Granite Island in Victor Harbor; a brilliant, free day out
After spending a number of days in Victor Harbor relaxing and catching up with relatives, we headed across to Granite Island, and had a really enjoyable couple of hours.
This is one of the more well known attractions in Victor Harbor, and for good reason. The other big attraction is the Victor Harbor Steam train, which we also did.
If you’re coming to Victor Harbor, this is absolutely worth doing, and if you’re into 4WDing, head out to Goolwa beach.
Where is Granite Island?
You’ll find this picturesque place right on the coastline of Victor Harbor, where the main foreshore playground and car parks are.
Granite Island Horse and Cart
Part of the reason Granite Island is so popular are the horse and carts that operate to and from the island on and off, all day.
These have been going for many years, and use a big horse to pull a cart of people from one side to the other.
My parents were very keen to take our kids across on the cart, so they paid for tickets for the kids (Cooper was free as he’s under 4), and Sarah and I walked across. You can do this for no cost, and it only takes about 10 minutes, but the Horse and Cart are certainly unique and pretty neat.
Walking around Granite Island
There’s a couple of very well used tracks that take you around Granite Island. You can do it clockwise or anti clockwise, with most people heading to the Café and then walking up the stairs and starting from there.
I’d say the average person would walk all the way around the island in about 25 minutes, so its not exactly long or difficult, but covers some pretty awesome scenery.
If its rough, expect to see a heap of waves and swell coming through on one side, with the other side nice and sheltered, and surprisingly beautiful.
Granite Island Fishing
We saw a huge number of people heading over to Granite Island with fishing rods in their hands, and have heard you can get squid over the weedy sections, with a variety of other fish caught. We never tried, but it would be a fun place to fish.
Granite Island Penguins
A number of years ago Granite Island was home to a huge number of penguins, and then a couple of unnecessary, and unfortunate events took place which have wiped majority of the population out.
You might get lucky and see a penguin or two, but they are very rare these days and if you do see one, count yourself lucky. We didn’t see any.
Is Granite Island worth a look?
We picked a day to head over to Granite Island when it was fairly windy, and as we walked across the timber structure to get to the island I wondered what it would be like.
When we arrived though, it was perfectly calm and sheltered on the Café side, and I was genuinely surprised at how picturesque and beautiful it is.
Once we climbed up the stairs and started walking around the exposed side of the island it was windy, but still really picturesque and worth a walk.
Overall, we really rated Granite Island. Its easy to get to, a great walk, doesn’t cost anything if you don’t do the horse and cart and has a nice atmosphere.
