The holiday hangout of South Australian identities
With the state in full holiday swing, Matt Gilbertson asks SA identities about their favourite places to take a well-earned break.
Confidential
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Just over an hour’s drive from the CBD, Normanville is one of our most popular beach destinations and a favourite getaway for Screaming Jets and The Angels frontman Dave Gleeson who owns a 1960s caravan in “Normie’’.
“The stretch of beach from Carrickalinga to Lady Bay is absolutely beautiful.’ he says.
“It’s incredible that so often when we go for a morning or afternoon walk there’s literally not a soul on the beach. They really are some of SA’s best beaches and the sunsets are something to behold.”
With Normanville Beach patrolled by the Normanville Surf Life Saving Club during the summer, it’s safe, too, and a fabulous go-to for families.
“Our kids love it. They’ve formed some great friendships down there,” says Gleeson. “They’re on their skateboards and bikes with their mates. It feels like the summers we used to have as kids.”
And the rocker has shared the experience with fellow Aussie music greats. “The very first time we went to stay there, we went down there for Christmas with Kate Ceberano and her daughter, Gypsy,” he says.
“One night our friend, Moshe, came over with his guitar and we had an impromptu singalong in the camp kitchen after dinner. We’d been at the beach all day and were looking kind of scruffy, so it took the other diners in the camp kitchen a while to work out what was going on. Pretty soon the whole caravan park was in the camp kitchen.”
Gleeson says the must-dos when in Normanville include fishing off Cape Jervis and a visit to Lady Bay Golf Club. for a game, with kangaroos hopping on the greens. “Our kids and my wife also love the old op shops in Yankalilla,” he says. “They’re always coming home with things to decorate our caravan.”
FOR AFL legend Gavin Wanganeen, a road trip to the Eyre Peninsula isn’t just a great holiday with his young family but also a way of connecting to his ancestors.
“We love it there because it’s close to my grandfather’s country, so it feels really special to be on his land,” he says.
“Recently we went away for a two-week break there. We went camping at Mexican Hat, just past Fowlers Bay, then spent a few weeks travelling down the coast to Ceduna and on to Streaky Bay and Port Lincoln.”
While it’s a bit of a hike, almost seven hours away in the car from the CBD, Wanganeen insists that the destination is well worth the travel time. “I’ve been coming to the area since I was a boy, so there are many special spots where I’ve been swimming, diving, hunting and fishing over the years, and it’s great to be able to take my family there to create more memories with them,” he says, citing Venus Bay as one of his favourite spots in the area.
“We found the community to be so happy and helpful — and Port supporters — and we absolutely loved our time there,” he says.
“We took the girls fishing in the bay and they all caught their first fish, a whiting. It’s a magical spot.”
The Wanganeens headed back to the Eyre Peninsula this year, again on Boxing Day, and say they’ll probably be back again at Easter. Naturally, being such regulars to the region, they know where all the hot spots are.
“There’s a new French patisserie called L’Anse in Tumby Bay,” Wanganeen says. “My tip is to buy up all the croissants if there are any left by the time you get there. The best ever!
“But I guess a highlight from our last trip was visiting Murphy’s Haystacks, an incredible rock formation that appears in the middle of nowhere. It is definitely worth a visit. Awe-inspiring, just like the Olgas or Uluru.
If it’s a surf you’re looking for, Channel 7 newsreader John Riddell says you can’t beat Goolwa.
“There’s a choice between surf on one of SA’s best beaches, with car access, or the River Murray,” he says.
“Both are very close to the town centre and there’s a new lifesaving club being built on the beach. Right next to it is Bombora — one of only a very few eateries right on the beach in SA.
“On the river, there’s boating, skiing, sailing, paddling and swimming, and the Coorong is a short boat ride away.”
Riddell says that while he loves the beach, there’s something for everyone.
“Aquacaf and Hector’s are fine eateries and coffee houses on the riverfront, and then there’s Hindmarsh Island with plenty to do there,” he says. “Goolwa airport also offers a range of activities, including skydiving and a host of vintage aircraft for a joy flight.”
One of SA’s most loved small towns, the fishing port of Robe, on the Limestone Coast, has been a holiday destination for Channel 9 newsreader Kate Collins since she met husband Lee nine years ago.
“Post-Christmas, we always head down to the family farm in the South-East,” she says. “I love it because it’s a complete escape. A chance to shut off from our hectic schedules back home.”
Just over 300km from Adelaide, Robe is about 3½ hours away in the car. If it’s shopping you’re after, a trip to Victoria St with its boutiques, homeware stores and cafes is a must. Popular dining options include the Robe Town Brewery, Adventurous Spoon and, of course, the Robe Bakery.
But Collins says you can’t go past a meal of fish and chips.
“In recent years there’s been this cute little van that sells fish and chips and ice-creams on the beach,” she says.
“There’s nothing like watching the sun set at Robe with hot chips and the sound of the waves.”
Holidays means home time for Channel 9 weather presenter Jessica Braithwaite.
“I’m biased because it’s my home town but I love heading home to Mt Gambier,” she says. “I love visiting friends and family, cuddling the baby lambs on my cousin’s farm and, of course, walking around the beautiful Blue Lake.”
Ever since she left as a 15-year-old, Braithwaite has headed back any chance she gets, and will be getting married there in just a few short days.
“Playing backyard cricket with my brothers in our family home is one of my favourite memories,” she says. “This was a Christmas tradition growing up and always provides funny moments.”
It’s no surprise that she has plenty of insider tips.
“No trip to Mt Gambier is complete without a walk around the Blue Lake,” she says. “Summer is the best time to visit because that’s when it’s showing off its most vibrant blue colour. And the nearby beaches are stunning at that time of year, too.
“Next, hit up the OK Pie Shop for some delicious party sausage rolls and if you’re adventurous, hire a wetsuit and go snorkelling in the incredible Ewens Ponds — the views underwater are absolutely incredible.”
Two hours away on the Copper Coast Highway is Rosanna Mangiarelli’s favourite holiday destination — Wallaroo.
“We go every year before Christmas, just days after our final working day of the year,” the Today Tonight host says.
“The beach is just perfect for the little ones and it’s the one week of the year I reach total relaxation mode.
“We’ve been going the same week every year for the past 19 years. It was my husband’s family tradition, but it’s just down to the five of us now.”
Mangiarelli says that the car ride is almost half the fun.
“We always make a pit stop at Kiplings Bakery in Port Wakefield on the way. They have the best Kitchener buns,” she says. “We go jetty crabbing and spend most of the time on North Beach — the water is crystal clear and calm and always shallow which makes it very easy with kids.”
For somewhere a little closer to home, Channel 7’s Jessica Adamson recommends Port Willunga — just an hour away from the CBD.
“I’ve been going to Port Willunga since I was a baby,” she says. “Our whole family would pack up the car and the dog and drive there from our farm in the Mid North for two weeks.
“It was always a nervous time for Dad with the threat of bushfires at home but I have so many happy memories of ham and tomato sandwiches on the beach and eating ice-cream on balmy, summer nights.”
Nowadays, a visit to the popular Star of Greece is high on the agenda.
“Sitting on the restaurant balcony watching the sunset is one of our favourite things,” Adamson says. “The kids love grabbing a bag of doughnuts from the Aldinga Bakery and going on to the beach at Silver Sands for cricket, surfing, long walks and fishing.”
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