horizon is unobstructed all the way to Yorke Peninsula and the gulf stays silver after the sky turns pink.
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7
Cape JervisRapid Bay
The old quarry jetty pylons make a graphic foreground against the sun dropping over Backstairs Passage and the silhouette of Kangaroo Island in the distance.
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8
Aldinga & Port WillungaAldinga Beach
A wide drive-on beach with low dunes and uninterrupted gulf views. The Sellicks Hills behind catch the alpenglow long after the sun has set on the sand.
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9
Cape JervisCape Jervis Lighthouse
Stand by the 1871 stone lighthouse and watch the sun set over the Backstairs Passage with Kangaroo Island silhouetted across the channel. Wind farm turbines on the bluffs add a modern punctuation.
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10Normanville & Yankalilla
Normanville Beach
Long, flat, west-facing and family-friendly. Park on the foreshore lawn, walk down to the sand, and watch the sun fall through the gum tree branches behind the dunes.
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