These spirits aren’t just inspired by the ocean; they’re made from it.
On South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, life is ruled by the tides. It’s a region famous for wild coastlines, fresh seafood and a thriving aquaculture industry, where everyone from fisherfolk to marine biologists make a living on the sea.
Wildly beautiful coastlines characterise Coffin Bay. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)
But tucked between these sandy folds is something far more unexpected – a distillery redefining what it means to work with the ocean.
Don’t let its (slightly morbid) name fool you – Coffin Bay is a town full of colour and life. Over 600 kilometres south of Adelaide, it’s a place primarily known for its oyster production, a prosperous industry driven by local businesses offering everything from tours to tastings.
The Eyre Peninsula’s oyster production is an industry of abundance. (Image: Tourism Australia)
But on the other side of town, a small team is capturing the coast and its flavours in a whole new way. On the surface, Coffin Bay Spirits doesn’t seem too dissimilar to its neighbours, deeply rooted in its surrounds and championing local produce.
But take a closer look and you’ll start to notice the small differences that set it apart: hyperlocal ingredients, hands-on processes, and a product so specialised there’s nothing else quite like it.
A distillery doing things differently
Coffin Bay Spirits was officially opened in 2021 by owners Ben and Caro Deslandes.
Inspired by the region’s raw natural beauty and unique vegetation, local couple Ben and Caro Deslandes began experimenting with gin distillery in 2020. What started out as a fun hobby quickly evolved into something much bigger, leading to the official opening of Coffin Bay Spirits in 2021.
Hidden in a small pocket of Coffin Bay National Park on roughly 200 hectares of bushland, it’s the sort of place you’d breeze right past if you didn’t know about it.
This doesn’t bother the couple too much; the distillery is more of a passion project than a commercial venture. Ben and Caro never chased the crowds – but once their bottles hit shelves, the crowds found them anyway.
Each bottle is infused with hand-foraged local seaweed.
You see, the spirits produced here aren’t just inspired by the ocean; they’re made from it. Using a specialised fishing licence, the team – Ben, in particular – freedives for seaweed right off the national park’s shoreline. They collect fresh samples from eight different seaweed families, which are infused in the distillery’s four signature gins.
Samples from eight different seaweed families are used.
The Rare Coastal Gin is softened by locally foraged native juniper.
Expect a lingering sweetness from the Nitre Berry Gin.
The Nitre Berry Gin leans in gently, with a focus on sweet red fruit and a whisper of brine, while the Bush Blossom Gin is made with locally foraged natives, creating a more botanical profile.
Although softened by native juniper, the Rare Coastal Gin promises a true taste of the sea. The High Tide Gin embraces it completely, delivering an ‘oceanic mineral burst’ with an earthy black-pepper warmth.
A quiet opening for Coffin Bay
Since its conception, Coffin Bay Spirits has mostly operated behind closed doors. But in a moment of quiet reverence, small groups are now being accepted for private bookings. Available by appointment only, the exclusive experiences offer a never-before-seen glimpse inside the distillery, as well as a bespoke tasting session.
An exclusive tasting session includes fresh seafood paired with Coffin Bay cocktails.
The high-end experience includes fresh platters of locally sourced seafood paired with Coffin Bay cocktails and waterfront views. Guests may also join a guided coastal walk to see where ingredients are foraged, plus the opportunity to interact with and learn about the seaweeds used, in situ.
While the distillery has recently opened up to guests, visits are strictly by appointment only. Ben and Caro run the whole operation themselves, and with the new offering still in its early stages, availability is limited and bookings cannot be guaranteed. Those hoping to stop by will need to enquire directly.
But watch this space. The Deslandes continue to work hard behind the scenes, with more exciting developments expected in the months ahead. We’ll cheers to that.
Coffin Bay Spirits is stocked widely across South Australia, or can be purchased directly online.
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Taylah Darnell is Australian Traveller's Writer & Producer. She has been passionate about writing since she learnt to read, spending many hours either lost in the pages of books or attempting to write her own. This life-long love of words inspired her to study a Bachelor of Communication majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Technology Sydney, where she completed two editorial internships. She began her full-time career in publishing at Ocean Media before scoring her dream job with Australian Traveller. Now as Writer & Producer, Taylah passionately works across both digital platforms and print titles. When she's not wielding a red pen over magazine proofs, you can find Taylah among the aisles of a second-hand bookshop, following a good nature trail or cheering on her EPL team at 3am. While she's keen to visit places like Norway and New Zealand, her favourite place to explore will forever be her homeland.
From coast to mountains, hiking in Gippsland offers a stunning array of landscapes, with trails that take you deep into the region’s heritage.
I step out onto the sand and it cries out underfoot. Kweek! I take another step and there’s another little yelp. Screet! Picking up the pace, the sounds follow me like my shadow, all the way down to the water. It’s obvious how this spot got its name – Squeaky Beach – from the rounded grains of quartz that make the distinctive sounds under pressure.
For many, Wilsons Promontory National Park is the gateway to Gippsland , and the best way to explore it is by walking its network of hiking trails, from coastal gems such as Squeaky Beach through to the bushland, among the wildlife. But it’s still just a taste of what you’ll find on foot in the region.
Venture a bit further into Gippsland and you’ll discover the lakes, the rainforest, and the alpine peaks, each changing with the season and offering summer strolls or winter walks. Just like that squeaky sand, each step along these trails has something to tell you: perhaps a story about an ancient spirit or a pioneering search for fortune.
