Relaxing beach getaway in Robe, SA
- lifeslittlething
- Feb 21, 2018
- 4 min read
Now that Summer's nearly over, it's got me reminiscing about sunny days by the pristine beaches when we went to Robe, South Australia late last year. If you're after a getaway that's all about relaxing, eating and lots of dog friendly things to do then I couldn't think of a more perfect place.
About 6 hours drive from Melbourne CBD, Robe (in my opinion anyway) is a hidden gem and perfect place to leave the chaos of city life behind for a few days. While Victoria does have its share of lovely coastal regions (like the Great Ocean Rd, Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas etc) with a fantastic array of amenities for tourists, the flip side is that they tend to be quite crowded almost all year round and not that easy on the wallet!
While Robe is certainly not "undiscovered", there are definitely differences between the peak and off-peak times. It was very much a sleepy, coastal town during our stay (which is one of the things we loved most), but the locals tell me the population swells to almost 10times during the peak school holiday periods! So the time of year you choose to go will have a massive impact on your experience.
Why we loved Robe:
You can buy fresh, local seafood straight from Sky Seafoods at market price. As what they have in stock will literally depend on what the fishermen catch this can be a bit hit and miss. We managed to get a couple of beautiful fresh crays and fish during our stay. A lot of the stock gets depleted over weekends so best to plan around this if fresh seafood is important to you.
The many beautiful and also dog friendly beaches. This was great for us and Jax as the dog friendly beaches around Melbourne tend to be pretty filthy, overrun by big dogs (which intimidates our LWF especially given he's been stepped on by a big lab while swimming once!) and many of the Melbourne beaches have very strict rules about when dogs are allowed on the beach. The beaches in and around Robe are the exact opposite. Quiet, almost to the point of being deserted, beautiful clean water and sand and Jax was able to wander around to his hearts content without having to worry about big waves or overexcited big dogs. He had so much fun dipping in the shallow water and exploring the rock pools!
Lots of locally run business in the area. Some of our favourites included morning coffee from Mahalia Coffee Roasting House & Store, lunch at the Caledonian Inn which is right next to the beach and main shopping strip, and a craft beer tasting at the Robe Town Brewery including a behind the scenes tour!
If you're up for a day trip, the Coonawarra wine region is another must-visit. Just a short drive from Robe town, this region is best known for Cab Sav and it's pretty easy to navigate once you get there, with most of the big wineries located just off the Riddoch Highway. Some of our favourite cellar doors included Rymill's, Wynn's and Brands Laira. There are a few proper restaurants in the area, but we just got a couple of delicious pies from the Coonawarra Store.
Where we stayed
Another reason we love Robe is the great choice of quality, dog friendly accommodation. Other regions around Victoria we've visited tend to have very limited nice, dog friendly accommodation. Most of them tend to be older properties often in need of an update and you can definitely tell other dogs have been there before! Now I understand most places that allow dogs probably expect their furry house guests to leave a bit of a mess and so don't put much effort in to clean/maintain the property, but Jax is a non-shedding, inside dog who gets his paws wiped before coming inside so we don't like to compromise on quality accommodation just because we are bringing our dog. I probably am a bit particular about where we stay, but I like to think that because of this we are also more particular about leaving our accommodation in a good state. We've also always been happy to offer an additional "dog" bond to stay in nicer places before if required. Anyway, I digress! For this holiday, we booked Marley's of Robe as it seemed to tick all the boxes - and it didn't disappoint! This is a very well-appointed, new-ish house with everything we could possibly need for a self-catering holiday. It has a fully-equipped kitchen with quality appliances and great layout which was important to us as we cooked breakfast and dinner there almost every day.
The master bedroom was light and spacious with a gorgeous ensuite. There are two living areas; one with a big TV and the other became our tea and reading nook. The backyard is fully fenced and Jax loved being able to run around the lawn. It was also very useful as we could hose him down out there after the beach. If you have a bigger group, there are an additional 2 bedrooms with a central bathroom. The location is pretty good being just a short drive from the main street in town. It is also walking distance to a beach but this is a 4WD access beach so if you want to spend the day there it's not the best spot, but don't worry there are lots of other great options around. I would highly recommend Marley's for a couple or family holiday and definitely wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.
Road trip tip:
6 hours is a pretty intense drive, so make sure you break it up along the way especially if you have a pooch in the car with you! We made a couple of pit stops, first at Geelong for breakfast, then at Mt Gambier where we checked out the Blue Lake.
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