Aldinga  South Australia

A small bayside fishing resort on the Gulf of St Vincent, Aldinga is just 45km south of Adelaide and part of an urban chain developing on the western shores of the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Its signature features include a fine surfing beach, which also attracts anglers, and an off-shore reef supporting sea grasses and sponges, a favourite haunt of divers. Nearby Maslin Beach has the distinction of being the first in Australia to officially welcome nude bathing.

Leaflets are available to guide hikers through the bush trails of the Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park. The park includes sand dunes, sand blows, mallee scrub, forests and heath. It is a haven for birds, with 166 species having been observed. You may also spy native wildlife and butterflies.

Some inveterate travellers swear that you can find out more about a town from an hour in the local graveyard than a day in the library. Aldinga has a gem of a graveyard in the Uniting Church cemetery, the final resting place of an assortment of interesting characters, including the crew of the shipwrecked Star of Greece that foundered nearby in 1888.