Swimming with Sea Lions at Baird Bay in South Australia
Swimming with the local sea lions at Baird Bay is an experience I’ll always remember! For me, it’s one of the highlights while travelling through the beautiful Eyre Peninsula, and probably one of my most favourite experiences in South Australia. Anything that involves animals is always a standout for me.
When people say that sea lions are the “puppies of the sea”, it’s absolutely true!
They really are playful and curious creatures, and super adorable. This was my first time swimming with them and it was AH-MAZING. The sea lions at Baird Bay are somewhat used to having people snorkel with them. If you just chill and float, they are happy to swim right next to you or even come up to you. The tour takes you to Jones Island in Baird Bay, where the local colony lives. As soon as you get off the boat, you’ll meet more sea lions that you can count on your fingers!
There were so many cute moments while we were in the water, like this one sea lion just lazily gliding past with its eyes closed and a dreamy smile. It was really cute. There were also two little sea lions hugging and swimming together. We brought our ancient underwater camera with us, which died after 5-10 minutes of filming, but we managed to capture a few snippets. One sweet sea lion actually got close and nearly booped the camera!
Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience
This incredible experience was with the folks at Baird Bay Ocean Experience. Their tours run from September to May each year from Baird Bay. A tiny settlement on the top left coast of the Eyre Peninsula, which literally looked like it only had a handful of holiday villas, campgrounds and the tour company’s building. We paid $220 per adult for the tour in November 2023 but I think they’ve increased their prices since then, so it’s best to check their website. The duration was about 3-4 hours, from getting into wetsuits at the HQ and returning.
SIDE NOTE: I know I’m publishing this in July 2024, half a year later! I’ve been really bad with blogging consistently but it’s something I want to improve.
You also get to swim with dolphins!
The tour actually takes you out swimming with the dolphins as well. Swimming with the sea lions was along shallow waters whereas swimming with the dolphins was out at much deeper depths. Our guide had to put on a shark deterrent band which was reassuring, but kind of terrifying at the same time, knowing there were sharks potentially lurking about. I’m not the strongest of swimmers!!! I would’ve definitely been the first to get eaten.
We didn’t have much luck with getting attention from the dolphins. Apparently there were a lot of calves in the pod at the time, so they were being a little bit more cautious and protective about coming near. They were also feeding, which meant they were on a mission, and were darting here and there. Blink and you missed them! In saying that, I had this magical moment where a few of them swam underneath me.
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If you’re a dolphin-lover and want to get up close and personal with a dolphin or two, check out my journal entry about meeting the local bottlenose dolphins in Whyalla, also in the Eyre Peninsula! This was another highlight experience for me. The dolphins come right up to the boat ramp and it’s unbelievable to have them within inches of you. I probably spent more than an hour or two at the marina!
For those travelling with dogs
I got in touch with the peeps from Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience, and luckily for us, they were able to pass on the details of a couple of dog-sitters within the region. Gabi from Streaky Bay and Naomi at Sceale Bay. If you’re travelling the Eyre Peninsula with your precious pooch, don’t miss out on this fantastic experience. Email Baird Bay Ocean Experience or feel free to email me wanderlustsoul.journal [at]gmail.com and I’ll pass on both of the dog-sitter’s contact details. We were staying in Streaky Bay so we had Gabi look after Charlie, she was lovely.
And that’s a wrap!
Swimming with the gorgeous sea lions at Baird Bay is definitely something I will never forget. If you’re planning on heading to the Eyre Peninsula, I would highly recommend putting this experience on your travel list.
There’s a couple of nearby attractions that you might want to check out as well:
- Murphy’s Haystacks: walk around unusual large rock formations
- Point Labatt Australian Sea Lion Colony Lookout: a nice viewing platform overlooking the habitat of the Point Labatt sea lion colony and the beautiful surrounding coastline.
Sheryl
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