It still surprises me that the majority of people I talk to have never visited this part of Australia.  For many it is the no-mans land between Adelaide and where the Great Ocean Road ends.  In the past I’d have smiled slyly safe in the knowledge that this will remain my secret escape from the masses, but so much is my appreciation for the stunning coast of South Australia and its people - I wish they had been there.  At least then they’d know why I was frothing at the mouth, talking about the famous Coonawarra wine, Cray fish, surfing and shore fishing beaches, crystal clear diving, peace and tranquility.

The particular stretch of coast from Robe to Southend is actually closer to the Victorian border than to Adelaide, making it a great excuse for a Victorian long weekend.  If you take my advice and make the trip to this area you will be hooked forever.

It is 5am; every morning during spring and summer is born like the first breath of summer. Even while you lay head on pillow you can hear the distant rumble of diesel engines idling, as the fisherman prepare to leave Robe harbour just as the sun breaks over the east. The fisherman are normally back by the afternoon with their quota of ‘crays’, these will be eaten in Melbourne’s finest restaurants or flown to Japan for the rich businessmen who pay up to $1000 for a trophy to impress the clients.  The pale sandstone cliffs get richer in colour as the sun rises to warm the breeze.

The local’s start their routines slowly - but like clock work, after the dawn brigade has gone and the harbour is empty.  Farm labourers tiredly slide into their worn 4WD Utes, it is only 6am when they drive past row upon row of the maturing Coonawarra grapevines, all in perfect symmetry with each other stretching for miles over the clean sandstone soil. They enjoy the drive; a chance to do nothing for the next 20 minutes or so, although they are sore from the previous hard days work, this is not the time of year for rest.

Thousands of sheep have been driven down across the dusty paddocks, which can take two weeks for the biggest farms.  The sheep come in for crutching to clean up the fleece, this is all repeated a few months later when the entire fleece is sheared.

It is a busy time and it is 'all hands on deck' for the local community. Lost-travellers, house-wives and young nippers all looking for some extra cash, work their fingers to the bone to get them all sheared and the wool sorted into the correct grade to be sold to the wool buyer.  It's an odd scene, tall green and amber gum trees bathe in the morning sun, below the suns rays are streaking through the dust kicked up by 300 hundred sheep being herded into the shearing sheds by a brown kelpie and a 30cm tall Terrier.

In the two beachside towns such as Robe and Beachport, adventurous visitors are rising early for breakfast and loading the 4wd with surfboards and fishing rods.  They’ll be exploring the tracks along the surf breaks and deep clear pools that skirt the back beaches on this stretch of coast.  Maybe even have a go at diving for a crayfish themselves if they are brave enough to dive to the bottom of the pools.

Only by late afternoon, as the first Cray fishing boat appears on the horizon, the day has begun to officially wind down.  Within a few hours time the sun has begun to sink into the ocean, bathing the yellow sand stone cliffs in an orange glow above the dark blue ocean that has served its sea faring farmers for another productive day.  One by one the farm labourers and the shearers pull up to the pub over the harbour and join the happy visitors for a well earned cold beer.

Robe has a truly unique mix of community and landscape.  From Harbours to wineries, visitors to this area can take away some beautiful memories and will undoubtedly be back again; I know I will.