AUSTRALIA’S COASTAL PLAYGROUND

The Yorke Peninsula boasts some of Australia’s most pristine and untouched coastlines - it’s an RVers dream!

WORDS BY MICHELLE SERGEANT, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON DELEEUW

A trip to South Australia would not be complete without a tour of the Yorke Peninsula. Shaped like a boot and with 700km of unspoilt coastline, plenty of fishing and popular surfing beaches, there’s something for everyone.

PORT PIRIE

Our story starts in the gorgeous city of Port Pirie. We had free camped just 30km to the north and we popped into town early, wanting to spend an entire day checking it out. The kids were absolutely delighted to find the local playground on the waterfront, and I must say, by this stage we had been most of the way around the country on our big lap and this was one of the biggest by far.

We took a stroll down the main street and were drawn to the former Port Pirie Railway Station. The Ellen Street Station opened in late 1902 and increased the two room building to four. It eventually closed to passenger traffic in 1967 and was purchased by the National Trust of South Australia in 1971. The four rooms that make up the building snake around in a maze with hundreds of amazing artefacts on show. Not only does it give you a look back at the old railway, it gives you a wonderful insight into the rich history of Port Pirie and makes you realise what an integral part of South Australia this little town has become.

ALFORD

After a wonderfully entertaining day in Port Pirie it was time to continue our way southward. We had found an entry in WikiCamps for a camp in Alford, a small rural town 20km north of Kadina, so decided to go check it out. Alford has a population of about 45 and about the same number in surrounding farms. The local bowls club operates from October to March and visitors are welcome to play, practice or just stop by for a drink.

Campers are asked to make a donation in one of two donation boxes and the site is run by locals who stop by to maintain the gardens, stock supplies in the ablutions block and just generally make sure the place looks fantastic. The site itself is located on the old Alford primary school, which closed its doors in 2004 due to declining student numbers. There is also a BBQ shelter, a playground and a basketball court. The space is available to campers, caravanners and visitors alike.

The locals that operate this site have put a lot of thought into the facilities they provide and the way they wish to promote this space. Included with the wonderful amenities is a notice board which provides information about local businesses which campers can patronise. We found out the Alford hotel offers great meals at a reasonable price. There is even an advertisement for one of the caravan parks further down the highway, with a special code word that can be quoted by Alford visitors, in order to receive a discount.

MINLATON

The next day we headed down to the one of the regional centres on the peninsula so that we could visit the tourist information office and further plan our journey. Minlaton, originally named Gum Flat, was designated as a town on 15th January 1876. The townsfolk are immensely proud of the story of Captain Henry Butler and his ‘Red Devil’ – a tiny historic WWI monoplane flown by Butler, who was born in Yorketown. In August 1919 he flew the first ever batch of mail over the sea in the southern hemisphere from Adelaide to Minlaton. The original plane has now been reconstructed and is on display in the Harry Butler Memorial on the main street of town. He was also enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps after making his way over to England and took part in many missions to learn of new German flying tactics. He then returned to the flying school to teach the counter measures he had created.

A great place to stop for a picnic while in Minlaton is at the H.J. Cook Fauna Park. This is an open mesh enclosure which houses emus as well as local species of kangaroos and wallabies. You can even view emu chicks in late spring. There are many shady picnic areas around the perimeter with BBQs, tables and chairs on the western side of the park.

If you’ve been travelling without the comfort of a shower in recent days, ladies can stop in at the public ablutions block on the main street of town and for only 20 cents can have a hot shower there. Unfortunately for the fellas, these same facilities are not available.

The visitor information centre at Minlaton is a good stop before you head further south. It was here that we purchased our permits for the council run campsites that are available around the peninsula. They are situated at 29 Main St and also sell fresh coffee and home-made cakes.

The camping permit we purchased cost $35 and provided us with access to all of the council run sites around the peninsula, and we were free to move between sites during a seven day period.

After leaving Minlaton we decided to head straight around to Burners Beach and check it out as a potential camp site. It’s only a short 12km from Point Turton, so you are close enough to town to drive back for supplies if you need them. Once we arrived we immediately decided we would be happy to stay in this spot for at least a few days. The good thing about travelling around the Yorke Peninsula is that the distances aren’t too far, so you’re actually better off setting up camp in one spot and then day-tripping out to other locations. Saves you packing up and setting up again each time you want to visit a new place.

There are a good 20 or so campsites available at Burners, as well as drop toilets (although do take your own toilet paper). You will also need to BYO water and firewood. We pulled up literally 10 metres from the beach and set up camp.

INNES NATIONAL PARK

After a relaxing three nights at Burners, we decided to make our way straight down the south west tip of the peninsula to Innes National Park as we knew the stunning scenery on offer there was second to none! Now, if you’re planning a trip here, make sure you book and pay online before you go. Campsites are numbered and strictly allocated, so jump on the S.A. national parks website to avoid disappointment.

This 92 square kilometre setting is home to emus, kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, dolphins and whales. We had to bear in mind that there are only a couple of camp sites suitable for accommodating caravans, so we made our way directly to the Pondalowie campground. There is plenty of room here with generous sized, flat, level sites. As the day was getting on a bit we just parked the van and went out sight-seeing. Our first stop was the West Cape Lighthouse. The walking track from the car park up to the lighthouse is an easy one and we had no trouble, even with two small children in tow. It’s an absolutely breath-taking walk, with a nearly a full 360° ocean view!

Our next stop was to visit the wreck of the old ship ‘Ethel’, on the beach which now bears her name. The story goes that the ‘Ethel’ travelled along Investigator Strait in 1904, and ran aground on the reef due to strong winds and poor visibility. In the true sense of the word ‘irony’, a boiler named ‘Ferret’ was the first vessel to discover them and send for help. However, the ship then ran into trouble on the same beach 16 years later! The remains you see on the beach now are those of the ‘Ethel’ and the ‘Ferret’. The timing of our trip to this location was extremely fortunate as a severe storm a couple of months earlier had caused a great deal of erosion on the beach and had left a huge portion of the wrecks visible – much more so than in recent years.

YORKETOWN

After our short one night stay in Innes National Park we ventured north east to Yorketown. We had discovered our vehicle needed some repairs and after several phone calls from the national park, we found our guy.

For us Yorketown was not a place we had intended to stay for long, but we were not disappointed when we did hang around for a few days. Our mechanic needed to wait for the part to arrive so we spent our days exploring this wondrous region. Yorketown sits at the junction of five roads leading to towns all the same distance away and is surrounded by about 200 salt lakes. I kid you not when I say Yorketown is home to one of the nation’s best bakeries. The Yorketown Bakehouse lives up to its claim of being “more than just a bakery” and has been in business for over 130 years. We spent our days finding bargains at the local opportunity shops and the local council run caravan park was exceptional value at only $25 a night including power.

A day trip out to Edithburgh provided us with an insight into just how much South Australia’s wind farms contribute to the total power on the grid. The Wattle Point region, adjacent to Edithburgh, has one of the highest average wind speeds on mainland Australia and wind energy now produces 20 per cent of the state’s electricity. It really is an amazing site to see the numerous wind turbines in action, and hear their gentle rhythmic whooshing, as they do their work.

If you ever get a chance, do make sure you take the time to explore the length of the Yorke Peninsula. Whether you’re into rugged untouched coastlines, or just after a cosmopolitan shopping experience, you’ll find plenty to keep you entertained, and you’re only an hour’s drive from Adelaide!