After the wind and scale of the Nullarbor, Streaky Bay felt like the country exhaling. We pulled onto the foreshore caravan park with the bay dead calm in front of us, a pelican gliding past like it owned the place, and the whole town within an easy walk — bakery, pub, IGA, cafes. Nobody in our van objected to two nights turning into three.
What It Is
Streaky Bay is one of those Eyre Peninsula towns that’s genuinely attractive without seeming to try. The foreshore park sits directly on the bay — sheltered, calm water, good swimming straight off the grass. After weeks of exposed, facilities-free campsites through the Kimberley and the Nullarbor, the full laundry, hot showers, and dump point felt like checking into a resort.
The bay itself is well-protected and calm enough for the kids to paddle and kayak without either of us hovering nervously at the water’s edge, which after Mandu Mandu and Osprey Bay’s open ocean was a nice change of pace. Sunrises over the water from the campground are soft and quiet, especially mid-week.
Murphy’s Haystacks
About 30 minutes south of town — ancient granite inselbergs, rounded and pink, sitting in flat paddock country in a way that looks completely out of place until you learn they’re 1,500 million years old. A short walking loop takes you around them; we went in the late afternoon and the light made the whole thing feel slightly otherworldly.
Point Labatt
Forty-five minutes south is the only permanently occupied Australian sea lion colony on the mainland. A viewing platform looks down onto a rocky cove where sea lions haul out, sleep, bicker, and generally exist with complete indifference to the small crowd of humans above them. We spent close to an hour there — genuinely some of the best wildlife watching of the whole trip, and it cost us nothing but the drive.
Gear Notes: What Earned Its Keep
After a long stretch of no-facilities camping, we finally had a proper base to reset gear — the sand-free towels got a real wash for the first time in weeks and came back looking almost new. If you’re running the same loop, a town stop like this is exactly when to do your gear laundry, not the night before you need it clean.
The calm bay mornings were made for a slow coffee on the grass rather than a rushed one in the van — our stainless pour-over dripper got its most leisurely outing of the whole trip here, and we made a point of actually sitting still to drink it.
Practical Info
Location: Streaky Bay Foreshore Caravan Park, Eyre Peninsula Access: 2WD Sites: ~150 powered and unpowered Facilities: Flush toilets, hot showers, dump point, laundry Fires: Check current conditions Nearest town: Streaky Bay — right there Don’t skip: Murphy’s Haystacks and Point Labatt as day trips; the bakery in town
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We came from Bunda Cliffs. From here it was still a long way home — and months later, a very different kind of coastline waiting on the other side of the country.