4 national parks to visit on and around the Yorke Peninsula

Home to an immac­u­late 700 km-long coast­line, the Yorke Penin­su­la is a favourite hol­i­day des­ti­na­tion for many South Australians.

With world-renowned surf­ing spots, fan­tas­tic bush­walks and a vast his­to­ry to uncov­er, there’s some­thing for every­one to explore – and locat­ed just an hour and a half’s dri­ve from Ade­laide, it’s easy to nip to the region for a quick getaway.

Not to be missed are the region’s serene nation­al parks, full of wildlife, bush­land, rugged cliffs and seclud­ed ocean beaches.

Here’s our pick of parks for you to explore on your next vis­it to the region:

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.

2. Troubridge Island Con­ser­va­tion Park

Only acces­si­ble by boat, Troubridge Island Con­ser­va­tion Park sits 6 km off the coast of Edith­burgh, on the south east­ern end of the peninsula.

You need to have a per­mit to vis­it the island, but once you’re there you’ll find a peace­ful oasis com­plete with white sandy beaches.

Take advan­tage of the remote­ness of the park and hide away for a few nights in the orig­i­nal light­house keeper’s cot­tage.

3. South­ern Spencer Gulf Marine Park

South­ern Spencer Gulf Marine Park stretch­es for many kilo­me­tres of coast and has mul­ti­ple access points, includ­ing Hard­wicke Bay, Point Tur­ton, Corny Point and Mar­i­on Bay.

On a calm day, head to Chinaman’s Hat Island, off the south coast of Dhil­ba-Guu­ran­da Innes Nation­al Park, and go div­ing or snorkelling for your chance to see an array of reef fish and stingrays.

If you’ve got a large trail­er boat, launch in Mar­i­on Bay and head out to the deep­er waters of Inves­ti­ga­tor Strait – the body of water that lies between the Yorke Penin­su­la and Kan­ga­roo Island – for a chance to catch snap­per or whiting.

Or if you pre­fer to keep your feet plant­ed on the ground, head to the Sten­house Bay Jet­ty in Dhil­ba-Guu­ran­da Innes Nation­al Park and go fish­ing for squid.

Just make sure you check out the recre­ation­al fish­ing reg­u­la­tions before you go.

4. Ade­laide Inter­na­tion­al Bird Sanc­tu­ary Nation­al Park — Winaity­i­naityi Pangkara

At the gate­way to the Yorke Penin­su­la, just 10.5 km from Dublin in Adelaide’s north is the Ade­laide Inter­na­tion­al Bird Sanc­tu­ary Nation­al Park — Winaity­i­naityi Pangkara.

The bird sanc­tu­ary is one of SA’s most impor­tant habi­tats for migra­to­ry shore­birds and is home to 263 unique flo­ra and fau­na species.

Head to Thomp­son Beach, on the east­ern coast­line of Gulf St Vin­cent, and make your­self com­fort­able for a bit of birdwatching.

Between Octo­ber and April is the per­fect time to spot thou­sands of migra­to­ry shore­birds that trav­el to the sanc­tu­ary each year from as far away as Alas­ka and north­ern Asia.

Bring your own kayak or hire one and explore the park from the water. Kayak around the man­groves and see if you can spot any birds, such as the roy­al spoon­bill, hid­ing amongst the thick branch­es search­ing for snacks.

Keen to explore more of region­al South Aus­tralia? Check out these parks to vis­it in the River­land, Barossa, Lime­stone Coast and Flinders Ranges.