About robe

Robe is located in one of the most diverse and beautiful regions. Situated in South Australia’s magnificent Limestone Coast, the historic coastal village has an abundance of attractions to offer. Robe is approximately three and a half hours by road from Adelaide and approximately six hours by road from Melbourne, a central point between the Great Ocean Road and Southern Ocean Drive trails. Robe is an iconic holiday destination. The town is rich with historic buildings, vibrant food, produce, dining and retail mix. Robe also provides access to stunning coastal national parks, four-wheel beach driving and lots of other recreational activities such as swimming, surfing, fishing, camping, golfing and mountain bike riding to name a few.

Robe’s Best Experiences

Robe Obelisk

The Robe Obelisk stands proudly on the point of Cape Dombey and was constructed by local builder George Shivas at a cost of £230 in 1855. The Obelisk was used to create a landmark to navigate the entrance into Guichen Bay and to store rocket fired lifesaving equipment for stricken ships.

Long Beach

Long Beach in Robe is a safe family beach with gentle surf and is quite unique as it’s one of the few beaches where you are able to drive your car onto the sand. A unique part of Robe's Heritage. A great spot for swimming and surfing. Larger surf is usually from the 3rd ramp onwards.

Charlies Surf School

After travelling the world teaching foreigners how to surf, Charlie saw a gap in the market in his own town and jumped at the chance to teach others how to surf in Robe. Now the school offers up to four classes a day, and their own merchandise so you’ll have a memento of the time you learnt to surf on the Limestone Coast. Lessons run for two hours and are designed for all ages and stages.

Robe Coastal Walk

Many of these attractions can be combined in the 6.3km Robe Coastal Walk, which rounds Cape Dombey and finishes at Long Beach. The town centre has an eye-pleasingly large collection of heritage buildings. One of these is the former Customs House, which now houses the Robe Customs House Maritime Museum. The Karatta Wine Room and Gallery is also in the town centre. This acts as a tasting room for Karatta Wines, as well as an art gallery.

Karatta Wines’ Tasting Room

You don’t have to go far to sample what’s on offer from the local boutique winery Karrata Wines. Offering a mix of sparkling, whites and reds, there is sure to be a bottle to suit every wine-lover’s palette. The Tasting Room is located in the town centre and is open every day from 11 am to 4 pm, while the vineyard itself is a short drive outside of town.

Four-Wheel Driving in Little Dip Conservation Park

This is probably the best on my list of things to do in Robe! This park has a large area of coastal sand dunes and a beautiful coastline. It offers great 4WD opportunities and you can see lagoons and inland lakes along the way.

Robe Town Brewery

A trip to the Robe Town Brewery is a must for those who prefer beer. This family-run brewery is one of a kind with the only wood-fired brewing kettle in Australia, that all malt mashes and filters through hay and open fermentation.

The Chinese Monument

Some 16,500 Chinese sailed to Robe between 1857 and 1863, walking more than 400 kilometres from there to the Victorian Goldfields. The arduous journey was motivated by a desire to avoid the Victorian government-imposed restrictions on Chinese immigrant numbers. At the time, Robe had only 200 residents, so the new arrivals easily dwarfed the coastal community.

Robe Customs House

An attractive limestone building built in 1863. It may be small in stature, but it houses a museum big on fascinating facts about the past. Besides exploring local maritime history, you’ll learn about the thousands of Chinese migrants who came ashore here during the gold rush and walked overland to the Victorian goldfields to avoid a poll tax. Fittingly, a gold coin donation is all it will cost you to enter.