The Yorke Peninsular was our last coastal leg of the trip. Once we left here, we were ocean free until we reached the end of our trip. It had been a hard leg to plan. There were a few things we really wanted to see but the rest was less certain. In the end, besides Innes National Park we could really have passed it by. It wasn’t terrible, but after so long on the road visiting so many spectacular coastlines it just didn’t amaze us.
Ardrossan
We’d picked Ardrossan as our base in the area. The decision was based on nothing much. It’s a bigger centre, it broke up the drive from Victor Harbour and was central to the eastern coastal side. We figured it would be a decent base to explore from.
It was far from our most exciting stop. Hindsight told us this little section of the Yorke Peninsular is just less exciting than we’d bargained on. Our initial disappointment was overcome with some practical thinking. We used the time to do a bit of school and book the rest of our travels. We even found some bonus nights with a small re-jig. That gave us a few nights in Palm Valley that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Locally we saw the cliffs, a couple of beaches and took in the view from the mine. As we headed off, the big (literally) attraction was the painted water tanks. We’d missed most of the grain silos, so these were a good alternative. They were interesting to see, with a distinctly nautical theme.
Innes National Park
We had been trying to shoehorn some time into Innes National Park. It had a few campgrounds on offer, but finding something that was both available and fit the caravan wasn’t easy. It’s close enough to Adelaide that things filled up for the school holidays.
We grabbed the two nights we could and made the most of it. Ironically, it was all we needed as it was one of those driving National Parks. A series of stunning spots along a rugged coastline and a campground that although busy, felt secluded. We could have a fire and make one big day of it to explore. On the first afternoon we explored nearby, walking through the old mining operation at Stenhouse Bay and getting out onto the jetty.
Day two was the big day for exploration. We had one day to take in as much of the park as we could, so we worked our way west. We made the most of the Cape Spencer Lighthouse, Cable Bay, West Cape Lighthouse, several shipwrecks, surf breaks, fishing villages and finally Shell Beach. It was a good day and we had to keep an eye on the time to get it all in.
We eventually had two longer stops, Hannah and Christian walked along Shell Beach to explore a shipwreck and then we all did the only long walk, out to Royston Head. The shipwreck was cool, a recent one, when a fishing trawler was driven aground. New enough to recognise it and still safely have a look around, while being old enough to make it a bit curious and run down.
The hands down highlight though was the walk to Royston Head. It was a hot day, and this was the only walk in the area. We (mainly the adults) wanted to do it and had some early regrets. The heat, sand under foot and incredibly boring scenery wore us all down. We got as close to aborting a walk as we ever had, before it opened up into an incredible view along the coastline. While we knew the boring bit needed to be repeated to get back, the last section made it well and truly worth the effort.
Wallaroo
Eventually we have to leave the coastline behind, and we were acutely aware that Wallaroo was our final beachside stop until we made it back to Mackay. If we have learnt anything this trip it’s that while we love everything Australia has had to offer, it’s the ocean we love the most.
We explored the coastline on our way in, checking out the sights between Innes National Park and Wallaroo. Corny Point Lighthouse and Port Victoria were the biggest stops, but the coastline had plenty of rugged sites to see.
Once we hit Wallaroo though, it was a couple of days to unwind, restock and enjoy the beach. We needed firewood for the final legs of our journey and supplies for the Flinders Ranges. The girls made friends and spent a lot of their time on the beach, either in the water or just on the sand. For a final beachside stop, Wallaroo wasn’t a bad one. It was all inland from here.
