My old stomping ground... Victor Harbor.

I had a photo shoot around Victor Harbor recently. I was very excited. I spent my late teenage years in Victor Harbor and hadn’t spent much time wandering the streets since. I wanted to see how it has changed. And boy, has it changed.

Now there are juice bars, health stores, coffee shops, funky plant stores where plants are named along with the old favourites like the lolly shop and cinema. The main street (Ocean St) has had an upgrade and now has artwork and seating areas while the whale tail in Warland Reserve still draws the crowds. I remember doing ‘mainies’ (doing laps of the main street) down here in the 90s, and now I’m sipping on double-shot lattes.

It still has the country feel but with the little niceties of quirky cafes, protein bar, wholefoods bulk store, and an outstanding collection of coverture chocolate that looks more like artwork than a treat.

I also went for a drive... as everyone does when down here. Out to Encounter Bay, to the Bluff and further out to Middleton. To check the waves of course. It's what I do when I'm down here. A day well spent at work.

Check out the map and story in the current issue of Fleurieu Living Magazine.

Beaches… 10 South Australian differences

I travel a lot. Aussies can travel a lot. But for near perfect beaches, many Aussie beaches can't be topped. Compare the beaches in South Australia (let alone Australia) to Bali or Phuket - beach destinations we flock to.

10 South Aussie differences:

1. White, smooth sand that doesn't hurt to walk on

2. Clean sand and water

3. Beautiful clear water (most of the time)

4. You leave the water without itching from sea lice

5. No touts to harass you

6. You can drive to a number of suburban beaches within half an hour of the CBD. An hour drive to the Fleurieu beaches of awesomeness.

7. Litter doesn't float to shore as you swim or surf

8. You don't have to sniff some strangers armpit as you lie on your towel, squeezed on a snippet of beach

9. Experienced surf lifesavers patrol sections of beach for safety

10. There is a beach for everyone - placid kids splash-around beaches (Horseshoe Bay, Glenelg, Kingston Park), trendy 'be seen' beaches (Henley), nudist beach (Maslin), all to your own beaches (KI, Eyre and Yorke Peninsula), and surf beaches (Mid Coast, Middleton, Waitpinga, Chiton, Parsons… all close to Adelaide).

Anyone have any favourites?

Victor Harbor weekender

You don't have to go too far from home to feel like you are on holiday. And you don't have to go for too long either.

Growing up in Victor Harbor, one hour south of Adelaide, and with all my family still living there, I don't normally feel like I am going on holiday when I go down there. But this weekend, with the sun out, and the kids happy, we couldn't have been further (mentally) from home.

Splashing in the ultra fresh (aka freezing) water while watching the clydesdales pull the tram over to Granite Island. Clambering over rocks at the Bluff, looking for crabs. Enjoying a sunset drink while the kids play in the sandpit at Eat @ Whalers. Surfing some glistening green waves at Middleton (my biggest and longest yet). Then getting back to basics on the farm, watching newborn calves feed on colustrum.

Returning home, it feels longer than one night away. A refreshing break, energised and ready to start the normal life again for another week.

Where, or what, do you do to recharge and get away from it all? And if you are in South Australia, where do you go?

Atmosphere @ Eat at Whalers

On the waterfront at Encounter Bay, backed by the bluff, this is a perfect spot to end the day. Indoors or outdoors, the views are only interrupted by the palm trees swaying out front in the carpark.

I've been twice recently, both thanks to Fleruieu Living Magazine. As a guest at a launch, and then to photograph two chefs and their delicious creations. Both days were packed. Day or night, the atmosphere is beachside calm and trendy. Nice.

www.whalersinnresort.com.au

www.fleurieuliving.com.au