Victor Harbor and Granite Island

Victor Harbor grew as a whaling station in the 1830s and became Adelaide's seaside resort. A causeway built in 1875 runs six hundred metres out to Granite Island, and the horse-drawn tram that has crossed it since 1894 still operates, one of the last of its kind anywhere, with Clydesdales pulling a double-decker car. The island has a walking loop around granite tors and a little penguin colony that has declined sharply, now monitored closely with guided evening tours. Southern right whales calve in Encounter Bay between June and October, watchable from the shore and explained at the South Australian Whale Centre in town. The SteamRanger heritage railway runs from Goolwa.

What you actually see

• The horse-drawn tram - Clydesdales pulling a tram across the 1875 causeway.
• Granite Island - the granite tor loop walk and penguin colony.
• The whale season - southern right whales in Encounter Bay from June to October.
• The Whale Centre - interpretation of the bay's whaling and whale history.

When to go

June to October for whales, December to March for beach weather; the tram runs year-round in daylight hours, weather permitting. School holidays fill the town. The penguin tours run in the evening and must be booked.

Honest expectations

The penguin colony has collapsed from thousands to a very small number, and sightings are limited; the tours are honest about this. The tram is short and charged both ways. The causeway walk is exposed and windy.

Nearby

Goolwa and the Murray mouth lie east; Port Elliot and Middleton are along the coast.