South Australian Eyre Peninsula Escape

Often the best way to get a taste for a region is through its food and wine. And we’re determined to help you do just that from day one of this tour. Just 90 minutes after departing on your South Australia tour from Adelaide you’re in the heart of the Clare Valley, one of the state’s premier wine regions. And one of its premier wineries beckons. Gather in the cellar door at Knappstein Wines, whose riesling (among other drops) will make you weak at the knees. The petite town of Port Augusta is your base tonight, its broad harbour reaching out to the Spencer Gulf. What a start to your Eyre Peninsula tour.    

The town of Kimba may be small in population, but it’s big in attractions. Look no further than the eight-metre-tall Big Galah, guarding over the Eyre Peninsula. The other larger-than-life drawcard is Kimba’s silos, which forward-thinking artists have decorated with eye-popping murals. Get set for an eye-opening silo art trail tour. Talking about colourful countryside, wait until you see the pink ripples that Pildappa Rock casts. This immense granite outcrop was formed 1.5 billion years ago, its wave-like shape swooping over a swathe of pindan soil.   

You could spend weeks exploring Streaky Bay and surrounds, tucked into an inlet on the Eyre Peninsula. But you have a day, so bring your stamina. First up: the Westal Way Loop Coastal Scenic Drive, linking attractions like the Yanerbie Sand Dunes (enormous, rippled dunes tumbling to the Southern Ocean); Point Westall (with its ‘whistling’ rocks and blowholes); Head of the Bight Lookout (for supreme whale spotting); and High Cliff Hideaway Bay. More lookouts await at Hally’s Beach, where the water is so turquoise, you’ll think it has been painted on. And Cape Bauer, at the very end of the peninsula. Worked up an appetite? Get set for a seasonal seafood feast of epic proportions, enjoyed while you cruise the coast around Streaky Bay on your Eyre Peninsula tour.   

This part of the South Australian coast is pristine – the kind of place fur seals like to hang out. Marvel at these endangered creatures in Point Labatt Conservation Park, the only place on the mainland where seal pups can be seen learning to swim, play and rest on the beach. Nature continues to reign supreme at Murphy’s Haystacks, a series of ancient pillars and boulders that appear to pop from the Earth, and Talia Caves – honeycombed granite rocks framing the beach. Stretch your legs along a section of the Elliston Coastal Trail at Little Bay, offering a windswept snapshot of some of the Eyre Peninsula’s most dramatic scenery.

Get your Port Lincoln bearings on a guided tour before we set the GPS for Coffin Bay. This part of the peninsula is what postcards were made for. Case in point, Almonta Beach, its gin-clear waters regularly hosting pods of dolphins that surf the waves. These nutrient-rich waters are also a natural habitat for another marine creature: oysters. Tour an oyster farm, slurp a couple of freshly-shucked molluscs, then sit down to an indulgent seafood platter. Your next deep dive will be into Aboriginal culture on a Wild Yarnbala tour, covering off-grid, organic orchards and gardens and giving you the opportunity to taste bush tucker while being serenaded by a didgeridoo.   

Today’s your day to compare silo art: Kimba vs Tumby Bay, the latter painted by artist Martin Ron. Arriving at the Lucky Bay Jetty, jump aboard the Spencer Gulf Searoad to cruise across the gulf to Wallaroo. And just when you thought your week in South Australia couldn’t get any more colourful, you arrive at Bumbunga Pink Lake. This eye-popping waterway changes colour from pastel to bubble-gum to lipstick, depending on the salinity. Join your Travel Director tonight for a Farewell Dinner.

Short and sweet, we hope your journey inspired extended South Australian wanderlust.