If you love Australian movies and visiting the places where they were made then the Storm Boy discovery trail is for you.

The original Storm Boy movie was made in 1976 and the remake is due for release in January of 2019. The story is set in the 1950s and luckily history has been preserved (or in some cases a little re-created) in the towns that were used as settings for the movie. The natural environment of the Coorong and the beaches and wildlife will no doubt speak for themselves.

Port Elliot was one town chosen as a location for part of the filming. In Port Elliot quite a few historical buildings are still a part of the main shopping street called The Strand, so filming here using the old buildings and even the Steam Ranger train would have been an easy and obvious choice.

Some of the shop facades were altered slightly to reflect the era and today these alterations have been kept and add to the charm of the town.

It is great to see that towns like Port Elliot are holding on to historic buildings and they are still being used today.

The river port town of Goolwa was another location featured in the movie and again because of the wonderful preservation of wooden boats that you can see every day on the river, the historic wooden wharf and other town features, the authenticity of the film should be spot on.

The other stars in the film, the pelicans and the natural Coorong and lakes system of the lower Murray River region are spectacular to visit so I’m sure professional film makers will have had no trouble in showcasing the wild beauty of the region.

I think the perfect mix of preserving the history and laid back lifestyle of these towns while still catering for our 21^st century needs, makes visiting Port Elliot and Goolwa a pleasure. There is a palpable atmosphere of a slower pace of life which is why these towns are still such a popular escape for holiday makers today. There’s nothing better than watching a slow cruising wooden boat or a pelican gliding by for calming the senses.

A copy of the Storm Boy Discovery Trail can be found here, from the Alexandrina Council website: Storm Boy Discovery Trail

If you are planning a visit to South Australia I would definitely recommend spending some time in this part of the Fleurieu Peninsula for a seamless blend of yesteryear and today.

Happy discovering,

Glenys