The Eyre Peninsula was next level fun for us! Think crystal clear water, white sandy beaches and a whole lot of supaw dog-friendly activities. After travelling the whole country, I’d safely say that this peninsula was one of the most dog friendly coastal areas we came across…and also one of the most relaxed! There is soo much to explore here with your fur friend; pink lakes, ancient rock formations, rockpools, caves, beaches…the list goes on.
Read on to find out more....
Where is it:
The eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula is around a 4.5 hour drive from Adelaide. We headed onto the Eyre Peninsula after already exploring the Yorke Peninsula first. This is an absolute must do and I’m sure we will be back again. What a gem :)
My favourite dog friendly activities:
Murphy’s Haystacks – take a walk through these huge rock formations. It is a privately owned attraction with just a gold coin donation entry fee and is 100% dog friendly, so you and your fur baby can explaw together
Streaky Bay Rockpools "Smooth Pool" - just a short walk from the carpark these gorgeous rock pools are protected from the surf and you and your furry friend can go for a dip and easily view an abundance of different fish species. This is a free activity.
Talia Caves: there are some beautiful rock pools to swim in at this location, and you and your pooch can walk into the cave to check it out. But be careful, it is a sloping cave and can be very slippery to walk on (we took some pics from just inside the entrance to be safe), it is well worth a visit. This is a free activity.
Whalers Way - Privately owned land that offers some of the most spectacular views of the dramatic SA coastline. Permits can be purchased for $40 per car and it’s a self-guided tour that we spent around half a day exploring. We absolutely loved this! Although the roads were a bit rough I’d highly recommend a 4x4 and to pack your own lunch and supplies (don't forget the dog treats) as there are no facilities here, other than toilets and picnic tables. A nice highlight at the end was driving up the sand dunes to a secluded beach for a swim. I went skinny dipping, the pawrents opted to keep their clothes on ;)
Lake MacDonnell Pink Salt Lake – Best viewed on a clear sunny day it’s a must do if your in Ceduna (approx 45 min drive) or if your heading towards the Nullarbor. It is not always pink so best to check with the locals before heading out. Side note: you do need to be careful of traffic as there is no designated car pull over area to view the lake, the only photo option is a super quick snap on the side of the road.
Images: Whalers Way and Locks Well
Our favourite camps on the Eyre Peninsula were:
Perlubie Beach - Camping right on the beach! We met the most amazing people here and had soo much fun splashing around in the shallow water all day. The tide can go out quite far here making for a huge stretch of sand beach area to play on. Up one end of the beach you can explore the huge sand dunes (daddy carried me all the way back as my little paws got tired) and head up the other end to find caves and rock pools. You need to be self-sufficient as there is no drinking water and limited facilities available and be careful of the tides here so your not swimming out of your caravan in the morning. We had no issues getting in and out of this camp with our caravan, but a few others did.
Greenly Beach – we camped up on the cliff overlooking the ocean. There is a huge rockpool here that you can swim around in with turquoise water and an abundance of fish to see.
Point Brown, Smoky Bay – we stayed at the beach camp at Saint Mary Bay. Every day we caught fish off the beach and we watched the seals play off the rocks towards the point and caught a few squid there. There is the most pristine rock pool here also, make sure to check it out! It is called “The Rock Holes” and its deep enough to dive into for a swim and of course is also dog friendly.
Ceduna Foreshore Caravan Park – one of the cleanest and most stunning caravan parks on our whole trip. The fishing here is great also, we caught big blue swimmer crabs right off the pier infront of the caravan park and cooked them up in the parks facilities.
Pildappa Rock camp – if you head a little inland you will find South Australia’s “Wave Rock.” You can park right next to the rock to camp, walk around the entire rock and climb up on top of the rock – all with your doggo. A really nice suprise that we weren't expecting was all the little rockpools up on top of the rock. Of course I jumped in for a little dip :) When we camped here we also had the entire place all to ourselves, magic! Hot tip: Sunrise & Sunset up the top are absolutely stunning, it takes your breath away.
Images: Pildappa Rock
Favourite places to Eat:
1802 Oyster Bar, Coffin Bay - Dog friendly on the front deck, this is a beautiful restaurant for those wanting something a little bit more special or a romantic meal out.
Port Kenny Hotel – A great little place for a feed close to Venus Bay. When we arrived they were more then happy me to sit at the bar with mum and dad for a drink. We also went here for dinner one night and as it was very quiet me and my little dachshund friend Daisy were welcome to run around in the beer garden and play with the toys.
The pawrents ate their own body-weight in fresh oysters each day! You can buy them un-shucked direct from the growers along the Eyre Peninsula and most sell for only $10-12 per dozen.
Best time to visit:
It's best to visit this area in the warm summer months between December- February so you can really enjoy all it's beautiful beaches have to offer.
Claim to fame:
We visited the beautiful Farm Beach (near Coffin Bay) where Mel Gibson filmed scenes for the movie Gallipoli.
Final thoughts:
We ended up spending a few months in total exploring South Australia and this was by far our favourite dog friendly location in the state. There are soo many more amazing things to see and do in this region, I have just listed my top picks here. If you into more low cost, easy going camping without too many restrictions then you will love this part of Australia.
Safe travels
xx Brittney
@brittneythecutiepie
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