Any tips on exploring Yorke & Eyre Peninsula's SA?

SouthernComfort · Guru

Any tips on exploring Yorke & Eyre Peninsula's SA?

Dickodownunder · Guru

I will start the replies here SC.

I am generallising here but I have found most caravan parks on bo the the YP and the EP to be friendly clean and accomodating places.

There is not many free camps particularly on the coastal strips of the YP for a caravan but there are a few that are more suited to camping. Inand YP has the usual suspects as showgrounds etc.

The EP is a different story with free camps or low cost camps spread all the way along the coastal strips.
Thes camps are along the area from Fitzgerald Bay north of Whyalla all the way to Ceduna.

There are also many free camps inland and some are in national parks.
The national parks in Port Lincoln offer some of the most idealic camps in Aus in my opinion.

Local knowledge is paramount for things to do and places to see so dont be afraid to ask the friendly locals on both peninsulas.
Allow yourself the time to check out the various areas as you may be surprised at the interesting points along your journey.

If you dont have it, I would download Wiki Camps onto your phone or tablet and search each leg of your planned trip.

Enjoy the seafood, the local bakeries, coffe shops etc.

If I was doing the trip I personally would choose autumn over spring as I find it is a bit less windy....some places Like Elliston and the west coast in general can be windy at most times.

Enjoy your trip both peninsulas are a great holiday venue without the traffic of the eastern states.

Oh and I should add that on the EP all the locals will wave as you pass them on the highway. (That how you pck a local)

I might add here that if you decide late spring /summer then just be aware that it is grain harvesting season and there will be an extra number of trucks on the road during this time.

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Friday 14th of July 2017 01:11:53 PM

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Friday 14th of July 2017 01:12:34 PM

meetoo · Guru

Warooka, next to the oval is a great place to stop whilst having a drive around the beautiful coastline at the bottom of Yorke Penninsula.

Cheers, John.

SouthernComfort · Guru

Dickodownunder wrote:
I will start the replies here SC.

I am generallising here but I have found most caravan parks on bo the the YP and the EP to be friendly clean and accomodating places.

There is not many free camps particularly on the coastal strips of the YP for a caravan but there are a few that are more suited to camping. Inand YP has the usual suspects as showgrounds etc.

The EP is a different story with free camps or low cost camps spread all the way along the coastal strips.
Thes camps are along the area from Fitzgerald Bay north of Whyalla all the way to Ceduna.

There are also many free camps inland and some are in national parks.
The national parks in Port Lincoln offer some of the most idealic camps in Aus in my opinion.

Local knowledge is paramount for things to do and places to see so dont be afraid to ask the friendly locals on both peninsulas.
Allow yourself the time to check out the various areas as you may be surprised at the interesting points along your journey.

If you dont have it, I would download Wiki Camps onto your phone or tablet and search each leg of your planned trip.

Enjoy the seafood, the local bakeries, coffe shops etc.

If I was doing the trip I personally would choose autumn over spring as I find it is a bit less windy....some places Like Elliston and the west coast in general can be windy at most times.

Enjoy your trip both peninsulas are a great holiday venue without the traffic of the eastern states.

Oh and I should add that on the EP all the locals will wave as you pass them on the highway. (That how you pck a local)
I might add here that if you decide late spring /summer then just be aware that it is grain harvesting season and there will be an extra number of trucks on the road during this time.

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Friday 14th of July 2017 01:11:53 PM

-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Friday 14th of July 2017 01:12:34 PM

Wow! thanks Geoff. That's the really useful sort of stuff we need to know. We have Wikicamps and it's a great guide, not too bothered about free camps but we'd go for them if the locations are something special.

Cheers,

Gaylehere · Guru

Hi Southern Comfort, Did a trip around Eyre Peninsula in May this year and agree with what Dickodownunder says. Didn't do the York so cannot comment on that one.

Port Augusta - We stayed at the CP at Stirling North. It's only 2 stars but we were happy with it. Cost us (2 people) $20pn for a powered site. It says under new management and maintenance work was being done - the ablutions block was being painted, grounds being improved. The water was hot in the showers and clean.

