Of course, tourism is also very important for the local economy now, and the town boasts an excellent range of shops and services, including several caravan parks. There are also a number of other great camping options in the wider area.

An absolute must for any visitor is a trip to the excellent Millicent National Trust Museum. Housed in a building constructed in 1873 as a primary school, exhibits include more than 60 fully-restored horse-drawn vehicles, a Shipwreck Room, a fabulous collection of historic costumes, and a T-Class Locomotive.

There are some great walks around Millicent with brochures available at the visitor centre. Highly recommended is the History & Art Trail which leads walkers past the Grand Hotel which was originally built in 1900; the old railway station; the Catholic Church; and the Geltwood Graves, where four poor souls who perished when the Geltwood sank off the coast here in 1876 are now buried.

One striking feature of a walk around Millicent is the number of colourful and eye-catching murals decorating the walls of many buildings. If Millicent itself is fascinating, the surrounding area is next level.

About 20 kilometres south east of the town is the wheelchair-accessible cave at the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park, which was left behind by the retreating sea hundreds of thousands of years ago. It contains some amazing – and colourful – rock formations and stalactites, as well as shells, pebbles and seal bones. There’s also a clifftop walking trail offering panoramic views of the surrounding district.

While here, most visitors make a stop at the Tantanoola Tiger Hotel where the famous Tantanoola Tiger is on display. Back in the late 19th century, tales of a mysterious tiger in the area did the rounds until the creature was eventually shot dead and found to be an Assyrian Wolf.

A little south of Tantanoola are the Woakwine Range wind farms, said to be the largest wind-farm development in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s certainly worth a drive out to see the well over 100 giant turbines which dominate the skyline and which – when operational – will reportedly generate almost 300 Megawatts (MW) of electricity, the equivalent of one eighth of South Australia’s energy needs.

Short drives will also take visitors to: Canunda National Park, South Australia’s second largest coastal park which boasts dramatic cliffs, stunning white beaches, offshore reefs, and dense bushland; and to the state’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Bonney, which is 23 kilometres long and is a great place to swim, fish, boat … and relax!

Another top destination, particularly for meat-loving foodies, is Mayura Station, where diners can enjoy fullblood Wagyu beef from cattle fed specially formulated rations that ensure ‘the ultimate eating experience of unparalleled flavour profile, tenderness, succulent juiciness, silky mouth feel’.

It’s an area that really does have something for everybody!