CAMPING ALONG WESTERN EYRE

Jamie Crawford passes on a heap of valuable information for anyone keen to visit, stay and fish along SA’s West Coast.

Fishing and camping go hand in hand, and we’re so fortunate with the coastal camping options we have here in our state. When the pandemic restricted travelling further afield, the local camping scene exploded with seemingly everyone exploring their own back yard. And while the extra tourism and was great for local towns, it did put pressure on our coastal campgrounds. The peak has subsided now, but it’s still given a lot of people a taste for holidaying closer to home, which isn’t a bad thing.

With the gaining popularity of camping along the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, some measures had to be put in place to help regulate coastal camping. Historically, it’s been ‘open slather’ on camping along this coast, with caravans and camper trailers scattered throughout the coastal scrub.

To help control this camping and assist with minimising impacts on the coastal ecosystem, local councils have started regulating camping at these popular locations. National Parks in South Australia started implementing an on-line booking system for their campgrounds back in 2013, and eventually rolled it out across state parks.

At first, this booking system wasn’t received warmly by locals, but after its implementation, most could see the benefit of booking in advance and regulating the number of campers. We used to see people leaving their caravans in the National Park for weeks leading up to a long weekend to ensure they acquired a prime camp site, and it was quite stressful driving from campground to campground during the peak holiday period trying to find that elusive vacant site. Being able to book in advance gives you the security of knowing you’ll have a campsite at the end of the day.

Farm Beach is a very popular launching spot in Coffin Bay

Below I’ll detail the camping options along the western side of the Eyre Peninsula, focusing on the campgrounds which offer access to good fishing. Most of these campgrounds require online booking, with prices listed valid at the time of writing (November 2023). It’s good practice to book your camp site in advance, and not to rely on having mobile service at the campsite.

I’m not going to get into the details of the West Coast caravan parks (Coffin Bay, Elliston, Venus Bay, Streaky Bay, Smoky Bay and Ceduna), but instead we’ll be looking at the unpowered camping away from these coastal townships. For camping in these listed grounds you will need to be self-sufficient, with adequate water and your own power source – whether solar, battery or generator. Some campsites prohibit or limit the use of generators (noise pollution) so be sure to check with local campground rules. Some of the listed campgrounds offer toilets, but others don’t, so you will need to be self sufficient in that department too.

FARM BEACH

Farm beach is a beautiful location around 25km to the north of Coffin Bay. To access Farm Beach, take the Farm Beach Road on the southern side of Wangary. Farm Beach marks the entrance to the Coffin Bay system, and is a popular stretch of sand for launching smaller boats and for swimming, given the protected water it offers. You can drive onto the beach easily and it offers quite firm sand for the most part.

Perfect bottom at Farm Beach

The beach used to be lined with caravans back in the day, but since this is no longer allowed, the little campground within the settlement is now a popular camping location. The campground is quite protected, with some trees offering a windbreak, and has 40 numbered sites available (all unpowered) at a cost of $10 per night. The campground offers a toilet block and cold showers. On-line bookings via www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping are required, and you can choose your allocated site at the time of booking.

The fishing options are vast and varied around Farm Beach – especially if you have a small boat at your disposal. The King George fishing is legendary through the Farm Beach and Gallipoli grounds, along with garfish, snook and some nice gummies also taken through the region.

Even for the land-based fishers King George, flathead, red mullet, tommies and salmon trout are available off the main beach by casting baits out to the sand holes. The southern stretch of the beach has some nice sand holes with the weed line pushing closer to shore. Some good land-based fishing is also available around at Little Douglas, and is a good option when the wind is up.

FRENCHMAN BLUFF

Frenchman Bluff is a rocky headland around 10km (as the crow flies) north of Farm Beach. There are a number of ways to access Frenchmans, but the most straightforward is to take Houston Lane turn-off 12km after Wangary heading north.

A nice top-water catch from Frenchman Bluff

This scene is typical of much of the West Coast

The campground consists of Frenchmans north with four campsites and Frenchmans south with 10 sites. Campsites need to be booked in advance via www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping at a cost of $5 per night. The sites are unallocated, and there are no toilets so you will need to be self sufficient. There is plenty of nice scrub surrounding the camp sites offering protection from prevailing winds and seclusion from other campers.

There are some good fishing options close to Frenchmans, and some within easy walking distance from the campsites. Frenchmans Beach offers some King George and transparent (school) whiting by casting next to the outcrops of scattered weed. Also expect to see some nice tommies, salmon trout and red mullet. If you cast too close to the weed, you will see plenty of weedy whiting and rock cod.