Point Lowly - Beautiful spot. Toilets, Cold showers. No power. $8 to be put into the honesty box on the ablution block wall. Fill out the short form for your permit. Take a walk to the lighthouse. Saw dolphins off shore.

Fitzgerald Bay - Free camp. We stayed at Pebble (Shingle Beach). Lovely spot too.

Whyalla - Stayed at the Whyalla CP. $27. Nice park. Clean and tidy. Did laundry here. Machines take $1.00 coins so keep plenty of them for CP washing machines.

Cleve - Showgrounds. Toilets and showers and Honesty box set up. Clean.

Lipson Cove - Went here for a drive from Tumby Bay just to see what it was like. Honesty box and permit set up. Lovely spot also - you come over the hill and very pretty. Toilets (but didn't check them out).

Tumby Bay - Stayed at RV camp sight. No toilets when we were there. Dump Point and Potable water there though if I remember correctly. Permit and honesty box. $ value at that time was whatever one thought was a fair price.

Louth Bay - Toilets. Clean. Not a real big area. $10 with honesty box set up.

Port Lincoln - Didn't stay here but did check out the 2 RV Camp areas. The one near the Wooden boat museum is on a slope. The area down the hill by the museum isn't a part of the RV area. The one at the other end of town is better (flatter). Toilets here and nice walk to the headland. Camps 8 says motorhomes only.

Coffin Bay - Stayed at the CP. $33. Nice and clean with good amenities.

Walkers Rock Camp Ground - Near the beach. Used the toilets. Clean enough. Picnic area. Follow road to Day Use area. Don't camp to close to the grass/bushes. Were mice when we were there. Quite windy also. Would we stay there again. Yes.

Streaky Bay - Stayed at the new Island's Road CP. See heading New Caravan Park in SA heading on this forum. $28pn powered when we were there.
We checked out the RV camp area. Did not appeal to us and no one else there so decided to stay at CP instead.
Also checked out Tractor Beach. A bit squeezy. Honesty box and permit set up.

Didn't stay in Ceduna. Went as far west as Penong to see the windmill museum. Free camped east of Penong at Watraba Parking area I think it was. Share with trucks so stay to one side and give them room.

Tcharkuldu Rock (near Minnipa). Good big camp area. Honesty box near picnic tables/shelter for those who wish to make a donation. No permit. Can climb the rock. Toilets. Gas BBQ. Shade trees or open area. Historic small home ruin with signage here also. A lot of people stay at Pildappa Rock. The camp area is around the back not where you first drive in. Visit both places.

Kimba - stayed at the Recreational grounds this trip as wanted to use the shower. $1 for 2 minutes but nice and hot. Dump point here also. Apex/Lions park also very nice with toilets but no shower. Picnic facilities etc. Donation box when we used it in 2015. There is also another free camp in Kimba.

Would stay again at all the places we stayed at this time. We were there in May. The weather was mostly good. Very cold the night we stayed at Kimba - ice on the windscreen. A lot of very good coastal scenery. The cliffs on the west side of Eyre are very striking and the ocean on this side so different to the calm seas on the eastern side. Would I go again - You bet.

We enjoyed the guided tour of the ship Whyalla at the information centre. Also the guided tour of One Steel - 9am on Mondays.

Have a look at the Eyre and Wylie Sculptures at Kimba or just the view from the hill. The "Rocks" around Minnipa. Podla Rock was one. Do the scenic drives around Streaky Bay. Have a look at the sea lion colony. Winter Hill lookout and Old Mill lookout at Port Lincoln. The scenic drive in the national park at Coffin Bay. Murphy's Haystacks. The scenic drive near Sheringa. So much you can see.

Enjoy your trip. Cheers.

