The Fleurieu Hills. Sea and Vines Tour

Heading south along the coast from Aldinga Airfield in the McLaren Vale wine region, the flight tracks along the cliffs towards Cape Jervis on the southern end of the Fleurieu Peninsula.  At this point there is an extensive view to Kangaroo Island across the waters of Backstairs Passage.

Now tracking northeast, over the hills and Myponga Reservoir, on towards Strathalbyn, a country town with a collection of antique shops and heritage listed buildings. From Strathalbyn, we fly  north following the gum studded ridges and gullies of the Adelaide Hills, by Mt Bold Reservoir and over the historic towns of Mt Barker, Nairne, Hahndorf, Bridgewater and Balhannah.

Heading south and on the outskirts of Adelaide, the Onkaparinga Hills is part of Kaurna country, where there are many sites of great significance to the Kaurna Aboriginal people.

The Onkaparinga River meets the sea at Port Noarlunga and low tides expose a nearby heritage listed reef that provides a unique natural marine reserve. The river that once provided an early trade route for locally milled flour to ships waiting at Port Noarlunga,  is now a part of the Onkaparinga River Wetlands Trail, with boardwalk access to the estuary wetlands where birdwatchers may see egrets, ibis, yellow billed spoonbills, coots and herons.

Continuing south, the flight takes in McLaren Vale and the wine region renowned for stunning and award winning red wines.  The stunning coastline of white sandy beaches with ginger and cream cliffs make beautiful photographic opportunities, the flight follows the coast by Maslin Beach, the first nudist beach in Australia, then around Gull Rock, a small sandstone island which is noted for  the  cormorant colony that roosts there, and banking with the line of the cliffs along Pt Willunga Beach where at low tide the Star of Greece shipwreck is easily visible from the air.

Curving around Snapper Point and Silver Sands, the flight heads back into the circuit over the vineyards for Aldinga Airfield.

• Minimum 1 passenger, maximum of 3 passengers per flight
• Maximum Combined passenger weight of 200 Kgs
• Aircraft – Cessna 172 or 182