Encounter Bikeway revisited: Andrew McLeod warms up the legs in the Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia

The south coast is one of SA's most spectacular stretches of coastline and most have a holiday story to tell about it.

Whether it's clip clopping your way over the causeway to Granite Island, taking it easy on Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot, riding the wild surf at Middleton Beach or sailing your cares away on the Goolwa Lakes - this part of the Fleurieu Peninsula has it all. And one of the best ways to take it all in, is by pedal power on the Encounter Bikeway.

Hire a deadly treadly from the Whalers Inn and it's a short haul to the Rosetta Head jetty where whalers and sealers once set off to hunt their prey.

From the top of the Bluff, the cry of "thar she blows" would echo over Encounter Bay and then they'd be off in their open longboats rowing furiously to harpoon the Southern Right Whales. Local historian Pip Burfield says it was tough wand dangerous work.

"When the whales were caught and killed they wouldn't sink," said Pip. "And that's very important because you imagine that a big whale sinking and a small boat attached to it the boat would go down with it."

Hence the name Southern Right - they were the 'right' whales to catch and offered a safer kill and plenty of whale oil. Thankfully, the whaling industry came to an end here in the 1860s after the Southern Rights had been driven to near extinction. Today they're back in numbers and a great sight for all those who gather at key vantagepoints along the Encounter Bikeway.

It was a bumper year for whales last winter. None the day I made my way on this stretch of the Encounter Bikeway but along the way plenty of places to stop and take in the views.

Colin Sibley is a local teacher and he taught me a thing or two about the history of this amazing piece of coastline. Like the failure of nearby Port Elliot as a safe anchorage to take River Murray produce to the markets of the world. Four shipwrecks in Horseshoe Bay in 1856 sent insurance costs skyrocketing.

"It was more expensive to insure your goods like a bale of wool from Port Elliot to Port Adelaide than from Port Adelaide all the way around Cape Horn to London," said Colin.

It's difficult to imagine a total of seven shipwrecks lying at the bottom of Horseshoe Bay but as I head further east along the great expanse of Middleton Beach I can see what those early sea captains were up against. Out here you feel like a mere speck on the South Coast landscape.

Soon Goolwa's in sight and at the end of my trip I pull up stumps at the historic riverfront wharf where the Oscar W is a reminder of the town's paddlesteamer past. This one time "Mississippi of the South" was a boomtown prompting some to punt for this spot as the ideal location for the colonial capital of South Australia.

"They surveyed a town or city out near Currency Creek which is a few kilometres away and the old map shows street names exactly the same as the street names in Adelaide."

So there you go - I could have been playing for the 'Goolwa Crows'. For me this is the end of a long day's ride but one well worth the effort.

Maps of the route can be obtained at the various visitor centres and shops along the route. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Encounter Bikeway
The Bluff, Victor Harbor to Laffins Point, Goolwa
Approx distance 30 kilometres
Maps available at various outlets
Bikes available ex Whalers Inn $10 per hr $40 per day (helmets and locks included)

Published 24th June 2007