The Eyre Peninsular is great, a series of small beachside communities. In our experience, there are so many choices for which towns to stop at and it probably doesn’t matter where you stop. All the towns were pretty, quiet and a haven for fishing. The whole trip was nice and relaxed, with scenery to enjoy and plenty of coastal stretches to relax on.
Streaky Bay
We picked Streaky Bay as our first stop. There was no real reason for the choice other than it was a little larger than some of the other communities and we could fill in our days. The caravan park we chose was beach front, we could walk into town and could fit us in.
Two of the attractions in Streaky Bay were driving loops. Both relatively short and very easy, they took us along two different sections of coastline. We did the Cape Bauer loop first. It was mainly photo opportunities, with nothing more than very short walks to see the sights. It was pretty good too, with the Whistling Rocks a particular highlight. These rocks had some deep cracks and crevices that when the swell surged in whistled quite loudly. Further along was Cape Bauer, which gave us some more great views of the cliffs and ocean and a surf beach or two. It made for a nice little afternoon adventure in our case.
The second loop (Westall Loop) was a bit longer and more adventurous. There were places where you could really stop and experience things. We walked onto the beach at Tractor Beach and found a nice little camp spot, there was the Bight Lookout, again giving views of the cliffs and sea. We spent most of our time at Smooth Pool. It was supposed to be a snorkelling spot, but it would need just the right wind and tide to make that true. Not to worry though, because we spent quite a while exploring the rock pools there. The kids really enjoyed it and were pretty disappointed when it was time to depart. The last stop we made was at Yanerbie. A look at the little beach and community was enough and we headed on back.
Other than that it was pretty easy, we swam and jumped at the jetty, had a look around town and took it rather easy.
Elliston
We’d picked Elliston as it was a good mid-point between Streak Bay and Coffin Bay. It also allowed us to do a swing by of a few sites on the way without having a huge driving day. Another attraction was the low-cost camping available at the Golf Club. This golf club spot was pretty amazing. Low cost aside, the view from the carpark was pretty good. One of the highest points in town, it gave a 270-degree view of the both the golf course and ocean.
Elliston was also home to driving loops. One was also a walking trail and took you to a couple of local (rather picturesque) bays and some local monuments. One particular monument was interesting in that it actually recognised the Waterloo Bay massacre. A horrific event where a large of the local indigenous population were driven to their deaths over the cliffs. It was pleasing to see that dark chapters of colonisation are starting to be recognised for what they are, instead of hidden.
The second loop was also interesting, it combined art with the ocean views. Each vantage point had a sculpture installed which made the experience very interesting. One particular installation took the girls imagination, being a giant pair of thongs. It was a great idea and the drive was very popular.
Coffin Bay
Coffin Bay was the big draw card along the west side of the peninsular. A bigger settlement, with a large National Park to explore, oysters to eat and walks and views to take in. It meant it was our longest stop as well.
We did a little local exploring, taking some short walks along the waterfront (the Oyster Walk), headed up to the lookout and looked at the oyster pens. It wasn’t a town of white sandy beaches, but the waterfront views were still pretty good, looking across the water to the other side and over to the National Park.
Coffin Bay National Park
The big drawcard for us was Coffin Bay National Park. It was a surprisingly large park, split in two in a way. There was the “easy” side, which was all sealed roads and easy to access and the hard side, which required some serious 4WD action to reach (including some very rocky tracks and soft sand). We made several enquires about the hard side, before deciding to skip it. We were told, the drive was pretty rough, but mainly slow. The hard side certainly was beautiful, but the effort to reach it really required camping. It wasn’t van friendly so we skipped it.
In the end, despite the ever-hanging fear of missing out, we filled our day on the easy side. There was quite a bit to see; Middle Well, Templetonia Lookout, Yangie Bay and Point Avoid all called us to stop. We did a short walk at Yangie Bay, climbing the hill to get some great views over the bay and inlet before returning close to the shoreline. We spotted some wildlife and fish activity. There was a longer option available, but we decided against it to be sure we could in the rest of our day.
The highlight (by a long, long way) was Almonta Beach and the view to Golden Island. We spent most of the day there. The view from above the beach was great, Golden Island was a cool sight. But it was the beach that drew us in. We stopped lunched and headed down to relax the afternoon away. We shared it with only a few others, the girls braved the cold ocean and we just lazed on the sand. Early on we walked around the little point and got a few seconds of a seal show. It jumped in the waves once or twice and disappeared.
We were happy, with no regrets we hadn’t taken the tougher route in as well.
Oysters
The final high point of our visit to Coffin Bay was a rare treat, a meal out to try some oysters. So far this trip, we have only dined out a couple of times. The money saved has helped offset some of the crazy fuel costs. With local oysters on offer though we decided to splurge; get some oysters, prawns a couple of drinks and pretend we had jobs for a couple of hours.
It was worth it expense. We went Oysters Kilpatrick, to give the girls the best chance of liking them, coupled with some fresh local prawns and dips it was pretty damn good. Wines, food and views by the water. Everyone liked the oysters, which was a little surprise and it took some strong self-control not to buy another half dozen.
Along the Way
One of the challenges for us along this section was time. There was no way to stop and stay everywhere, so we were pretty brutal on our decision making. It meant we picked a few things to do on our way between stops. There were quite a few stops like this, but the highlights are below.
Point Labbatt
Point Labbatt is home to a seal colony. A very, very important breeding area for a rarer species. Shallow water keeps the young seals safer from sharks and the high cliffs, strong surf and rocks keep the humans from interfering too. People do this as a (long) day trip from Streaky Bay, but we thought we’d do it as we went past.
The only downer was the cliffs are high and without binoculars, spotting the seals and really getting the most out of it is a little difficult. Still, we were able to stop and watch for almost an hour. It was interesting, they sunned themselves, swam in the shallow pools and just generally seemed to enjoy themselves. They weren’t alone.
Murphys Haystacks
Murphys Haystacks are the odd name given to a series of huge rocks, seemingly randomly placed in a field. The name supposedly was given when the rocks were viewed from a (long) distance and were confused for haystacks.
In reality they are inselbergs of different coloured granite that have been part of the landscape for hundreds of thousands of years. Entry was super cheap (a small donation) and the tracks take you up to, through, around and over these boulders.
The colours, particularly the pinks and reds are amazing and the very short detour of the main road worth every minute.
Woolshed Cave
The final big detour of note was the woolshed cave, a huge cavern by the ocean. It’s a huge space, and you get right down to ocean level almost at the entrance. We went for a bit of an adventure inside, but very quickly it got too dicey. Powdery dust on the very sloped ground meant slips were on the cards. A fall on this ledge meant a three to five metre fall onto the much harder rocks below. Better to be safe than sorry we figured.
The funny thing about this leg of the trip was that we’d barely touched the sides of the Eyre Peninsular. When we left Coffin Bay we had almost completed the smaller western side, with Port Lincoln and the eastern side still to go. Looking at our timing and what we wanted to do, we knew we wouldn’t being seeing it all. This would have to do.