A super little spot to escape to for a day, a weekend or a breezy summer break is Port Elliot, just an hour’s drive from Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula. With an old-world feel this laid-back little village near Horseshoe Bay is, surprisingly, just the place to snatch up some last-minute Christmas gifts or to spoil yourself with a stylish memento from your beach-side holiday.

Here are three favourite boutiques…I’m sure you won’t leave empty handed.

Coast by Design

Image courtesy of Balhannah by Design

A sister store to the gorgeous Balhannah by Design in the Adelaide Hills, this French-inspired homewares emporium has a relaxed style and is filled with delicious things. Mon Bowring, the dynamic owner of both stores, has an eye for beauty and it’s always a joy to discover what treasures she has picked up on her travels and buying trips through Australia and Europe.

As well as trinkets and home accessories, from chic Christmas baubles and wreaths to Côte Noire scented candles and Laguiole cutlery, there are larger items such as European sideboards and French-inspired washed oak cabinets. I love the ceramic platters and bowls in shades of vanilla and duck egg blue, the pressed metal jugs with a floral design and the vintage French seeding pots. 

Image courtesy of Balhannah by Design

Image courtesy of Balhannah by Design

Elliot and Me

Snap up a scarf, a pretty wallet or a strand of bright beads in this welcoming, cheery boutique just off the main street.

The Elk range of original accessories, leather handbags and contemporary women’s fashion stars but it’s difficult not to be wooed by a pair of pearl earrings from gingerlily, a bracelet from Pigeonhole or an artisan ring from Ottoman. Made in Turkey, the metal is hand beaten and rolled in silver.  There’s also Eb & Ive for fun, colourful beads and bangles and affordable clothing and accessories.

All That Jazz

The name may be naff but inside, room after room in this old stone house is filled with style. A couple of doors down from the popular Port Elliot Bakery, the accent is on French-inspired homewares (of both the faux variety and the real thing) along with billowing racks of casual women’s fashion and beautiful jewellery. Parisian café aprons made from raw linen hang from a door; there are whimsical Christmas decorations twirling from trees and crockery for the table.

French glassware from the La Rochère collection, the oldest running glassworks in Europe, sits on silver trays. The super-strong pressed glass is dishwasher and microwave safe. Choose from water, wine or Champagne flutes decorated with motifs of the Eiffel Tower, Fleur de Lys or the iconic bee, an instantly recognisable symbol of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Empire.

After your gift-buying expedition, slip around to No. 58 Cellar Door & Gallery on Waterport Road for coffee and cake, or sample some small batch wines from Thunderbird and Mt Billy with a regional tasting plate. Here in the rustic gallery you can browse works by local, national and international artists. For a very special gift, consider a light-filled landscape painting by Tom O’Callaghan, a renowned local artist who captures the moods and atmosphere of the Australian coast on canvas. 

Open Friday to Monday, on sunny days you can sit on the deck overlooking the vineyard with Maggie and Mollie, two friendly border collies who welcome you at the door. 

For more information on this coastal region visit the Fleurieu Peninsula website and click on my blog here. 

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Just over an hour’s drive south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula, ‘Victor’ has been a popular seaside holiday destination and weekend getaway for generations, while the surrounding Encounter Coastline offers a growing number of attractions.

A few kilometres east of Victor the small seaside village of Port Elliot has an old-world feel and a number of charming boutiques, antique shops and cafes. It is also a popular base for walkers and cyclists, with self-guided walks along cliff-top paths and the Encounter Bikeway, a dedicated bike trail linking Port Elliot to Victor and extending east to Goolwa, passing pounding surfing beaches and spectacular coastal scenery.

The towns are also linked by the historic Cockle Train that tootles along the coast every Sunday. In the early 1900s, daytrippers took the horse-drawn train to collect cockles from beaches near the Murray Mouth, giving the train its name. In season, you can still collect Goolwa Cockles (pipis) at Goolwa Beach to whisk back to your shack for a fresh cockle pasta. All you need is a bucket and spade.

Yet while Victor has long been a renowned summer holiday destination, it is also becoming a popular winter escape, and after spending quite a lot of time at my parent’s place at Port Elliot over the past few weeks, I can see why.

At this time of the year the pristine beaches are windswept and empty, providing a peaceful place to rejuvenate and take long walks.

The misty paddocks on the winding back roads are green and picturesque with the winter rains, perfect for country  drives…

And it’s prime whale watching season.

Home to abundant marine life, the Fleurieu Peninsula is one of Australia’s foremost whale-watching locations and a traditional calving ground from July to October when the southern right whales migrate north to breed. On Sunday, we took the binoculars down to Basham Beach and joined a rugged-up crowd with eyes fixated on the ocean and cameras poised, waiting patiently for a whale to breach, or exhale spectacularly through their blowhole. There are restrictions on how close you can get to these beautiful creatures, and without a telephoto lens, I soon found out that their antics are not so easy to capture on camera. Of course, the moment you lose concentration is when one bobs up. This was the best I could do I’m afraid!

Occasionally, one would lift its tail out of the water then slap it down with a hard crack. Known as a tail lob, it’s a way of shooing away predators, communicating or simply having fun. July and August are the height of the season and on Sunday there were reports of between six and 14 whales around Basham Beach, but you are not always so lucky.

The South Australian Whale Centre, set in an historic waterside warehouse in Victor, adds to the whale spotting experience. A place of exploration and learning with interactive exhibits on whales and other creatures of the deep, it features a genuine, full-size whale skull  and whaling artefacts. Here, you can pick up a whale-watching map and sighting updates in winter. There’s also a hotline for whale sighting information Tel: 1900 WHALES.

No matter what the season, being located in one of South Australia’s premier produce regions ensures there is a range of good dining experiences nearby, along with farmers’ markets and cellar doors – but that’s another story.

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