The best coastal hikes in Gippsland
Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sprawling wilderness with many coastal bushland trails. (Image: Mark Watson)
Wilsons Promontory National Park (or ‘The Prom’, as you’ll end up calling it) is an easy three-hour drive from Melbourne, but you might ditch the car when you arrive, with much of the park’s 50,000 hectares accessible only by foot. From the inky water of Tidal River (dyed dark purple by abundant tea trees), I like the easy walks along the coast, among lichen-laden granite boulders, to golden beaches and bays.
Panoramic views from the summit of Mount Oberon. (Image: Everyday Nicky)
The trail to the panoramic views at the summit of Mount Oberon is a bit harder, up steep timber and granite steps, but it’s a popular 6.8-kilometre return. The more remote hikes are found through the open banksia and stringybark woodland of the park’s north, or along the multi-day Southern Circuit , which ranges from about 35 to 52 kilometres, with sunrises and sunsets, kangaroos and cockatoos, and maybe even whales.
Walk ‘The Prom’s’ golden sand beaches. (Image: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia)
You might also see whales on the George Bass Coastal Walk , even closer to Melbourne on the western edge of Gippsland. This dramatic seven-kilometre trail along the clifftops takes in sweeping views of the wild ocean, occasionally dipping down from grassy green hills to coastal gullies and a secluded beach. It also now links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail for an extra 14 kilometres.
George Bass Coastal Walk trails for seven kilometres along clifftops. (Image: Visit Victoria/Time Out Australia)
Over at the eastern edge of Gippsland, in Croajingolong National Park, you can wander along the lakeshores beneath koalas and around goannas (I keep my distance since one chased me here!). For those who are even more adventurous, the park is also the starting point for the 100-kilometre Wilderness Coast Walk , usually done over seven days.
Wander along the lakeshores in Croajingolong National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)
The best bush hikes in Gippsland
The alpine heath of Baw Baw National Park. (Image: Everyday Nicky)
Deep in the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine at Walhalla, mining guide Richard tells me how this small town in the mountains east of Melbourne boomed when prospectors found gold here in 1862. These days, you’ll find most of the town’s treasure – its heritage – above ground, with the Walhalla Tramline Walk a wonderful way to explore it.
Just seven kilometres long, the walk takes you through decades of Gold Rush history, following the original rail trail from lush bushland to the mining sites, and through the charming village of just 20 residents with its wooden cottages and old shopfronts adorned with turn-of-the-century advertising posters. Blazing a trail where trailblazers once opened up the region, this is also the starting point for the 650-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track.
Nearby, Baw Baw National Park has walks through gnarled snow gums and alpine heaths that show off the colourful wildflowers in summer and the pristine carpet of white in winter. Several trails are perfect for snowshoes, including a 45-minute route from St Gwinear up to vast views across the Latrobe Valley.
Further up into the mountains, the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk is an easy 2.2-kilometre path that serenades you with the sound of flowing water as you pass mossy rocks and tree ferns en route to two sets of waterfalls cascading over boulders in the remote wilderness.
The best cultural hikes in Gippsland
Hike the Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)
Across a pool in a natural sandstone amphitheatre, deep within a cave behind a waterfall, it’s said the Nargun has its lair. A fierce creature, half human and half stone, that abducts children and can’t be harmed by boomerangs or spears, the story of the Nargun has been told around the campfires of the local Gunaikurnai people for generations.
As a culturally significant place for women, hikers are asked not to go into the Den of Nargun, but a 3.4-kilometre loop walk leads you through a rainforest gully to the entrance where you can feel the powerful atmosphere here in Mitchell River National Park , along Victoria’s largest remaining wild and free-flowing waterway.
Bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)
The Den of Nargun is part of the Bataluk Cultural Trail , a series of important traditional Gunaikurnai sites through central Gippsland. Another location is Victoria’s largest cave system, Buchan Caves Reserve, with trails to important archaeological sites of human artefacts up to 18,000 years old. The FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk includes the naturally sculpted white limestone steps of the 400-metre-long Federal Cave, while the Granite Pools Walk goes among tall timber and moss-covered gullies.
The ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park. (Image: Josie Withers)
Also important to the Gunaikurnai people is Tarra-Bulga National Park , known for its ancient myrtle beeches and enormous mountain ash trees. Just 40 minutes return, the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk offers a taste of this verdant landscape, while the Grand Strzelecki Track takes you deep into the lost world of forest giants on an epic 100-kilometre trail rich with tradition.
A traveller’s checklist
Staying there
Wilderness Retreats in The Prom. (Image: Christian Pearson)
Wilderness Retreats in Wilsons Promontory offers glamping-style tents with luxurious queen beds. Star Hotel is a reconstruction of a Gold Rush-era hotel from 1863 in the heart of heritage Walhalla. Caves House is a historic three-bedroom house with views over the Buchan River.
Eating there
Enjoy a post-hike lunch at Carrajung Estate. (Image: Everyday Nicky)
Kilcunda General Store serves great coffee and meals of local produce at the George Bass Coastal Walk. Alpine Trout Farm is located near Toorongo Falls in Noojee. Fish for your own lunch and barbecue it with the provided cookware.
Carrajung Estate is a short drive from Tarra-Bulga National Park. The winery’s restaurant offers a seasonal menu of regional ingredients and you can stay at The Lodge.
The table is set for a seafood feast at the estate.
