Mount Compass

A dairy town in the hills

Mount Compass is a small township on the Victor Harbor Road, sitting on the high ground between the McLaren Vale wine country and Victor Harbor. It grew up around dairying and market gardens - both of which still shape the surrounding landscape of green paddocks, dams and Friesian cows - and today it makes a handy stop for fuel, a coffee, a pub lunch or a stretch of legs on the drive south.

The Compass Cup

The town's claim to fame is the Compass Cup, held since 1973 and billed as Australia's only cow race. Every February thousands of visitors descend on the local oval to watch teams of four (a jockey on top, two handlers and a cow) sprint a 60-metre track marked out on the grass. The day also features rubber-boot throwing, wobbly cow racing and a milk-drinking contest, and is a much-loved celebration of the area's dairy heritage.

Around the town

Outside Cup weekend, Mount Compass is a quiet base for exploring the Tooperang Trout Farm, Mount Magnificent Conservation Park and the Finniss River wine country to the east. The town has a bakery, general store, the historic Mount Compass Hotel and a community-run market on the second Saturday of most months.