The Fleurieu Peninsula (located about an hours drive south of Adelaide) is a gateway for holiday makers seeking quaint seaside towns, famous wineries, quality food & produce, sweeping ocean views and quiet gravel roads.
This part of the world is absolutely stunning and the gravel around these parts is quiet and mostly comfortable.
I drove up from Melbourne and based myself out of Normanville for three nights, choosing three routes to ride over three days but it was a bit of a stretch fitting it all in.
The best way to ride this route is to start in Seaford, work your way down to Normanville, base yourself there for 1 or 2 nights (depending if you want to ride the extra option supplied) and then work your way back up to Seaford.
Tour 1 – starting from Seaford (3 days) means you’ll either have to spend a night in Seaford to begin or arrive early in the day. You’ll then spend two nights in Normanville and finish up back in Seaford. You’ll also miss out on the Normanville Epic South Gravel Loop:
Day 1: Seaford to Normanville Gravel (98km)
Day 2: Normanville to Port Elliot Gravel Loop (104km)
Day 3: Normanville to Seaford Gravel (87.5km)
Tour 2 – starting from Seaford (4 days) means you’ll either have to spend a night in Seaford to begin or arrive early in the day. You’ll then spend three nights in Normanville and finish up back in Seaford.
Day 1: Seaford to Normanville Gravel (98km)
Day 2: Normanville to Port Elliot Gravel Loop (104km)
Day 3: Normanville Epic South Gravel Loop (97km)
Day 4: Normanville to Seaford Gravel (87.5km)
Seaford is just over 30mins drive south of Adelaide on the Southern Express.
Seaford is a 9hr drive from Melbourne
Seaford Train Station is a 45min journey from Adelaide Station
*Aside from driving, getting to and from Adelaide from Melbourne, the easiest and cheapest way is to fly. Don’t bother with the train, I tried it once, not worth the effort and it’s more expensive.
- There is quite a long section of single track at the start of the ride which basically starts 3km in. While you’ll get gorgeous views of the coast, I did find it pretty tricky to ride and navigate in sections. Give it a crack or continue straight on the road until you get to Port Willunga and then jump on the bike path. (You’ll still get plenty of coast so don’t worry!)
- The gravel climb from Sellicks Beach is quite technical, steep and unmaintained – the views are the top are worth it but if you feel like cutting out some vert. or you just aren’t up to it, you can easily detour this section on the main rd.
- You won’t find shops or services in Myponga Beach but it’s one of the most spectacular parts of the ride.
- A couple of muddy areas, one climb in particular early on but mostly smooth ridable gravel
- Nothing in the way of shops or services until you hit Victor Harbour
- Port Elliot bakery is apparently a bit of a highlight but it gets extremely busy on weekends so best to hit the road early to avoid the queues
- No shops or services after Port Elliot so best to stock up while there
- Some areas of little to no reception
- Some very remote sections to this course with little or no reception
- Mostly smooth gravel throughout
- Most roads quite literally follow the lay of the land and as a result theres sections of the course that are relentlessly up and down with extreme gradients
- No shops or services on route. 100km without any resupply opportunities. Take plenty of supplies with you.
- Stop in McLaren Vale on the way back for a wine and a pat on the back for a great couple of days
