Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The east-coast road along Gulf St Vincent traces the coast within 1km or 2km of the wa-
ter. En route, roads dart east to sandy beaches and holiday towns. Like the suburban
Adelaide beaches across the gulf, this is prime crab-fishing territory.
Most of the coastal towns have a pub and a caravan park or camping ground, including
unpretentious Port Vincent (population 480). The closest thing Yorkes has to a back-
packers is the utilitarian Tuckerway Hostel ( 08-8853-7285; tuckerway14@bigpond.com;
14 Lime Kiln Rd, Port Vincent; dm from $21; ) - a concrete-block bunker uphill from the
town containing simple dorms and a large kitchen.
Further south, Edithburgh (population 400) is roughly aligned with Adelaide's latit-
ude, and has a tidal swimming pool in a small cove. From the cliff-tops, views extend
offshore to sandy Troubridge Island Conservation Park ( www.environment.sa.gov.au ) .
You can stay the night at the Troubridge Island Lighthouse ( 08-8852 6290;
www.lighthouse.net.au ; per adult/child incl transfers $80/30, min charge $320) . It sleeps 10;
BYO food and linen. Little penguins still live here, but the island is steadily eroding −
what the sea wants, the sea will have…
Back on the mainland, the surprisingly hip Tipper's B&B ( 08-8852 6181;
www.tippersedithburgh.com.au ; 35 Blanche St; d from $150; ) is on Edithburgh's main street,
with two suites occupying an ochre-coloured former blacksmiths (1890s).
TOP OF CHAPTER
South Coast & Innes National Park
The peninsula's south coast is largely sheltered from the Southern Ocean's fury by
Kangaroo Island, so there are some great swimming beaches along here. The surf finds
its way through around Troubridge Point and Cape Spencer, where the Cutloose Yorkes
Classic surf comp happens every October.
Cape Spencer is part of Innes National Park ( 08-8854 3200;
www.environment.sa.gov.au ; Stenhouse Bay Rd, Stenhouse Bay; per car $10; visitor centre
10.30am-3pm Wed-Sun) , where sheer cliffs plunge into indigo waters and rocky offshore
islands hide small coves and sandy beaches. Marion Bay ( www.marionbay.com.au ) , just
outside the park, and Stenhouse Bay and Pondalowie Bay , both within the park, are
the main local settlements. Pondalowie Bay has a bobbing lobster-fishing fleet and a
gnarly surf beach (keep one eye on the swell if you're swimming).
The rusty ribs of the 711-tonne steel barque Ethel, which foundered in 1904, arc for-
lornly from the sands just south of Pondalowie Bay. Follow the sign past the Cape Spen-
 
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