Streaky Bay: Rugged cliffs, rocky shores & sandy beaches
Despite us getting to Streaky Bay in December, it was stormy AF the first week. Driving from Elliston, we had to tow through heavy rain, and once we got to the caravan park, we had to set up in it. As you can imagine, my hubby and I got absolutely soaked!
The weather was a bit hit-and-miss for the rest of the time, but we managed to do some sightseeing during most of our weekends. The coastal scenic drives were a fantastic way to explore the spectacular Streaky Bay coastline. I really enjoyed spots like Smooth Pool and The Granites with their rocky outcrop, and interesting rock pools and lagoons to explore.
There’s also are quite a few little seaside towns you can drive to from Streaky Bay, and one of the highlights of our trip was swimming with the sea lions and dolphins down at Baird Bay! If you’re curious to learn more about our adventures in Streaky Bay, please read on. I hope you enjoy it!
About Streaky Bay
Located on the northwestern side of the Eyre Peninsula, I feel like Streaky Bay is the perfect summer destination for ocean lovers, offering a blend of sandy beaches and rugged coastlines. While the township isn’t massive, it provides more essential services than any of the other smaller townships we came across on the way up, so it’s kind of a good base for exploring the region.
Pawrents, you’ll be pleased to know that the area is quite dog-friendly. We had no trouble bringing our dog Charlie along with us to most places, and on the day we went swimming with the sea lions and dolphins, we had a lovely local Streaky Bay dog-sitter look after him.
Where we stayed in Streaky Bay
Streaky Bay Islands Caravan Park
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Caravan Park
This is, without a doubt, one of the best-managed caravan parks we’ve stayed at. The staff were easy to communicate with, the grounds were pleasant and well-maintained, the amenities were next level with ensuite bathrooms, and the powered sites were spacious.
We thought early to mid-December would be crowded in the area, but it wasn’t actually too bad. The caravan park did get noticeably busier once school holidays officially started, however, there were still plenty of sites available in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Despite its beachfront location and the amount of incredible park features available, Streaky Bay Islands Caravan Park doesn’t charge ridiculous prices during peak season! How GOOD is that?!
- Website: streakybayislandscaravanpark.com.au
- Length of our stay: 21 nights
- Time of year: Early December
- Type of site: Powered waterfront site
- Site number: 16
- Cost per night and total: $490.00 total, $35.00/night. Booked through email, no deposit was required.
- Grocery shopping: Beck’s IGA and Foodland, both are deceivingly large and do stock a wide selection of products.
- Phone and internet reception: We use Telstra phones and a Nighthawk wifi router. Internet connection was on the slow side at this location. We had to put up our antenna to boost coverage.
- The caravan park is located slightly out of town, just a short 10-minute drive away.
- It’s right next to a stretch of beach with direct access, the walk was probably no more than 5 minutes from our waterfront site. The beach is dog-friendly, although it’s the kind of beach that has lots of shells and gritty sand. There are a couple of small islands you can walk up to and explore at low tide.
- Streaky Bay Islands is a fairly large sized caravan park with a layout that feels more spread out compared to others we’ve stayed at.
- Our waterfront site was spacious, we could fit our awning, car and caravan side by side.
- Sites are separated by bushes/trees, giving you a sense of privacy from your neighbours.
- The caravan park was designed so that every site offered a view of the ocean. We had a great outlook, it was especially nice during sunrise and sunset. However, being so close to the ocean, we experienced strong winds, particularly late in the afternoon and evenings.
- The amenities blocks were spacious and perhaps one of the nicest we’ve encountered. They were modern and well-maintained, featuring a mix of large ensuite bathrooms and standard toilet cubicles.
- The caravan park is family-friendly with a recreation room, pool, playground, and even a golf course.
- There’s a long walking trail that goes past the caravan park, and according to their website, goes all the way into town. We only walked a section of it, but it’s about 6 kilometres in length.
- Power/water connections are only on odd-numbered sites, if you don’t have cords or hoses long enough, you can always ask at the office as they should be able to supply one for you to use.
Would we stay at Streaky Bay Islands Caravan Park again?
