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Dining & Cafés

Islanders Tavern

Goolwa

The only pub on Hindmarsh Island - a relaxed country tavern serving counter meals, local wine and beer, with views to the river channel and the Goolwa bridge.

A Goolwa-based surf school running lessons across the Fleurieu - Goolwa Beach, Middleton, Port Elliot and Victor Harbor - run by experienced surf coach Kingo with private and group options year-round.

Hall-of-Fame Ngarrindjeri cultural tours led by elder Mark Koolmatrie - Coorong cruises, dune walks, smoke ceremonies and Nurrunderi Creation Story storytelling.

Seafood kiosk and cafe at the Goolwa Beach carpark from the Goolwa Pipi Company - specialising in pipis (kuti) pulled from the beach out front.

A central, no-fuss motel on Cadell Street in the heart of Goolwa, with on-site cafe (Jack's Place) and walking distance to the wharf, the Cockle Train, the brewery and the river.

A treasured main-street Goolwa cafe for gourmet coffee, all-day brunch and produce-driven lunch plates.

Walking & Hiking

Murray Mouth

Goolwa

The opening where the River Murray - Australia's longest river - meets the Southern Ocean, about 10km southeast of Goolwa in the Coorong National Park.

A heritage Hindmarsh Island farm with twice-daily animal feeding (deer, pigs, emu, lambs, chicks), a nature playspace, sports arena and farm-stay cottages.

A Currency Creek winery, providore and restaurant on a sprawling vineyard estate, with multiple event spaces and a long lunch reputation.

An estate-grown EVOO producer at the Nangkita Olive Grove, with sit-down oil tastings, share platters and grove discovery tours - open the first full weekend of every month.

Family Activities

PS Oscar W

Goolwa

One of only a handful of original Murray River paddle steamers still in regular operation, the wood-fired PS Oscar W offers one-hour heritage cruises from Goolwa Wharf on weekends.

An Austrian Salomon family Finniss River estate producing premium Fleurieu Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and the flagship Alttus blend.

A 900-acre family-owned Currency Creek estate, the anchor of the Currency Creek wine district, pouring a broad range including sparkling.

A contemporary and touring exhibition gallery housed in a landmark building on the Goolwa Wharf, looking out over the Murray River.

Daily 2, 3.5 and 6-hour cruises from Goolwa Wharf through the barrage and into the Coorong - the only operator running scheduled cruises through the Murray Mouth.

A small-batch microbrewery in the historic Goolwa Wharf goods shed, sharing a building with The Fleurieu Distillery and pouring four preservative-free hand-crafted beers.

Family Activities

SteamRanger Cockle Train

Goolwa

The historic Cockle Train follows the coast from Goolwa to Victor Harbor on tracks laid in 1887, run by SteamRanger Heritage Railway.

Award-winning Australian single malt whisky distillery on Cutting Road at Goolwa Wharf, shared with the Steam Exchange Brewery.

Guided forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) sessions in pristine riverine bush at Yundi - less than an hour from Adelaide.

A dark-sky astronomy site run by the Astronomical Society of South Australia, with public observing nights in the rural Tooperang hamlet.

David and Mary Woolaway's working pottery, jewellery, photography and scraperboard studios at Goolwa North - classes, workshops and B&B accommodation onsite.

A guided walk with a Ngarrindjeri or Kaurna Tribal Elder through Yundi bushland, with a meal of local produce afterward.