Sea Lions & Dolphins in South Australia
When the Australian border reopening was announced, we immediately booked flights to visit my mom in the US, who we haven’t seen since November of 2019. About a month before departure, we got an email from Qantas about a flight schedule change. Not only did we now have a 16 hour layover in Los Angeles, but we were removed from the exit row (which we purchased when we booked the flight). The flight cost about double the usual fare, so we decided to postpone until the end of January when international travel was hopefully closer to normal.
I had 23 days off of work (thanks to the Aussie tradition of Christmas shutdown), so we decided to use up a credit from our last trip to South Australia.
As we booked this trip about six weeks out, and with the majority of Australians holidaying in Australia, we cobbled together an itinerary based on what we could find. Our initial itinerary was:
- Fly to Port Lincoln
- Free day (in case of flight delays)
- Three days with Calypso
- Free day (Christmas)
- Drive to Streaky Bay
- Two days with Baird Bay Eco Adventures
- Drive back to Port Lincoln and fly back to Sydney
The first challenge was getting in to South Australia. Three days before departure, we went to the drive through clinic for a PCR test. The nearest testing centre is 40 mins away (because we moved to the bush). We got there right when they opened. there was already a line but it moved pretty quickly. We received out negative results 16 hours later. Tick.
The two-hour flight from Sydney to Adelaide was uneventful. We had the exit row, so by the time we deplaned there was a long queue to check entry permits, test results, etc. We must have looked healthy because an SES guy waved us over, asked if we’d been overseas in the past 14 days, and then waved us through to baggage claim. Tick.
The next hurdle was the arrival PCR test. Port Lincoln does PCR tests at the hospital, but you need an appointment and they are only open a few hours a day. Adelaide has a clinic at the airport, so we changed our plans a few days prior to departure to fly into Adelaide a day early to take care of testing. Unfortunately the line at the airport clinic was 3 hours long, so we decided to go first thing in the morning because our flight wasn’t until noon. We checked in to the Atura and were given the “the nicest room in the hotel”.
The airport clinic supposedly opened at 8, however when I heard planes begin landing at 6:30 I suspected that it opened earlier than that so we rushed over to get a spot in line. It took about 30 minutes, but by the time we were through the line was back to the parking lot. The negative results came through that night. Tick.
Port Lincoln Accommodation
We stayed at the Port Lincoln Cabin Park because it was literally the only place we could get a booking. It was clean enough and kind of like a dated caravan park cabin. The location was great because it was walking distance to town and right across from Beer Garden Brewing. The only downside was some noise from the nearby Viterra grain storage and handling facility.
Coffin Bay National Park
We spent the first day exploring Coffin Bay National Park. We brought our paddle boards and conditions were great so we put in right near the wade-in oyster experience. We paddled for about an hour and went over to the peninsula and around goat island. We even had a cheeky little dolphin play with us for a bit.
After the paddle, we drove around the national park. Our first stop was Long Beach and we made a mental note to come back here to SUP at high tide.
Next up was Almonta Beach, which had unbelievably turquoise water and pristine white sand dotted with bright pink kelp.
Yangie Bay looked like another great place to SUP, and the trees were covered in galahs.
Our last stop was the Templetonia Lookout for a nice view of Mount Dutton and Mena Hill.
Underwater
Andy spent two days on the shark boat and in exchange for 13-hour days he was rewarded with FIVE different sharks on both days.
I spent three days swimming with the sea lions at Grindal, Blyth, and Hopkins Island.
We spent Christmas Day exploring Lincoln National Park. We did the Donington Loop Hike, which was a nice, flat 6km walk along the coast and through bushland.
After five days in Port Lincoln, we headed three hours north-west to Streaky Bay. We took a few detours along the way to some isolated beaches. South Australia really is stunning.
Streaky Bay
When looking for accommodation, I first called the caravan park that we stayed at in 2019. The person on the phone laughed at me, because they’d been book for months due to the borders being closed. There were no AirBNB’s either, but there were rooms at the Streaky Bay Hotel.
“Hotel” in Australia is a synonym for pub, because back in the day you needed to provide accommodation to get a liquor license. Most neighbourhoods have a local “hotel”, but in more isolated towns they are often the only option. They typically have a restaurant/pub, pokies, and a bottle shop.
I don’t know what the rest of the rooms are like, but our room was huge and opened to a shared verandah with a lovely view of the bay. There was some noise from the street around closing time, but it didn’t last long.
Westall Way Loop
We had one free day and took a drive on the Westall Way Loop. I said it above but this part of South Australia really is stunning. We started to strategise about how to extend our trip by a few days.
Underwater
We spent two days with Baird Bay Eco Adventures, swimming with the sea lions and dolphins.
Back to Port Lincoln
We were supposed to head back to Sydney at this point, but there was no reason to rush back so we began to strategise about how to extend our holiday. We saw on Instagram that our friends over at KI Marine Adventures had been having some unreal dolphin encounters – OK – we were “influenced” to go to Kangaroo Island. A few hours later we had a plan.
There were no hire cars available in Kangaroo Island, and the ferry had VERY limited availability. The best option was to spend a few more days in Port Lincoln, then fly to Adelaide, and then drive down to Cape Jervis to get the ferry. The Covid Omicron outbreak worked in our favour because the Marina Hotel and Calypso had last minute cancellations.
The additional days in Port Lincoln were EPIC. We hit the trifecta of great conditions: clear water, beautiful light, and most importantly, keen sea lions.
We also took the paddle boards on a spin around the gloriously flat bay.
Down to Cape Jervis
We then flew an hour east to Adelaide and picked up a hire car. The only ferry we could get was early in the morning, which is how we ended up staying a night in Cape Jervis in the Shearer’s Quarters at the Cape Jervis Big4 Campground.
Our room was clean, and the property had horses, and emus, and about one million gullahs.
The only option for food was the Cape Jervis Tavern and General Store. The store was having serious supply chain issues, so our only option for dinner was cheese and cracker snack packs or an entire side of beef. The Big4 had a camp store where we scored beer and Kraft Easy Mac & Cheese.
Cape Jervis has some gorgeous beaches and countryside.
Over to Kangaroo Island
We had a super early ferry, which put us onto the island by 8am. The early start meant we arrived at Cactus for breakfast before the lines (and everywhere was operating at 25% capacity due to Covid so bookings were essential, even for breakfast).
We had some time to kill before checking in to our accommodations so we drove around Kingscote and Emu Bay.
The Admirals Inn
When searching for accommodation, I often call and/or email places that show as booked online. I’d emailed the Admiral’s Inn and their initial response was that they were booked, however they got a cancellation five minutes after they emailed to say they were booked. What luck?!?
The two-bedroom house was spotless, had a great kitchen, and was within walking distance to town and the old jetty. We stayed three nights and spent two days with the dolphins.
KI Marine Adventures
This time of the year, the trip departs from Emu Bay and travels west. The conditions are fairly reliable, because the coast blocks the wind at this time of year. The dolphins go out to sea to feed at night, and show up along the coast in the morning like clockwork. We exhausted ourselves swimming with them but it was absolute bliss.