Yes, we would stay here again. For the price per night, I do think you’re spoiled with the high quality of the park!
Want to be closer to town?
Streaky Bay has another dog-friendly caravan park that’s closer to the town centre, Discovery Parks – Streaky Bay Foreshore. It also has a beachfront location!
Where to eat & drink in Streaky Bay
Drift Cafe
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Cafe
Drift Cafe seemed to be a popular spot; nestled on the water, it offered great views of the bay. The cafe has a fun coastal vibe with a relaxed and laid-back atmosphere. There’s plenty of booth seating along one side of its open deck and bar seating facing the ocean. The cafe serves brunch, lunch, and dinner.
We went in for lunch, and as expected, their menu featured a variety of dishes using locally sourced seafood. I chose the creamy garlic prawns with rice and a side of garlic bread, while my husband went for the classic fish and chips.
I found my dish enjoyable; the sauce had a great garlic flavour, and it was super creamy. Although the portion size of eight prawns and a small mound of rice looked tiny, my eyes are always bigger than my belly, it turned out to be quite filling!
Funk’d Coffee & Flowers
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Cafe
Funk’d Coffee & Flowers is a cute little cafe with a lovely retro boho vibe. They had maybe 4-5 small 2-seater tables out front. Inside their cabinet, they displayed a nice selection of savoury wraps, bagels and the like, as well as a few sweet treats.
My hubby and I just went in for cakes and drinks, but I do believe they have a menu as well. Aside from the walnut and coffee cake being slightly bland and dry, we enjoyed the drinks and cakes from here.
Other places we tried
We did grab pizzas and dessert from Terrace 24 Pizzas one night, but I felt they were on the average side. We found the toppings were a bit lacking in flavour. We also got pies from Elliot’s Bakery for lunch a different day, but found the fillings were too gelatinous and lacked meat, while the pastry was soft.
Fun attractions in Streaky Bay
Cape Bauer Loop Coastal Scenic Drive
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Scenic Drive
As mentioned earlier, there are a couple of coastal scenic drives you can do in Streaky Bay. We started with the Cape Bauer Loop, which begins just a few kilometres outside of town. We stopped at the Cape Bauer Lookout Point, Whistling Rocks and Blow Holes, and Hally’s Beach.
Road Quality
The scenic drive follows Cape Bauer Road, is an unsealed gravel road that forms a loop covering a distance of about 38 kilometres. The road is in decent condition and I think it would be manageable, even for 2WDs. The turnoffs aren’t as long or in poor condition as some of the ones along the Westall Way Loop. Watch out for the khaki-coloured signposts for each turnoff.
How to get there
From the town centre, head northwest on Wells Street, which turns into Cape Bauer Road. We did the loop anti-clockwise which meant we spent quite some time driving before reaching one of the sights! Instead of doing what we did, turn left onto the gravel road with brown signs that say Cape Bauer Loop and Hally’s Beach.
I personally thought the drive itself wasn’t visually interesting; it went through farmlands and shrubs, and there were only a few short moments where you caught a glimpse of the ocean. However, the stopping points were enjoyable and delivered beautiful coastal scenery.
Stop 1: Cape Bauer
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Lookout Point
This headland provides a gorgeous lookout point for viewing the surrounding coastline of tall rugged cliffs and rock formations. While there was interpretive signage, the area lacked a proper car park. There was a couple who had driven their car closer to the cliff edge; they had their chairs set up to enjoy the cliff-top views while sipping on bubbly.
Stop 2: Whistling Rocks & the Blow Holes
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Attraction
According to interpretive signage, the best conditions for visiting the Whistling Rocks & the Blow Holes are during high tides with an onshore wind. Unfortunately, we didn’t visit in ideal conditions, so missed seeing the Blow Holes in action. However, it was still a great attraction to explore for its gorgeous coastal scenery.
There’s a long boardwalk, roughly 300 metres in length and including several sets of stairs that leads from the car park to the viewing platforms. Near the end of the boardwalk, it branches off to the left and right. The shorter path on the left leads to a platform for the Whistling Rocks, while the longer one on the right leads to a platform for the Blow Holes. We could faintly hear the Whistling Rocks, which sounded more like a dragon’s breath. Although we spotted the Blow Holes, unfortunately, we didn’t see any sprays of water.