Robreen · Veteran Member

G'day Tony. Lovely places to visit. I would suggest spring would be the best time to visit particularly if you are into fishing. Some places I suggest to stay at along the way are My. Pleasant caravan park ( a bit cheaper), greenock oval (donation required), hamlet bridge (?free), Alford (wonderful, donation). Then down Yorkers. After doing Yorkers, Nelshaby near port pixie and then onto Eyre peninsula. As per dickodownunder. You will wish you had lots more time to spend.
Robert

Treecrest14 · Senior Member

Tony

Would recommend the new cvan park in Streaky Bay - best amenities block we have ever seen. streakybayislandscaravanpark.com.au/

There is free camping and we used wikicamps to find the locations like Haslam (on the coast and donation only) and Kimba (3 rock formations to see) etc.

wendyv · Guru

Another recommendation for Coffin Bay CP. Very pretty town, great coastal scenery if you drive down to the National Park fpr a look.
Whalers Way at Port Lincoln well worth doing. Pay fee and get key from Info Centre in Port Lincoln. Spectacular coastal scenery.
Also excellent cpastal scenery around Streaky Bay.
Detour off the highway at Minnipa and go look at Pildappa Rock - like WA's Wave Rock.

Steve11 · Senior Member

we were down YP earlier this year. Just around the corner from Pt Wakefield is a tiny town of Pt Clinton, neat small CP, but very friendly staff. on a Saturday the community club has great cheap meals. We found Pt Vincent cp nicer than Stansbury but both are great parks. Then onto Marion Bay, we loved it here, very friendly staff and great drives and walks along the coast in Innes NP. Also stayed at Point Turton, nice park on the coast. Take a drive along the coast south of Corny Point, there is lovely coastal walks and scenery. Heading north parks we enjoyed have been Pt Broughton, Clare and Spear Creek in the foothills outside Pt Augusta. We might be on Eyre P at the same time! Good luck.

Steve

SouthernComfort · Guru

Thanks so much to everyone above for this great info. We really appreciate the effort you have all gone to.

I saw the thread about the new CP at Streaky Bay and it was the first thing I put on the list! At the moment it seems we might plan longer than the 6 weeks we'd anticipated, or maybe even take off with no fixed end date - which means we could be gone for some time! Looking forward to it though, we've always enjoyed our visits to SA but there's much we haven't seen. Compared to the east coast we're anticipating quieter roads, probably a drier/more stable climate, and a generally less frenetic environment to be in.

moamajohn · Guru

Thank you all from me too as we are off over there in 2 weeks and we truly had no plan [as usual ] or any ideas regarding stopping .Most helpful ! Cheers

PeterInSa · Guru

Lots of great Bush Camping on YP see below.

www.visityorkepeninsula.com.au/images/bush_camping_map.pdf

https://www.visityorkepeninsula.com.au/camping

-- Edited by PeterInSa on Saturday 15th of July 2017 01:07:56 PM

PeterD · Guru

Whilst there are not many free camps on the Yorke there are plenty of bush camps @ $10 per night or $50 per week. For permits see this site. In addition to Peter's links I like this one. It is an interactive map.

Whilst we were working we explored each of the peninsulas one trip at a time. From Canberra each occupied a 6 weeks trip.

wendyv · Guru

If you are able to travel on unsealed roads, a visit to the Gawler Ranges/Mt Ive station is well worthwhile. Mt Ive offers powered sites as well as bush camping. Through them, you can access the brilliant Lake Gairdner - much better than Lake Eyre! If you are coming from the west coast of Eyre Peninsula, can go up to Mt Ive via Minnipa, and after that, direct to Port Augusta via Iron Knob.

SouthernComfort · Guru

wendyv wrote:
If you are able to travel on unsealed roads, a visit to the Gawler Ranges/Mt Ive station is well worthwhile. Mt Ive offers powered sites as well as bush camping. Through them, you can access the brilliant Lake Gairdner - much better than Lake Eyre! If you are coming from the west coast of Eyre Peninsula, can go up to Mt Ive via Minnipa, and after that, direct to Port Augusta via Iron Knob.

Thanks Wendy, sounds tempting. The van is a semi off-roader but the car is a RWD Territory. I'm aiming to change the car ultimately, but not before this trip. I'm ok with unsealed in good condition, but not if flood prone or badly rutted tracks.

wendyv · Guru

Should not have to worry about floods or even ruts on those roads. Could be corrugations though, and the odd slightly sandy patch - depends on when last graded. I would expect the section from Mt Ive out to the highway near Iron Knob to be the better part. If interested, you could maybe phone Mt Ive and ask for an honest comment on the roads.