How to spend a perfect weekend in Robe — from Friday-night fish and chips on the foreshore to a Sunday clifftop walk past the leaning Obelisk.
Robe rewards an unhurried weekend. It is far enough from anywhere to feel like a proper escape, and small enough that you can do everything on foot or with a single short drive.
Friday evening. Arrive in time to wander the heritage main street, then settle in for fish and chips or a counter meal at one of the beachfront pubs as the light goes gold over Guichen Bay. Robe is famous for its rock lobster, so if the co-op or a local eatery has fresh crayfish, this is the night to splurge.
Saturday. Start at the Robe Obelisk on the cliffs of Cape Dombey — the candy-striped 1855 landmark that is slowly being undercut by erosion and may not stand many more years. Walk the clifftop tracks past blowholes and the old gaol ruins. In the afternoon, drive your car straight onto Long Beach, where 17 kilometres of firm white sand make for the region's safest family swimming. Round off the day with gelato in town.
Sunday. For something wilder, head just south to Little Dip Conservation Park, where mobile dunes, freshwater lakes and surf beaches feel a world away from Robe's tidy streets. Spot kangaroos and emus on the trails, then return to town for a long lunch before the drive home.
Robe carries its history lightly, but it runs deep. This was once one of South Australia's busiest ports, and in the 1850s more than 16,000 Chinese gold-seekers landed here and walked overland to the Victorian goldfields to dodge a hefty landing tax. Look for the markers around town that tell their remarkable story — a reminder that this easygoing holiday town was once a gateway to the world.
