Gallery

We’ll meet at 9 am at the Diving Adelaide Centre at Glandore. We can collect you from Adelaide airport or your hotel if you are staying in the CBD or Glenelg areas. At Diving Adelaide we will sort, check, fit and load your gear before driving to Victor Harbour for our first dive. This is our best chance to see South Australia’s famous Leafy Seadragons. We will arrange an informal picnic lunch at Victor Harbour. In the afternoon we’ll head across the peninsula to Second Valley for the second dive of the day.

Second Valley boast a fine stretch of rocky reefs with lots of plant and animal life as well as some really interesting topography, all within easy access from the jetty. Look out for blue devils and more leafy seadragons. For the more adventurous, a 10 minute surface swim takes us to Lasseter’s Reef, a beautiful round reef with big schools of fish and many of South Australia’s more elusive species.

We’ll overnight in the Second Valley region in cottage or cabin style accommodation. All our accommodation options are chosen for providing unique experiences or for their spectacular settings. Dinner tonight will be at the historic Leonard’s Mill. This is a paddock to plate restaurant sourcing all its food direct from local farmers or from their own permaculture kitchen garden. An alternate comparative restaurant will organised on nights where Leonard’s Mill is not open.

Day 1

Day 2

Second Valley to Adelaide

Early breakfast at the accommodation followed by two dives at Rapid Bay in the morning. Rapid Bay Jetty is one of the most famous dives in South Australia for a reason. Below the water level, the historic jetty has been completely covered by a wide variety of sponges, corals, sea squirts, sea weeds and grasses. This budding ecosystem draws large schools of fish, but it is the variety of life that is the most impressive. From cuttlefish and calamari squid to tasselled anglerfish and frogfish and to tuna and dolphins, Rapid Bay Jetty never disappoints.

In the afternoon we will head back to Adelaide stopping at Yankalilla Bakery for lunch and as we pass the McLaren Vale we may pop into a winery or microbrewery to see what is new. We will stay at hotel accommodation near the beach at Glenelg. Dinner will be at Lucianos on the Glenelg Marina. After dinner you are free to explore the bars and pubs of Glenelg, or get the tram into the city, or just get an early night.

Day 2

Day 3

Adelaide to Edithburgh

Today, after breakfast we will head out for a double boat dive departing from the Glenelg Marina. These dives feature some of South Australia’s many shipwrecks like the Dredge and the Clarice. Boarfish are one of the key species to look out for here. After the dives we will have a casual lunch before departing for Edithburgh. If the conditions are right and the interest is there, we can organise a night dive at Edithburgh. The macro diving at Edithburgh is truly world class and we might expect to see blue ringed octopus, pyjama squid, sea horses, loads of nudibranchs and many other species. Dinner at the trendy little corner café.

We have a few accommodation options around Edithburgh depending on the group size and accommodation availability including the chance of staying at the lighthouse keepers cottages on an uninhabited island. If we are staying on the mainland we have a few accommodation options (depending on availability) featuring luxury holiday villas in coastal settings with windswept views.

Day 3

Day 4

Edithburgh

Early start for a morning dive from the jetty followed by breakfast at our accommodation. After breakfast we will head to the beautiful and wildly remote Innes National Park. The national park is famous for its spectacular coastal landscapes, rugged cliffs and sandy beaches. There are shipwrecks, lighthouses and ruins to discover, and we will take a few short walks to enjoy the wildlife and beaches where we can swim in the warmer months. The York Peninsular is Australia’s premium barley growing area. It is only appropriate that we call into Watsacowie Brewing Co on the way home to taste the efforts of the local farmers.

For those who still have energy, there will be another late afternoon and/or night dive at the jetty. We will stay the second night in the same accommodation. Dinner will be an Australian BBQ at our accommodation where we can relax and talk about the diving and the program for the days ahead.

Day 4

Day 5

Edithburgh to Clare Valley

Breakfast at our accommodation and then drive to our next diving spot at Port Hughes. Port Hughes is a jetty dive and is well known for the vibrant blue swimmer crabs and enormous nudibranchs who love to hide between the sponges, corals and weeds under the jetty. Depending on conditions and energy levels we will do one or two dives at the jetty. We will have a picnic lunch before driving onto Clare in the Clare Valley.

The beautiful CIare Valley is a small wine growing region two hours north of Adelaide. It at a higher elevation than the Barossa and McLaren Vale wine regions which has made it Australia’s premier riesling growing area. In Clare we will stay centrally in the well appointed Mill Apartments. Our accommodation is in easy walking distance to Knappstein Winery where we can taste some of the Valley’s famous produce (they also have a rather nice beer that they brew at the winery). As this is our last night of the Tour we will go to Seed Winehouse and Kitchen to celebrate a great week of exceptional diving.

Seed Winehouse and kitchen is located in a former 1880’s chaff mill. With its old stone walls, twisting gum pillars and original slate floor Seed has created a venue driven by a sense of place and season. Seed delivers a high quality dining experience and was awarded the "Best European Restaurant in South Australia” in 2016.

Day 5

Day 6

Clare Valley to Adelaide

The length of the valley is dotted with small boutique wineries. A great way to experience the valley and visit the wineries is on bike riding along the Riesling Trail. The Riesling Trail follows a decommissioned railway line. It winds its way gently through the valley. We will spend half the day visiting a few of our favourite wineries on bike before heading back to Adelaide where our Tour will end. Lunch will be at a bakery on the way home.

Day 6