Escape to Robe, South Australia: An ocean-lover's paradise beloved by tourists

It’s marketed by locals as South Australia’s favourite town, but it’s quite possibly the nation’s favourite.

With its postcard-like views, famous rock lobster fishing and spectacular bush surrounds, Robe is all that any sea-changer could wish for.

Robe is more than just a pretty seaside town (although this explains the population’s tenfold increase during summer). The coastal beauty is fast outgrowing its tourism-town tag and is becoming home to a host of artists and entrepreneurial minds.

Traditional cafes, pubs and restaurants are being joined by the likes of a microbrewery, sourdough bakery, a plastic recycling gift shop and even a camel dairy.

Thanks to an active and well-connected community, the town’s attractions for both locals and holidaymakers is growing. This year will mark the seventh annual Robe Home Brew and Craft Beer Festival, which originally started as a home-brewing competition.

And, for those who prefer something more outgoing, the Robe Mountain Bike Network is expanding its network of trails along the Limestone Coast and the Robe Golf Club has recently added six new holes to extend its course to a full 18.

Population: 1090, as of the 2016 census

Who lives there?

Geoff Prest became a Robe local the way many others did, when he finally couldn’t say goodbye to the holiday town. He bought a holiday house there 12 years ago and moved in permanently four years ago. At the same time, he bought the business behind the historian Caledonian Inn, which was first licensed in 1858.

Known more locally as The Cally, the hotel can swell to 250 diners and drinkers over the peak summer period. Locals love the Friday night happy hour and the surf’n’turf main with eye fillet and cray.

Mr Prest says the town is populated by ocean-lovers – fishers and surfers – and during summer, a mixed bag of families and university students.

“Robe is probably South Australia’s, if not the premier seaside town,” he said.

“It’s got an 11-kilometre beach you can drive around with beautiful blue water in the beach, so it’s a fairly stunning place visually.

“There’s terrific diving here – crayfish, abalone. And, the surfing’s good, so there’s lots of things to do if you like the sea.

“There’s certainly plenty of water activities, there’s lots of good bush walking and stunning coastline and lots of little back beaches.

“But, I think my favourite part is the local people. It’s full of terrific people.

“We have no problems in town, it’s a great place to live, basically. The local footy and netball club gets terrific support and the town just has a good community feel about it.”

What happens there?

Passionate home brewer Maris Biezaitis and his partner Kristi Biezaite moved to Robe after years spent living in major cities in Australia and overseas. Mr Biezaitis thought his idea of starting a little brewery in a country town was just a pipe dream. Now, seven years after opening, the Robe Town Brewery has been so successful it outgrew its original premises last year and had to move to a larger site.

The brewery has also started hosting live music events, which Mr Biezaitis hopes will continue to attract healthy crowds.

“We just had our first live music event, so that was an open mic and jam session for musicians in the area,” he said.

“It was a great success and it will be a monthly thing that we’ll do in amongst  other events. So, now we’re a bit of a brewery slash venue.”

Mr Biezaitis has taken a lead role in organising the Robe Home Brew and Craft Beer Festival each October. In addition to craft breweries, it includes local wineries, food stalls and live music.

In addition to the festival, Robe also plays hosts to acts from the Adelaide Fringe Festival in February and March. In April, wave sailors and kite surfers head to the three-day Robe Easter Classic and veteran support group Robe 2 Recovery hosts a series of Anzac Day events including a golf day and football match.

What’s life like?

Given it’s holiday popularity, Robe is home to four caravan parks and all are fit to burst during January and over Easter. People come from everywhere – mainly Naracoorte, Mount Gambier and western Victoria.

Keryn and Anthony Moore, owners of Robe Holiday Park, say most people don’t leave without making next year’s booking.

“We don’t open up our Christmas booking to new people until everyone’s had the chance to rebook on the site they’re on,” Keryn said.

“Robe just sells itself. The coastline is stunning. Obviously, we don’t get the winter trade, but the lifestyle and scenery is very picturesque.

“So, people who want to escape inland come here because it’s just a beautiful spot to be.”

The town lends itself to activities for all ages and for locals, and it’s an idyllic place to raise kids, Keryn said.

“You can come to Robe and be busy doing nothing, if that makes sense,” said the mum of four.

“There’s the beaches, walking, riding bikes – there’s always something to do.

“Our kids get to grow up in a beautiful little community. The Robe community is just amazing the way they support each other, supporting all sorts of little clubs that we’ve got here.

“Our kids have a beautiful school and if they want to, they can be at the beach five minutes after school finishes because it’s right there.

“It’s a good lifestyle, a good community.”

What jobs are there?

Robe strong tourism trade means it’s home to a large swathe of hospitality workers. Work can be seasonal with many businesses such as hotels and restaurants needing to hire staff over the summer.

Census data shows the majority of people employed in Robe are locals, representing 25.1 per cent.

Labourers, at 17.4 per cent, and technicians and tradespeople, at 14.6 per cent, also account for a large portion of professions.

Robe’s steady growth means tradespeople are in high demand, Mr Prest said.

“It’s a growing town with a lot of building going on, so most of the builders are booked up for most of the year,” he said.

Robe is also the setting for entrepreneurs and artists such as Brad Scott, who set up recycling business Transmutation there in 2018. It’s best known for its bowls made from melted bread tags, but it also sells a range of upcycled wares.

Why should you move there?

A warm and welcoming community is close to the top of every sea-changer’s wish list, and Robe has it in spades.

“The community is friendly and very diverse with both people and family that have been here for a very long time and a very large population of people that have moved here during their life at some point,” Mr Biezaitis said.

“Being a small community of a little bit over 1000 people, there’s a lot of nice people who know each other or know of each other which makes it a friendly place where people greet each other on the street.”

And, of course, there’s the majestic scenery. Waking up to a crystal blue skyline each morning makes for a beautiful backdrop to any walk.

Perhaps most importantly of all, Robe is not a staid town. It’s flourishing tourism and healthy growth is putting the place well and truly on the map.