There are some good rock platforms on either end of this short beach. Establishing a berley trail often brings in some nice garfish, tommies and silver trevally, along with a few sweep. We have had big kingfish swim past these rocks on a number of occasions, especially during the months of December and January.

Fishing at night from these rocks also offers some bronze whalers during the warmer months, with some nice school and gummy sharks taken on baits on the bottom at night. Although the swell is largely buffered by Point Sir Isaac, it still goes without saying that extreme care needs to be taken while fishing from the rocks at any time, but especially at night.

GREENLY BEACH

Greenly has become one of the most popular stretches of coast along the lower Eyre Peninsula for camping, and for good reason. It’s a stunning beach offering campsites overlooking the ocean. To access Greenly Beach, you can take the 11km dirt road from Frenchmans and weave your way through the backroads, or take the 12km dirt road straight off Flinders Highway.

There are nine allocated sites right next to the beach at Greenly which offer stunning ocean views and beach access, but note they are quite open and exposed to the elements. There are a further three campsites at the nearby Eucalypt campground and one site at the Wattle campground that are all set back from the coast in the scrub. There are no toilets provided, and you will need to book these sites in advance via www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping with a site cost at $10 per night.

The beach fishing at Greenly can be good once some defined gutters are scoured along the coast, with some big salmon up to 4kg caught, especially during winter and into spring. Salmon trout and mullet can be caught year-round from the beach, along with a few good sized tommies and the occasional nice flathead from the surf. There is 7km of coastline to explore from Coles Point through to End Bay.

Greenly Beach offers great camping and fishing options

Coles Point

Coles Point is a big headland on the southern side of Greenly Beach, and offers some good rock fishing for sweep, salmon and snook by drifting unweighted baits down a berley trail. Before the state-wide snapper ban came into effect in 2019 some nice reds used to be caught from the headland, along with the occasional nannygai and plenty of wrasse. Fishing from the rocks at night offers gummy and school sharks, especially during the cooler months.

POINT DRUMMOND

Point Drummond is the next allocated campsite on the West Coast, located 24km north of Greenly beach as the crow flies, or a 44km drive from Greenly Beach via Flinders Highway. There are five unallocated campsites at Drummond, which can be booked via the www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping website at $5 per night.

These are coastal campsites offering awesome views, but no protection, and are quite open to the southerly quarter. There are no toilets offered at Drummond either so you will need to cater for this. Drummond is usually a bit quieter than some of the other campgrounds located along this stretch of coast.

Point Drummond is an interesting headland offering plenty of little rocky outcrops and crevices, with some really good rock fishing for King George, sweep, salmon and snook, along with the inevitable rock cod of varying species. Halls Bay is a short drive from Point Drummond, and also offers some nice King George, trevally and salmon from the rocks. Free diving is really popular around Drummond and Hall Bay.

Hall Bay

There is beach access at the northern end of Picnic Beach where small boats can be launched, plus the beach offers fishing for mullet, tommies and King George closer to the rocks, with bigger salmon on offer to the south once the beach opens up to the westerly swell.

Point Drummond is a legendary rock/beach fishing location

Richard Katschner with a big EP salmon

SHERINGA

Sheringa is a popular stretch of coast for surfers along with fisho’s, located 40km to the south of Elliston. There are 14 unallocated campsites located over two grounds, with toilets and cold showers on offer. Campsites can be booked via www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping for $20 per night. The salmon fishing can be amazing along the surf beaches to the north of the campgrounds, especially during the winter months when schools of fish push close to shore. Some nice bronze whalers are also caught from Sheringa, along with gummy sharks at night.

To the south of the campgrounds is a semi-protected beach where small boats can be launched, plus bread-and-butter fishing for salmon trout, tommies, mullet, flathead along with a few nice King George.

WALKERS ROCKS

Turn off to Walkers Rocks 10km north of Elliston, with the campground 3km off the highway. There are over 30 allocated sites spread around Walkers, which is popular with fisho’s as well as travellers. There are toilets and cold showers available at Walkers Rocks, with sites booked at www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping at a cost of $20 per night.

I wouldn’t rate Walkers Rocks as a premier fishing location itself, but it does offer a campground base where other fishing options are only a short drive away. If you were keen on fishing Walkers Rocks itself, expect to catch a few garfish, tommies and mullet in the shallow margins when the water is clear. The southern end of Talia Beach can also be accessed via Walkers Rocks, but the depth of the beach is shallow on this southern stretch.

