The Eyre Peninsula (dead link: January 2023) is a coastal region of South Australia offering some spectacular holiday experiences - particularly wildlife interactions.
As you travel around the region, expect to see many mentions of pioneering explorer Matthew Flinders, who first visited the Spencer Gulf in 1802. Everyone who was even a vague acquaintance of Flinders has some geographical feature named after them in on the Eyre Peninsula. Most bestowed with these honours never ventured closer to Australia than the gardens of their English country manor houses.
Commercial flights operate to Whyalla, Ceduna and Port Lincoln from Adelaide. Port Augusta also has scheduled flights.
In addition to the airports with scheduled commercial services, many towns have an airfield for charter flights and general aviation. Some charge low landing fees, or are entirely free. These airstrips have a few facilities, and car hire is not available.
Because of the geography of the area, charter flights across the gulf from the Yorke Peninsula and Adelaide are often short and quick, and may offer a practical alternative to access the area.
Spencer Gulf Searoad runs a regular ferry service with two or three crossings on weekdays (dependent on time of year and weather) and single crossings on weekends. The ferry will make the 2-2.5hr run between Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula and Lucky Bay 15 km from Cowell on the mid-east coast of Eyre Peninsula.
Port Augusta is around 4 hours drive from Adelaide, which is at the start of the Lincoln Highway to Port Lincoln and the Eyre Highway towards Ceduna.
Premier Stateliner runs a daily services between Port Lincoln and Adelaide, with a second service terminating at Whyalla. This services Cowell, Arno Bay, Cleve, Port Neill, and Tumby Bay en route.
They also run several services a week to Ceduna, via Iron Knob, Kimba and Streaky Bay.
The Lincoln Highway from Port Augusta to Port Lincoln is roughly a 4 hour drive down the east coast of the peninsula, and the main road route from Adelaide and the east. The road is a sealed (paved) good quality road, with a speed limit of 110 km/h. There are no overtaking lanes for its entire distance, but there are long straight sections will allow for safe overtaking in good visibility conditions. The road is used by two trailer road trains (trucks), which can take additional care and patience when overtaking.
From Port August to Whyalla the road travels away from the coast, and the terrain is arid. There are no real stopping off points on this section. From Whyalla south the road travels closer to the coast, and there are regular towns to stop and visit, each with piers, beaches, bushwalks, accommodation and food. South from Whyalla the main stopping off points with good facilities are Cowell, Arno Bay, Port Neill, and Tumby Bay - each less than an hour apart.
The Eyre Peninsula is home to national parks, ancient caves, and the Nullarbor Plain - the vast, treeless plain that will fascinate anyone with an explorer's spirit.
You can have unforgettable sea adventures, like swimming with sea lions at Baird Bay, cage diving with Great White Sharks at Port Lincoln, and even swimming with tuna.
At Head of Bight it's the perfect vantage point for spotting giant whales as they undertake their annual migration through the Southern Ocean. Each year from May to October, this stretch of the Nullarbor Plain coastline becomes a free range creche for Southern Right Whales. Up to 60 of them annually migrate out of the Southern Ocean to these traditional breeding grounds and nursery; by the time they depart in spring, around 20 new calves will be ready for summer in the Antarctica.
Root beer is a very common drink in this area.
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