At the tip of Fleurieu Peninsula is Cape Jervis. It was charted in 1802 by Mathew Flinders who named it after the then first Lord of the Admiralty. On most days, the outline of Kangaroo Island can be clearly seen. The waters around Backstairs Passage can be treacherous and Cape Jervis lighthouse is still important to shipping.
Several ferries depart from here daily for Kangaroo Island, sixteen kilometres away.
In addition to fishing and boating, the district is a popular venue with hang gliders. This is an historic river Port on the lower reaches of the River Murray, the last before it empties into the Southern Ocean. It was once a thriving port, built to funnel the trade in wool, grain and merchandise from up-river to Port Adelaide and interstate. A busy shipbuilding industry provided and repaired paddlesteamers, whilst the first public railway in the country was built to carry the goods cross country to Port Elliot and later, Victor Harbor. However, by the turn of the century Goolwa had lost its importance - railways built from Adelaide to the River Murray and from Melbourne to Echuca quickly siphoned its trade from the 1880s.