Stop 3: Hally’s Beach
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Beach
This looked like a beautiful beach to walk with the puppers, especially since it dogs are allowed off-leash. However, the weather was a bit muggy that day and we felt really drained from it. The long staggered boardwalk looked like it would be WAY too much effort to climb back up!
Westall Way Loop Coastal Scenic Drive
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Scenic Drive
I personally found the Westall Way Loop to be much more enjoyable than the Cape Bauer Loop as a scenic drive because it offered better views of the ocean and coastline while driving.
How to get there & Road Quality
The starting point of the Westall Way Loop Coastal Scenic Drive is located approximately 10 kilometres south of town, just off Sceale Bay Road. Westall Way is also an unsealed looped gravel road, however, it’s in decent condition. As a heads up, some of the turnoffs were lengthy and in poor condition, with many indicating ‘no towing vehicles’. Similar to the Cape Bauer Loop, keep an eye out for khaki-coloured signposts for each turnoff. We stopped at the Yanerbie Sandhills, Smooth Pool, Point Westall, The Granites, and High Point.
Stop 1: Yanerbie Sandhills
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Attraction (on-lead)
We found that there were very few markers or directions once we turned off from the main road. It was a very rough and narrow track, and we weren’t sure if we were heading the right direction or not. We decided to stop at this roundabout point and go on foot to explore the area. We walked up a couple of sand dunes and came across a huge clearing surrounded by white sandhills. We realised we could have probably driven up to the clearing but it was hard to tell with the lack of signposts. The area did look like it might be good for sandboarding.
Stop 2: Smooth Pool
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Attraction (on-lead)
This had a long corrugated rough road, definitely not suitable for towing a caravan! The parking was down at the beach on hard sand, in front of the rocks. This was a fascinating area to walk around because of the granite rock shoreline that consisted of rocks and boulders of varying shapes, sizes, and colours. There were also heaps of calm little rock pools and lagoons. I feel like you could spend a while here! I’m sure in better weather, this would be a great location for snorkelling and swimming. We saw a few people fishing off the rocks. Others were mostly just walking around as well.
Stop 3: Point Westall
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Attraction (on-lead)
The track for this was extremely rough, narrow in parts, very uneven, and rocky. I don’t think it’s suitable for a 2WD, and there’s no way you’d want to risk going in with a caravan. There were no signposts anywhere, and with the quality of the road, we ended up turning back after a short while of driving.
Stop 4: The Granites
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Attraction (on-lead)
I didn’t make a note of the turnoff quality for The Granites, but I don’t think it was as bad as Point Westall or Smooth Pool. The large car park is located at the top of the cliffs and to get down to the beach, there’s a long boardwalk with stairs. From the top of the cliffs, you get a beautiful view of the rocky shoreline and lagoon below.
Just like Smooth Pool, it’s fascinating because of all of the granite rocks of varying shapes, sizes, and colours. You could take a couple of hours exploring this area! There were beautiful giant rock pools with calm protected waters that looked pretty inviting. I’m sure this would also be a popular snorkelling and swimming spot in better weather!
Stop 5: High Point
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Attraction (on-lead)
This was a small rocky car park just off the road. The views were okay but if you don’t have time to stop, you’re not missing much.
Streaky Bay Jetty & Pool
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Jetty
Of course, we had a casual stroll along the jetty!
Streaky Bay Coastal Walking Trail
Streaky Bay Dog-friendly Walking Trail
We noticed this walking trail driving along the Cape Bauer Loop, it seemed to have run all the way from town right up to the boat ramp or just past it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to walk along it.
Fun attractions south of Streaky Bay
Day trip to Baird Bay to swim with the sea lions & dolphins
Swimming with the sea lions and dolphins at Baird Bay was truly an unforgettable experience. Seal lions really are the puppy dogs of the sea and utterly adorable. I’ll be sharing the details of our day trip in a separate journal entry, please keep a lookout for it!
