Susan tells us about the Island Pure Haloumi cheese

Susan Berlin introduces the Island Pure Sheep Dairy Susan tells us about the Island Pure Haloumi cheese Susan tells us where her cheese can be bought

Island Pure Sheep Dairy

Location: Gum Creek Road, Cygnet River
Opening hours: 1-5pm daily
Milking: (recommended) 3-5pm
Telephone: (08) 8553 9110

Island Pure Sheep Dairy was South Australia’s first sheep dairy and cheese factory when it opened at Cygnet River in 1992, and has become well-known for its range of high quality Mediterranean-style cheeses and yoghurt.

Visitors can catch a glimpse of life on a sheep dairy farm, learn about production and, more importantly, taste some of the products.

The lifestyle at Island Pure is close to perfect – particularly if you’re a sheep. Early each morning up to 400 ewes wander in to a purpose-built dairy for milking and are offered a breakfast of locally grown grain. Specialist milking equipment makes it comfortable for the girls who chew the cud before heading back out into the paddock. They graze along the banks of Gum Creek, sheltered by magnificent stands of gum trees, before the ritual is repeated again every afternoon.

It’s a stress-free, relaxing kind of life that produces some of the finest sheep cheese and yoghurt available anywhere in Australia. The entire range is handmade on site from 100 per cent sheep milk. Although each batch is unique with slight variations, attention to detail ensures all the produce is of the highest quality. Because Australia doesn’t have its own milking breed of sheep, Island Pure has embarked on a genetic selection program of its own to identify the best milk producers. It’s a long-term program that will help increase production.

Guided tours of the dairy are held every afternoon and milking starts at 3pm. Visitors can observe the sheep being milked, and are shown the factory and how the cheese and yogurt is made. Of course, the tour isn’t obligatory. Cheese and yoghurt lovers can head straight to the tasting room and shop.

Ferguson Australia produces some of the world’s finest lobster and prawn products. At their holding shed in Kingscote you can view live king crabs, lobster and if your lucky some creatures just for the kids.

Kangaroo Island Ligurian Honey’s processing factory and Fryar’s Kangaroo Island Free Range Egg Farm, which produces 19,000 eggs per day are also located in this area.

The towns of Kingscote and American River offer many accommodation and dining options with picturesque locations on the waters edge. Don’t miss the wonderful views around Bay of Shoals winery, just behind Kingscote.