Coffin Bay National Park
There is perhaps no better example of a better coastal national park in South Australia other than Coffin Bay National Park. Being just 50 km (31 mi) west of the Eyre Peninsula's regional centre, Port Lincoln, the park has many amazing coastal landscapes to offer.
Understand
[edit]History
[edit]Landscape
[edit]Coffin Bay National Park primarily encompasses the area between the town of Coffin Bay and Gunyah Beach and the Coffin Bay Peninsula, extending approximately 25 km northwest from Yangie Bay into the Great Australian Bight.
The main attraction of the afforementioned area is Point Avoid, accessible via road. Further east are Almonta Beach and Gunyah Beach, where surfing is possible. Reefs extend from Point Avoid to Golden Island and further toward Price Island. The road also leads to Yangie Bay at the southern end of Coffin Bay Peninsula, where there is a large campsite. Access past Yangie Bay to the rest of Coffin Bay Peninsula is only possible with 4WDs. These roads take you along the northeastern side of the peninsula, past Lake Damascus and the prominent Point Longnose, all the way to Point Sir Isaac, the northernmost tip of the peninsula. The southern part of the peninsula's tip forms the Whidbey Wilderness Area, which is accessible only on foot.
Flora and fauna
[edit]Climate
[edit]Visitor information
[edit]Get in
[edit]The park is a little more than a half-hour drive from Port Lincoln, the regional centre of the Eyre Peninsula. From Port Lincoln, head south on B100 which will eventually head west once you leave town. After about 30 km (19 mi), there will be a turnoff into Coffin Bay Road with signs to Coffin Bay National Park. Follow those signs into Coffin Bay for about 14 km and turn left onto Long Beach Road. You've then arrived at the park.
If you're coming from further afield, the turnoff to Coffin Bay is the same no matter which road you're coming from with the difference being how long you'll be travelling on B100 for.
Fees and permits
[edit]Day entries into the park can be purchased at the National Parks and Wildlife Service website and are valid between 6AM and 11PM. As of December 2024, the fees remain at $13.50/day, but $10.90/day for any Australian concession card holder.
Get around
[edit]
See and do
[edit]Long Beach
[edit]The 1 Long Beach Sand Dunes is not large by any means, but it's very outlying and very prominent from the rest of Long Beach with good views of both the park and the bay. Accessing the dune will require a 1.3-km walk from the closest carpark (near the entrance of the park). If you continue, you will reach the 4WD access trail – follow that trail west on foot until you see a very large dune of sand to your left.
2WD-accessible areas
[edit]- 2 Almonta Beach, Almonta Track.
- 3 Golden Island Beach, Golden Island Road.
- 4 Golden Island Lookout, Golden Island Road.
- 5 Point Avoid Lookout, Point Avoid Road.
- 6 Templetonia Lookout, Coffin Rd. A nice small lookout near the middle of the park that offers a great glimpse of the eastern half of the park – including good views of the mountains further affield Coffin Bay and the beaches near Almonta Beach.
- 7 Yangie Bay. Enclosed bay, nice spot for kayaking and other light recreational boat activities.
4WD-only areas
[edit]Buy and eat
[edit]There are no shops (including eateries) within the park. The nearest can be found in the nearby town of Coffin Bay.
Drink
[edit]Try to bring your own water if possible. Water in the park is not potable – however, if you have to use the water from the park, ensure you boil the water before consuming it. Never directly consume the water from the park. If you happen to forget to bring your own water, supplies can be purchased at the nearby town of Coffin Bay.
Sleep
[edit]There is no lodging within the park – go to nearby Coffin Bay for that (and if that is fully booked out, Port Lincoln is your next best option).
With the exception of Yangie Bay Campground, all the other campgrounds are 4WD-only campgrounds; Yangie Bay Campground is also the only wheelchair-accessible campground. As of December 2024, all campgrounds are $21.60/night.
You may only camp at a designated campground. No backcountry camping is permitted.
- 1 Black Springs Campground, Black Springs Track. This campground is perhaps one of the closest you can get to a relatively secluded sandy beach in this park. It contains 7 unpowered campsites, each with the ability to host up to 5 guests and 1 vehicle. Long-drop toilet facilities are available. A special overflow campground also exists to host an additional 40 guests if the main campground is full.
- 2 Morgan’s Landing Campground. Contains 4 campsites (unpowered) at the western end of Seven Mile Beach. Has basic long-drop toilet facilities and a good nearby coastal dune!
- 3 Sensation Campground, Misery Track. This is one of the more isolated campgrounds, having only one singular campsite with the capacity to only hold up to 5 people. No toilet facilities are present either. But, if you're still up for the challenge, it's only 1 km from Sensation Beach and there's a high likelihood the beach will be all yours.
- 4 The Pool Campground, The Pool Track. Although one of the most remote campgrounds in the park, it also has one of the most varied options with 7 campsites, each either allowing for 5, 10 or 20 persons. Nonetheless, it's still a great spot to stay the night and is not too far away from Point Sir Isaac.
- 5 Yangie Bay Campground. The biggest campground in the park by far with 19 different campsites (though all are still unpowered). It is next to Yangie Bay, a nice spot to relax in the afternoons and kayak (especially in the afternoons).
- 6 Yangie Bay (Big) Campground, Coffin Track. A campground on the north side of Yangie Bay with a singular large unallocated + unpowered campsite, but has a maximum vehicle capacity of 7.