Welcome back! In case you missed it, last week was a detailed Part I of our time in South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. This week I’ll pick up where we left off, on the peninsula’s pinky toe, Corny Point.
After a minor set back with our van Mal (where I filled her with Diesel instead of Unleaded *face palm) we fuel up with the good stuff. Unleaded fuel for Mal and bacon and egg rolls for us. Today we’re off to Innes National Park, home to the Narungga people.
Innes National Park is an play ground for adventure seekers. Here you can explore one of the six hiking trails, go fishing, enjoy the wildlife, go surfing, scuba diving or simply relax overlooking rugged cliffs and sandy beaches.
Eager for a coffee – then and there – we hastily pay the National Park fees (approx $30 to visit and camp for a night) and make our way to Ethel Beach. Whilst I wait for my coffee to brew, I take a walk down to the beach to find a ship wreck. This is the Investigator Strait Shipwreck Trail after all.
Caffeinated and ready to explore, we resist the urge to swim at Ethel, however tempting it was to swim with dolphins and continue on to Shell Beach. It is here I feel myself transport back to Esperance, WA for a mere moment. The idyllic lapping shores, the turquoise waters and the best part being barely any other people.
But it’s not the beach we are here for alone. It is well known that South Australia is infamous for it’s stunning rockpools, large enough for you to swim in and we are determined to find one. We laze the afternoon away and adjust to holiday time.
On arrival…
We opted to stay at Casuarina Campground due to it’s proximity to the beach (access to Pondalowie Bay) and it’s lack of other campers. Unfortunately for us, we were joined by another couple last minute. But, for most of the afternoon the whole campsite was ours. Resources are limited down here and rain water has been scarce, so thankfully we’d filled up Mal before coming and cherished our hot showers in Corny Point.
If we came back, I’d definitely stay here, Browns Beach or Cable Bay for the same reasons as above – mostly being – close to the beach and not as busy.
With our wine pre-purchased and our provisions packed right, we settle in for the night. Without phone reception or electricity we are reduced to conversing which I’m sure you can agree, these days, is a much enjoyed rarity.
Unfortunately for me the two surf beaches: Pondalowie Bay & West Cape were as flat as a pancake. Despite their reputations as being good quality beach breaks, I can’t deny I wasn’t crushed.
After that…
The following day we slowly amble along the coast stopping frequently and take in the view at West Cape Lighthouse.
At this point we quickly realise we’re out of drinking water and mosy on to Marion Bay where I quickly brew my morning coffee. Who would have thought the most valuable item to have packed in my carry-on luggage would have been a French Press and a bag of Ethiopia’s finest bean.
At this point we have a serious decision to make. The weather is looking overcast and we have our final night on the coast without a destination in mind. We get to Yorketown to try a freshly baked Yorketown pasty (scrumptious) and decide to follow our noses for the day. Which leads us to the Dalrymple Hotel in Stansbury. I’d read about the fruits of Oyster Bay and was dying to sample a locally grown, freshly shucked mollusc.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be, but nothing makes up for a lost mollusc like a fresh seafood curry (nothing frozen about this marinara). With a cool, crisp glass of Reisling by Skillogalee (grown, picked and bottled just up in the road in the Clare).
To digest we walked along the pier and at last minute decide to drive back to Wool Bay for a last minute dip. Before getting back on the Vincent Highway anyway. And follow our noses we did. We ended up driving all the way down to the Barossa for our final night. More about that later…
Unfortunately that sums up our time on the Yorke Peninsula. All I can say is I wish we had more time.
Time to explore and to relax.
With experience comes hindsight and as such, I’m listing the places I wished we had time to visit. I guess you could say this is where I’d go first when I come back.
- Point Turton – similar to Port Hughes and just as picturesque
- Daly head – a surfers paradise
- Hillocks drive – stay in their ocean pod
- Clare valley – Reisling. Need I say more?
- The Flinders Ranges – hiking and the expansive landscape
- Lake Bumbunga – a picturesque pink lake
- Adelaide Hills – Pinot Noir. Need I say more?
- Price – a town with over 200 pink salt lakes, simply stunning
Something that I would be more interested in doing is ‘Walk the Yorke’ a 500km coastal trail. Where it loops the entire peninsula.
Lastly, if you are planning a camping / #vanlife / road trip, you should definitely download the campermate app. It was really helpful in letting us know where all the available campsites and caravan parks were. As well as information about the towns as you’re passing through.
Join me next week for ’24 hours in the Barossa’!
Until then xo