Exploring South Australia has been very fun the past few years. Although I have been to Yorke Peninsula several times, I hadn't yet traveled to Eyre Peninsula. It is about twice as far from Adelaide (7+ hour drive) which makes it more of a trip than popping over to Yorke.
Now that our 4WD/Camp setup is ready for longer trips, my partner and I decided to go to Lincoln National Park to camp for 3 nights. Similar to our trip to Arkaroola earlier this year, more time would've been better. Burning effectively a full day on driving on the front and back end of the trip make a 3-4 day trip not that long.
After much deliberation in choosing a good campground on the Parks SA website we decided upon Surfleet Cove due to availability, toilets, beach access, and the view from the Campsite we booked (Site 5).
Surfleet Cove
While we were there, the weather was pretty on and off. No good astrophotography nights and near constant rain or clouds. Thankfully our camp got setup while things were still dry and we were able to avoid getting drenched.
Memory Cove
Memory cove is a separate protection area on the same peninsula as Lincoln National Park. To keep traffic down, there are only 4 campsites at the cove and 15 vehicles per day allowed down the track (~23km of entry level 4WDing). Memory Cove beach is supposedly one of the best beaches in the world, and I would agree. It is well worth the 25km spin cycle of bumpy track to get there.
On the way there, we saw lots of emus and some kangaroos!
Even though the weather wasn't ideal, the beach views were amazing. We definitely have plans to bring a bigger group and book the campsites at Memory Cove in the future.
Memory Cover Recommendations
Lower tire pressure, on the way there we stayed at road pressure (38psi) and the trip in was very unpleasant. The 4WDing was not that difficult (we didn't even engage 4WD Low) but due to all the little rocks on the track it was like being in a washing machine for 1.5hours.
On the way back from Memory cove, I lowered the tires to 32psi and the track back was much more comfortable. I suspect lowering tires even further (to around 28psi) would improve comfort even more.
Wanna Lookout
On the way back from Memory Cove, we took a small detour and went to see the lookout at Wanna.
The lookout was very windswept but the views more than made up for the detour.
McLaren Point
One of the other campgrounds we considered was McLaren Point. It is on the Eastern side of the park exposed to the Southern Ocean. The drive in to McLaren point was very entry level 4WD but still on Google Maps. There are only 4 campsites at McLaren point and no facilities. Could be a great palce to bring a group and camp at adjacent campsites 3/4 pending everyone is onboard with the lack of toilets.
Sleaford-Wanna Track
We had intended to get to the Sleaford-Wanna Track, which naturally goes from Sleaford to Wanna along the dunes near the coast:
Unfortunately the weather was not good the day we wanted to go. The rain combined with the fact we were traveling alone and don't have MaxTrax or other traction aids if we got stuck in the sand left us to not really consider doing the track while everythign was wet.
The Sleaford-Wanna track will remain on our list for next time.
Coffin Bay
Known worldwide for Oysters, Coffin Bay is another area about 30 minutes West from Port Lincoln. We had Oysters at an oyster bar in Port Lincoln and then headed over to Coffin Bay proper for dinner.
Coffin Bay is definitely a sleepy area, and we discovered an even more adventurous national park than Lincoln at the information center for the Coffin Bay National Park. 4WD is necessary to access about 90% of the Coffin Bay national park, so it easily got on to our list for another big trip in a few months.
We had dinner at the Coffin Bay Yacht club, which was a nice local place to have food but not exactly what we were expecting. The Oysters from Fumo 28 in Port Lincoln were superior to the other that we encountered while down on the Eyre Peninsula.
The Eyre Peninsula
All in all we had an amazing time down on the Eyre Peninsula, it was my favorite trip to date. The lack of stress about packing and the camping setup really led to a pretty relaxing few days away from civilization. I would recommend visiting the area in a heartbeat.
