Berlin’s boy-wonder Hans the German visited the Fleurieu Peninsula this week, in a PR push to encourage visitors to get out to South Australia’s regions.

Hans is the singing, dancing, accordion-playing faux-German alter-ego of Adelaide journalist Matt Gilbertson.

From 1-5 June, Channel 10 talk show Studio 10 covered his ‘Roadtrip with Hans’, which saw him visit a different region of South Australia each day in a garishly decked out bright pink Hummer.

Hans visited the Fleurieu Peninsula on Tuesday 2 June, and the segment that aired that day included a live cross from Port Elliot with the Studio 10 hosts.

As part of the segment, Hans interviewed restaurateur Campbell Haig from Port Elliot restaurant and bar Thunderbird about what had drawn him to the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Middleton Beach Huts accommodation, Horseshoe Bay, and the d’Arenberg Cube were among other Fleurieu locations featured in the footage.

Hans visited the popular Port Elliot Bakery, commenting that it had, “a longer line than Saturday night at Studio 54”.

Hans at Port Elliot Bakery. Photo: @accordionhans/Facebook

He also remarked that the first whales of the season were visiting the Fleurieu, joking that the whales had heard how many pavlovas he’s been eating in lockdown and thought he was, “one of their own”.

The roadtrip was part of the ‘Welcome Back to South Australia’ campaign by the South Australian Tourism Commission designed to encourage regional tourism now that intrastate travel is no longer restricted. 

Advertisements promoting the Fleurieu Peninsula and other SA regions have been running on radio, TV, social media, and in print this week, including a feature in The Advertiser on Friday 5 June.

Videos and photos from Hans’s visit to the Fleurieu Peninsula and other regions have been shared with the more than 27,000 followers of his Facebook page.

Peter Cahalan from Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism thanked the local champions who appeared in the segment. However, in response to Hans referring to Port Elliot as the jewel in the Fleurieu’s Crown, Peter said: "We don’t have one jewel - the region is fair dripping with tourism bling!"

Hans has been a cabaret performer for more than a decade, hosting successful shows in the Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringe festivals.

He came to international attention ehrnhe made it to the top 10 of Season 13 of America’s Got Talent in 2018. Hans also appeared on Season 2 of The Champions, an all-star reunion of America’s Got Talent favourites.

To view Roadtrip with Hans on the Fleurieu Peninsula, click here.

Hans at Horseshoe Bay. Photo: @accordionhans/Facebook