Cooking, coastline, cocktails and the luxury of having nowhere else to be.
There are weekends away that seem to fill themselves before you even arrive.
Then there are the good ones.
Find Your Space.
There is a particular pleasure in making a weekend of it.
A morning on the water. A long lunch. Something good to eat, a drink at the end of the day and nowhere you particularly need to be.
Normanville and Yankalilla are rather good at that kind of weekend.
There’s plenty to do if you feel like doing it, but there’s also something to be said for leaving a little room around the edges. Taking the long way, lingering a little longer, finding somewhere you hadn’t planned on going.
So, if you’re coming down for a couple of days, here’s a few ideas to make a little more of your stay.
The best part of Friday is often the part where nothing much happens.
Arrive in Normanville, leave the bags where they land and take a breath. Open the doors, take in the view, pour something cold and let the weekend begin without a plan.
When the light starts to soften, walk down to the beach.
You don’t need to go far. Normanville Beach is made for those first few hours of a getaway. Bare feet in the sand, a bit of salt air and the feeling that Monday is still a long way off.
Head to Normanville Surf Club for a drink and stay for sunset.
No need to rush back.
Start with coffee and see where the morning takes you.
For something a little different, head around to Wirrina Cove and jump aboard The Big Duck’s Sea Wirrina tour.
The 75-minute cruise heads out from St Vincent Marina and follows the coastline around Second Valley and Rapid Bay, towards Rapid Head and the fur seal colony.
It’s a different way to see a part of the Fleurieu you might normally pass by on the road. Keep an eye out for fur seals, sea lions and white-bellied sea eagles along the way.
And because we think exploring should be part of every good stay, Normanville Beach Co. guests receive 10% off Big Duck Tours.
It’s a good reminder that you don’t have to go far to have a proper adventure.
Then come home.
Have lunch somewhere local, or make something back at your holiday house. Read a book. Have a swim. Sit outside. Take an afternoon nap that you didn’t know you needed.
This is the bit that’s easy to overlook when planning a weekend away.
Leave some space.
Not every hour needs an activity.
Come late afternoon, wander down to Dapper Chap Distillery & Cellar Door on Main Road.
It’s an easy place to settle in for a while, particularly when the afternoon is warm and nobody is in any hurry.
Try one of their gins, order a cocktail or share a platter. If there’s music on, stay for that too. If there’s a fire going, even better.
And for a limited time, Normanville Beach Co. guests can enjoy 2-for-1 gin and tonics at Dapper Chap.
A little perk for staying local.
Check Dapper Chap’s Facebook page for current opening times and what’s happening while you’re here, as cellar door hours and special events can vary.
When you’re ready, wander back towards the beach.
There’s something rather good about being able to leave the car behind and make an afternoon of it.
Sunday is for cooking.
Fleurieu Food & Wine runs hands-on cooking classes across the Fleurieu, with different classes and locations throughout the year.
Pasta. Dumplings. Gnocchi. Pizza. Whatever happens to catch your eye.
Check the Fleurieu Food & Wine website for current cooking class dates, what’s on and where each class is being held before you book.
There is something particularly good about learning to make something when you’re away from home.
No rushing back to work. No checking the clock. Just a bench, a few ingredients, people around you and time to learn.
For the pasta classes, that means flour, dough, rolling, shaping and eventually sitting down to eat what you’ve made.
You don’t need to be a great cook. In fact, it might be better if you’re not.
The point isn’t to leave as a chef. It’s to spend a few hours doing something together, laughing at the bits that don’t quite work and sitting down to a meal that tastes better because you made it yourself.
Then, if you’ve still got some time before heading home, there’s always the beach.
If you haven’t quite finished with the weekend, don’t be in too much of a hurry to head home.
Take the long way through the Fleurieu.
A walk through the stringybarks at Deep Creek is a good way to finish a weekend by the coast. After a couple of days of salt air and sand, the bush feels like another kind of quiet.
Walk slowly. Look up. Listen.
You don’t need to squeeze one more thing in.
A weekend like this works best when you have somewhere that feels like your own.
A place to put your feet up after the beach. Somewhere to make breakfast slowly. A table to come back to after a day exploring. Space for a couple, a family or a group of friends to spread out and do very little at all.
That’s what we like about staying in Normanville.
You’re close enough to everything, but you don’t really need to go anywhere.
Looking for somewhere to stay? Take a look at our Normanville accommodation.
Slow down. Stay curious. Find Your Space.
And if the weekend ends up being a little longer than planned, that’s okay too.
Some of the best days are unplanned.
From quiet beaches and clifftop walks to local cafés, hidden gems and unforgettable sunsets, discover the places, flavours and simple moments that make Normanville worth coming back to.