Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Off the Gulf St Vincent coast, top dive sites include Second Valley, Rapid Bay jetty,
scuttled off Yankalilla Bay in 2002. Other good dive sites include the Yorke Peninsula
jetties and the reefs off Port Lincoln. Freshwater cave diving around Mount Gambier is
Rock Climbing
Rock spiders keen on 10m to 15m cliffs can clamber over the gorges in Morialta Conser-
vation Park and Onkaparinga River Recreation Park, both on the outskirts of Adelaide.
More-advanced climbers should head for the Flinders Ranges: SA's premier cliff is at
Moonarie on the southeastern side of Wilpena Pound − 120m! Buckaringa Gorge, close
to Quorn and Hawker, is another fave for the more daring. Contact the
Climbing Club of
Swimming & Surfing
Uncrowded, white-sand swimming beaches stretch right along the SA coast; the safest
for swimming are along the Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf coasts. Anywhere exposed
to the Southern Ocean and the Backstairs Passage (between Kangaroo Island and the
mainland) may have strong rips and undertows. If you're after that all-over-tan look,
head for the nudie southern end of Maslin Beach, 40km south of Adelaide.
The SA coast is pummelled by rolling Southern Ocean swells. Pennington Bay has the
most consistent surf on Kangaroo Island, while Pondalowie Bay on the Yorke Peninsula
has the state's strongest breaks. Other hot spots are scattered between Port Lincoln on the
Eyre Peninsula and the famous Cactus Beach in the far west. Closer to Adelaide, the
beaches around Port Elliot have accessible surf, with swells often holding around 2m;
other gnarly breaks are Waitpinga Beach and Parsons Beach, 12km southwest of Victor
Harbor.
The best surfing season is March to June, when the northerlies blow. See
www.surfsouthoz.com
for surf reports.
You can take surfing lessons and hire gear on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Whale Watching
Between May and October, migrating southern right whales cruise within a few hundred
metres of SA shores as they head to/from their Great Australian Bight breeding grounds.
Once prolific, southern right whales suffered unrestrained slaughter during the 19th cen-
tury, which reduced the whale population from 100,000 to just a few hundred by 1935.
