port vincent

MONDAY 25TH AUGUST   -   We left Ardrossan and drove for 43 kilometres (one of the shortest distances we’ve ever travelled between destinations) to get to Port Vincent, a beautiful coastal town half way down one side of the Peninsula.  We stayed at Port Vincent Foreshore Caravan Park, with 360 degree ocean views and absolute beach frontage.  It was a flat, calm, peaceful bay.  The park had large sites and was very modern and a 2 minute walk into town.  There was a big Foodland supermarket, the Ventnor Hotel, a café, post office, newsagent and 2 take-away shops in town. 

We decided to stay for 7 nights as there was a winter special “Pay for 5 Stay for 7” which was too good an offer to refuse and worked out to be $150 for 7 nights.  Fantastic value.

Port Vincent is a very popular tourist destination for holidays and for weekends as it is less than 2 hours drive from Adelaide. It is a popular retirement area with a permanent population of 470 and is ideal for boating, fishing and sailing.  The yachties from Adelaide sail over to the safe harbour and new 90 berth marina.  Raking for blue swimmer crabs is also a favourite.

In 2004 Port Vincent won “Australia’s Tidiest Town” award and is still immaculately maintained by the locals. 

WEDNESDAY 27TH AUGUST   -    We went for a drive to the town of Minlaton 20 minutes from Port Vincent.  Minlaton is known as the barley capital of the world.  On the way there, we passed lots of bright yellow fields of canola which were quite spectacular and a total contrast to the bright green grassy fields besides them.  It was a beautiful drive through the countryside. 

Minlaton is home to the restored WWI monoplane flown by the famous local aviator Captain Harry Butler.  It takes pride of place in a glass memorial hangar as you enter the town.   Captain Harry Butler flew the first airmail plane from Adelaide to Minlaton across the Gulf of St. Vincent in 1919. It was the first sea plane in the southern hemisphere.  He was a real daredevil and painted his plane bright red.  He was born in Yorketown on the Yorke Peninsula.

Minlaton is a lovely little town and we went to the Harvest Corner Café and Tourist Information Centre.   The staff were really friendly and helpful.  We were there for quite a while looking around and talking to them.  There were lots of local arts and crafts and jams on display and also for sale.  We watched a video about the Yorke Peninsula and found some really useful information for all the places we would be visiting further around the Peninsula.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE GARDEN GNOMES AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE PATRIOTIC ICONS!!! 

We went across the road to Minlaton Bakery which was really warm and welcoming with an abundance of freshly bakes cakes, pies and breads.  We were spoilt for choice.  I had a spicy pumpkin and feta pasty which was piping hot and yummy, followed by a delicious vanilla slice (not great for the waistline, but tasted divine).  On one wall of the bakery was a sign “Bakers Are Born Not Bread” and “Make Cakes Not War”.  With full stomachs we left the comfort of the bakery and walked around the town.

We went to the Ventnor Hotel for the all you can eat Chinese buffet for $20 each which the hotel puts on a few times a year.  By the time we got there, the queue was back to the front entrance with groups of locals.   The food selections were pretty good -  my favourite was the Mongolian lamb, followed by deep fried ice cream and butterscotch sauce.  We certainly had full bellies from lunch and dinner today!!!

There were some lovely coastal walks around the cliffs by the marina which we did every day.  There were 5 different paths around the Alan Powell trails giving beautiful views over Port Vincent and the marina.

We saw the remaining glacial rocks that travelled from Victor Harbour (120 kilometres way) 270 million years ago, shifted in the ice age.

Port Vincent is a charming little coastal town and we’ve really enjoyed our relaxing 7 nights here with gorgeous panoramic views of the ocean.

NEXT WEEK:  We will be travelling further down the Peninsula to Marion Bay on the end Peninsula of the.