Explore South Australia’s national parks this summer!

Explore South Australia’s national parks this summer!



1. Dhil­ba Guu­ran­­da-Innes Nation­al Park 

A favourite for camp­ing, fish­ing and surf­ing, the icon­ic Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park is a short 5.3 km dri­ve from Mar­i­on Bay on the south­ern tip of the Yorke Peninsula.

Immerse your­self in SA’s tumul­tuous mar­itime his­to­ry with a vis­it to the park’s oper­at­ing light­hous­es at Cape Spencer and West Cape, or head to Ethel Beach where you might be lucky enough to see the Ethel ship­wreck.

For a gnarly time, try and catch a wave at Pon­dalowie Bay, or, for the more expe­ri­enced surfer, head to Chinaman’s Beach to catch a break.

If fish­ing is more your speed, cast your line from the surf on Browns Beach for a chance at catch­ing salmon – but check out the recre­ation­al fish­ing reg­u­la­tions before you go.

Explore South Australia’s national parks this summer!

2. Nara­coorte Caves

Did you know Nara­coorte Caves are a con­stant 17 degrees all year round? This makes them the per­fect sum­mer hol­i­day destination.

About 3.5 hours from Ade­laide, this World Her­itage site has plen­ty to keep you busy, like the UNESCO-recog­nised Vic­to­ria Fos­sil Cave and the Won­am­bi Fos­sil Centre.

Unsure of which tour options might suit you best?

Whether you want to head under­ground for a unique and enlight­en­ing cave tour or are keen to try some­thing a lit­tle more chal­leng­ing, there’s an itin­er­ary to suit every­one. Check out our guide to help you get the most out of your next visit.

Not keen to head under­ground? The award-win­ning Roof Top Loop Walk is ful­ly acces­si­ble and pro­vides wheel­chair and pram access.

Explore South Australia’s national parks this summer!

3. Seal Bay

For a nature-based tourism expe­ri­ence like no oth­er, head down to Seal Bay on the south coast of Kan­ga­roo Island.

With its stun­ning coast­line and windswept cliffs look­ing out to the South­ern Ocean, there’s plen­ty to point your cam­era at. But it’s the colony of Aus­tralian sea lions that real­ly steals the show.

Unique to South Aus­tralia and West­ern Aus­tralia, the species is endan­gered with a total pop­u­la­tion of approx­i­mate­ly 10,500, about 800 of which live at Seal Bay. It’s home to the third-largest colony of Aus­tralian sea lions and is one of the only places in the world where you can see them up close. Espe­cial­ly adorable dur­ing breed­ing sea­son, you’ll get to see new pups play on the sand and in the shallows.

This world class attrac­tion gets pop­u­lar! Book your tour in advance to avoid dis­ap­point­ment. View the range of tours available.

Explore South Australia’s national parks this summer!

4. Deep Creek Nation­al Park

Locat­ed with­in 100 km of Ade­laide, and home to a wide array of native wildlife such as west­ern grey kan­ga­roos, short-beaked echid­nas and 100 species of birds, is Deep Creek Nation­al Park.

For stun­ning coastal views across the east­ern and west­ern sec­tions of the park, jump in your 4WD and head along one of the 2 tracks in the park.

The Boat Har­bour track winds through stringy­bark for­est with steep descents and ends at a small carpark where you can stop dri­ving and walk to Boat Har­bour Beach.

The Blow­hole Beach track is as steep as it is rocky and pro­vides access to a sandy beach with dis­tant views of Kan­ga­roo Island.

Look­ing for some­where to stay the night? The park has 5 camp­grounds with sites suit­able for tents, car­a­vans, camper vans and camper trail­ers – but be sure to check avail­abil­i­ty and book online before you go.

If you want to stay in the park but aren’t a fan of camp­ing, South­ern Ocean Retreats has you sort­ed with a range of accom­mo­da­tion options, from rus­tic cot­tages to archi­tec­tural­ly designed eco-retreats.

6. New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park

With its rugged coastal cliffs and pris­tine beach­es, New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park offers the ulti­mate oppor­tu­ni­ty to recon­nect with nature. Locat­ed approx­i­mate­ly 100km from Ade­laide, the park is a pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion for bird watch­ing, surf­ing, fish­ing and is home to one of the most mem­o­rable sec­tions of the Wild South Coast Way.

With­in this nat­ur­al haven, you’ll find two beau­ti­ful beach­es, Wait­pin­ga and Par­sons, along with the breath­tak­ing Wait­pin­ga Cliffs and the sur­round­ing mallee heath veg­e­ta­tion. Embark on scenic walks along­side rolling sand dunes and rugged cliffs, where you’ll dis­cov­er panoram­ic views of Wait­pin­ga Creek, Encounter Marine Park, the Pages in Back­stairs Pas­sage, and even Kan­ga­roo Island on the horizon.

Please note, the beach­es are not suit­able for swim­ming due to strong rips and hid­den gut­ters. How­ev­er, there’s no short­age of oth­er incred­i­ble expe­ri­ences wait­ing for you!

7. Coorong Nation­al Park

Coorong Nation­al Park is a haven for those who appre­ci­ate the qui­eter side of adven­ture. It’s an ide­al spot for bird watch­ing, peace­ful boat­ing, gen­tle kayak­ing, leisure­ly fish­ing, and tran­quil camping.

The park stretch­es 150 km from the Gool­wa Bar­rage, fol­low­ing the coast­line and lagoon south-east towards Kingston. For those trav­el­ling between Ade­laide and Mount Gam­bier, or even towards Mel­bourne„ the Coorong offers a delight­ful detour. Its acces­si­bil­i­ty by 2WD vehi­cles makes it an acces­si­ble des­ti­na­tion, and allows every­one to expe­ri­ence the serene beau­ty and rich cul­tur­al his­to­ry of this unique area.

8. Flinders Chase Nation­al Park

Flinders Chase Nation­al Park is essen­tial for any Kan­ga­roo Island adven­ture. This expan­sive wilder­ness fea­tures icon­ic Remark­able Rocks, Admi­rals Arch, and a long-nosed fur seal colony.

Despite the bush­fires that affect­ed 96% of the park, much of the infra­struc­ture and sur­round­ing areas have been restored. A new vis­i­tor cen­tre offers a beau­ti­ful space to learn about the park and local his­to­ry, with an inter­pre­ta­tion gallery that helps vis­i­tors con­nect with the area.

Don’t for­get, Flinders Chase Nation­al Park is home to the recent­ly restored May’s Home­stead (sleeps 4) and Postman’s Cot­tage (sleeps 2). These her­itage-list­ed cot­tages offer high-stan­­dard accom­mo­da­tion and are per­fect for groups or indi­vid­u­als seek­ing privacy.

Explore South Australia’s national parks this summer!


This con­tent was pro­duced in part­ner­ship with  Good Living