The Story Beneath Your Feet
When you walk beside the Southern Ocean, it is easy to be distracted by what is happening above the horizon. A pod of dolphins may appear in the distance. A sea eagle may circle overhead. Waves roll towards a deserted beach and the wind moves through the coastal heath.
But there is another story unfolding beneath your boots. Every cliff, rocky outcrop, beach and valley along the Southern Ocean Walk is part of a landscape with a history measured not in decades or thousands of years, but in hundreds of millions of years.
Once you start looking at the trail through a geological lens, the walk takes on a whole new dimension.
A landscape with a long memory
Much of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula is underlain by rocks of the Kanmantoo Group, formed around 500 million years ago. The sediments that eventually became these rocks were deposited in an ancient marine environment, then buried, compressed and transformed by immense geological forces.
The dramatic coastline we see today is the result of that ancient history combined with the continuing work of wind, weather and the Southern Ocean.
Take a moment at a rocky outcrop and look closely. You may notice layers, bands, fractures and changes in texture. These are clues to the conditions in which the original sediments formed and the forces that later reshaped them.
When glaciers shaped the Fleurieu
Perhaps the most surprising part of the region’s geological story is its connection with an ancient ice age.
During the Permian Period, Australia was part of Gondwana and positioned much farther south. Glaciers once moved across parts of the Fleurieu, leaving behind evidence that survives in the landscape today.
At Waitpinga Beach, for example, large granite boulders have been linked to ancient glacial deposits.
It is extraordinary to stand beside the Southern Ocean today—in a landscape of eucalyptus forest, coastal heath and sunny beaches—and imagine that ice once moved across this region.
A different way to walk
The next time you join us on the Southern Ocean Walk, don’t just look for the next spectacular view. Look down.
Notice the rock beneath your boots. Examine the stones along a beach. Look at the layers in a cliff. Ask yourself why one section of coastline is steep and rugged while another opens into a sweeping beach. You don’t need to be a geologist. You simply need to be curious.
The Southern Ocean Walk takes you through four days of spectacular scenery—but beneath that scenery lies a story hundreds of millions of years in the making. If this all sounds enticing remember we still have a few spots on our remaining tours for 2026:
14 September – Southern Ocean Walk
21 September – Fleurieu Gourmet Tour
5 October – Fleurieu Gourmet Tour
26 October – Southern Ocean Walk
Ring Jane or Barry direct to take advantage of these last vacancies at a special price on (08) 85984169
