There are two main tourist attractions in South Australia. Wine and sharks. I think Tom and I have made the most of the amazing wine produced in our state but we am yet to appreciate the great white sharks that call our coastline home. But we can’t say that I haven’t tried. In an effort to appreciate the terrifying giants of the sea the two of us planned a weekend in Port Lincoln, the home of Adelaide’s great whites.

There was only one problem. A big problem (literally). Only a few days before we were scheduled to leave, some killer whales had graced the area with their presence, beating a shark to death during their visit. And just like high school, a bully takes over a area and everyone else relocates. In this case, Port Lincoln’s sharks packed up and left.

But a few missing sharks weren’t going to stop us from having a great weekend in the small seaside town (predominantly because our flights were as non-refundable as our motivation to have a weekend away).

After a long Friday at work we hopped in a cab. A cab with a really, really scary driver. We somehow made it to the airport without being involved in an accident or getting abducated and murdered and we basically ran into the airport and headed straight for the bar. After a relaxed drink we shamefully caught up with the other passengers after having our names announced for final boarding call (we were those people).

The 50 minute REX regional flight was surprisingly nice, besides the lack of hors d’oeuvres (much to Toms disappointment). The air hostess ordered us a taxi at 10,000ft and soon enough we had made it to the hotel after a much less creepy taxi ride.

This was my first visit to the seaside town, and Tom had assured me that we had to stay at the Port Lincoln Hotel. He was right. The hotel is really great. After familiarising our selves with the bar that night we spent the entire next day by the pool. Just us, perfect weather, cocktails and a perfect view of the shark-less ocean. (Oh, and a few screaming children and future skin cancer).

The day was so perfect that it was worth the sunburn (I don’t know if Tom would agree – he was as red as the Golden Gate Bridge).

As we were missing out on one of SA’s wonders this weekend we definitely made the most of the other. We stocked up on champagne and wine and spent Valentines day evening classily drinking in our complimentary robes on our balcony, admiring the sea and locals whilst eating figs and olives.  We were at the peak of classy and not even the people in the spa suites upstairs could have killed our buzz.

There may  have been a moment when my robe had gotten caught in the wind and I may have accidentally flashed the entire population of Port Lincoln, and there is a slight possibility that we woke up in the early hours of the morning with the lights and TV still on and minimal memory of the night before but we’re still classy… Right?

The next day was rough. But we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and make it down to the port to swim with sea lions. Which was 50 shades of cute. We discovered that the food at the Mariner Hotel must have been the best in town (yum), and a few hours later we were heading back to Adelaide.

Port Lincoln was great. Tom and I may have a unique perception of romance but a weekend spent by the sea with good wine seems perfect for every couple.

Tom and I had a pretty relaxed visit to Port Lincoln, but there seriously is plenty to do:

• Shark Cage Diving (when they are there)
• Swimming with Sea Lions
• Swimming with the Tuna (if you are into that)
• Visiting the national park
• Enjoying the beautiful beach (but if you want to swim perhaps stick to the caged swimming jetty area…)
• Eating seafood (but avoid Toms mistake of a plate of deep-fried everything). The Marina Hotel is definitely worth visiting for a meal.
• Visiting a few wineries