There are plenty of flathead locations available

TALIA BEACH

The better water at Talia is accessed from the northern entrance of the beach. Here the gutters are deeper and the fishing is more consistent. The access road is located 49km north of Elliston and is signposted as Talia Caves. Once you pass the coastal cave, you will drive into the Lake Newland Conservation Park to access the surf beach.

There is free unallocated bush camping within the Conservation Park, but you’ll be camping within the sand dunes so you’ll need to be self-sufficient. The sand track which gives access to the surf fishing gutters can be quite soft, so I wouldn’t recommend towing a caravan or camper trailer.

The surf fishing at Talia can be good for bigger salmon, although often not in the numbers encountered at other west coast beaches such as Locks Well and Sheringa. Talia can offer bronze whalers, along with some nice gummy sharks and flathead in the surf as bycatch. It’s a beautiful place to spend a few nights.

TRACTOR BEACH

Tractor Beach is located 17km from Streaky Bay on Westall Way Loop. There are 14 allocated camp sites which will need to be booked prior to arriving due to the limited mobile service. Campsites cost $15 per night and can be booked on the www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping website. Toilets are provided. The camp sites are fairly exposed to the elements, but the wind blows off the land during the summer south easterlies.

This low energy beach has soft sand in places, but can be driven on to access the eastern end of this short beach. Expect to catch a few mullet, King George and flathead off the beach by casting baits into the sand holes in between the patches of reef. Tractor Beach offers a good base for accessing plenty of surf fishing, rock fishing and sheltered bay fishing all within a short drive from the campground. Small boats can also be launched off Tractor Beach, which offers access to fantastic inshore whiting grounds along with some deeper reefs not too far from shore.

PERLUBIE BEACH

This beautiful white sand beach is located 21km north of Streaky Bay, accessed via Perlubie Landing. Perlubie has been an iconic camping beach for quite some time and is very popular and hence needed to be regulated. There are 30 allocated camp sites above the high tide mark of the beach stretching over a 600m distance. Cost of a camp site at Perlubie is $20 per night, with bookings made on the www.eyrepeninsula.com/camping website.

There is a toilet supplied, but campers are required to supply their own toilet if utilising these campsites. Perlubie hosts a New Year’s Day sports carnival on the beach, so if you’re there for quiet and solitude, you might want to avoid this busy period.

Small boats can be launched off Perlubie, which offers access to good inshore fishing for King George, garfish, tommies, snook, squid and blue crabs. Perlubie itself is quite shallow and not recognised for its land-based fishing, but having said that, a few mullet and flathead are caught along the beach, and off the rocks to the north.

HASLAM

Located 46km to the north of Streaky Bay is the little oyster farming township of Haslam. There is a small campground within the settlement offering 15 unallocated sites on a first-in-first-served basis, with a camp site setting you back $15 per night. Payment is via an honesty box. The campground offers toilets, a barbecue and a playground, but only a couple of trees to offer shade.

The jetty is only a short walk from the campground and offers blue crabs during the warmer months of the year, with a few squid and snook also caught from the planks. The rocky shoreline offers some nice flathead for those keen on casting soft plastics, especially to the north. There is boat launching on the southern side of the jetty for those with a boat in tow.

Haslam Jetty can turn up some real surprises

ACRAMAN CREEK

Our final campground – and one of my favourites – is Acraman Creek, which is located 32km south of Smoky Bay, with a dirt road turn off 19km south of Smoky. Acraman Creek is a beautiful mangrove lined tidal inlet, with five unallocated campsites next to the creek system. Acraman Creek is within a conservation park, with park entry and camping permits available online at www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/acraman-creekconservation-park, but a word of advice – you will want to pack mosquito repellent!

A campsite will set you back $14 per night, with the sites close to the creek accessible by 4WD only. There are no toilets so you will need to be self-sufficient, although there is a small shelter and fish cleaning station next to a small boat ramp within the creek.

If you have a small boat, the fishing is really good within the creek, with King George, tommies, mullet and even good sized salmon frequenting the tidal system. The land-based fisher can expect to catch the same species as above, but maybe not in the same numbers you’ll encounter from a boat. If you are partial to casting small lures, some nice salmon and flathead are caught around the mouth of the creek, especially during the higher tides.

Acraman Creek is great, but watch the mozzies!

Well, that’s a wrap of our west coast campgrounds. The fishing, scenery and coastal landscapes are up there with the best that southern Australia has to offer. Let’s hope that with these new camping regulations this pristine environment remains unspoiled into the future.