Murphy’s Haystacks
Eyre Peninsula Dog-friendly Attraction
I had been seeing photos of Murphy’s Haystacks quite a bit on Instagram, but I wasn’t sure if they were going to live up to the hype in person. I’m happy to report that this attraction didn’t disappoint!
Where are Murphy’s Haystacks?
Murphy’s Haystacks is located on private property in the small township of Calca, 41.6 kilometres south of Streaky Bay, making it about a half-hour drive. From memory, you’re driving along unsealed roads as you get closer, however, it’s in good condition.
What are Murphy’s Haystacks?
Don’t be fooled by the name; the “haystacks” on Murphy’s property are actually a collection of interesting rock formations with peculiar shapes. The name originated because, back in the day, passing coachmen would refer to the rock formations as “haystacks” when pointing them out to their passengers.
Entry Fee & Facilities
There is a small entry fee to wander around Murphy’s Haystacks, with all fees to be placed in a honesty box at the entrance.
Prices when we went:
- $2 per person
- $5 per family
- + $10 for camping.
There are also toilets and a large picnic shelter available at the grounds.
Dog-friendliness
I didn’t see any physical signs at the property to say that the attraction was dog-friendly, but many websites and travel blogs mention that it is. We also saw visitors bringing their dogs. I think as long as they’re leashed, well-behaved, and you clean up after them, you should be okay.
We had left our dog, Charlie, with a dog-sitter for the day as we had gone out swimming with the sea lions and dolphins earlier. Hence, no photos of him at Murphy’s Haystacks!
Short Walking Trail
Murphy’s Haystacks is nestled on beautiful farmland with lovely scenic views. There’s a short looped walking trail that takes you past the rock formations and extends all the way to the back of the property, where there’s a cluster of giant rocks. We saw some people walk only to the first set of rocks with the popular “Hippo’s Yawn,” but there are more if you walk another 200-300 metres.
The rocks are fun to investigate with their random shapes. I really liked seeing the different patterns and colours on the surfaces of the rocks, a great example of art in nature. I highly recommend stopping by Murphy’s Haystacks if you’re in the area!
Point Labatt Australian Sea Lion Colony Lookout
Not dog-friendly
A wonderful attraction to visit near Streaky Bay is the Point Labatt Australian Sea Lion Colony Lookout, where you can view a huge number of sea lions lounging in the sun along the rocky shore. It is part of the Point Labatt Conservation Park, so it is not a dog-friendly attraction, unfortunately! We had booked Charlie in with a local Streaky Bay dog-sitter for the day so we could swim with the sea lions & dolphins, and afterwards visit Murphy’s Haystacks and this lookout.
Where is Point Labatt Conservation Park?
Point Labatt is about 50 kilometres south of Streaky Bay, making it about a 40-minute drive. From memory, you’re driving along unsealed roads when you enter the conservation park and head towards the lookout; however, I don’t recall it being in bad condition.
We had an amazing time driving through the national park, especially with the gorgeous weather we were having. We drove past the protected inlet of Baird Bay, and the colour of the water was incredible. The car park for the lookout is at the end of Point Labatt Road.
Park Entry Fees
There are no entry fees for Point Labatt Conservation Park.
The Lookout
There is plenty of parking at the lookout, and along the path, you’ll find interpretive signage with information about the sea lions and why Point Labatt is their ideal habitat and breeding ground. The viewing platform is perched atop a cliff about 50 metres high, so you might want to bring binoculars or a high-resolution camera to get a closer look at the sea lions below.
During our visit in the afternoon, the sea lions weren’t very active, but it was still fascinating to see so many in one spot, and the surrounding coastline was a beautiful sight!
And that’s a wrap!
I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring the popular holiday destination of Streaky Bay through this journal entry, and it’s inspired you to consider it for your Eyre Peninsula travel itinerary. I highly recommend spending some time here, even if it’s only for a few days!
Have you been to any of these places before? Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments or pop in any questions you might have; I’d love to hear from you.
Safe travels and happy exploring! Thanks for joining me, hope to see you again!
Sheryl
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