Streaky Bay
Dutch Explorer Pieter
Nuyts was the first European reported to have actually have
sighted the waters of Streaky Bay in 1627 although if he named
the area it has been lost with the passage of time. It was not
until 1802, however, that the great Navigator Mathew Flinders
saw the waters of Streaky Bay for himself during his epic circumnavigation
of the Australian continent. In view of the streaked appearance
of the sea Flinder's named this area Streaky Bay.
It is interesting to note that Flinder's mistakenly believed
that the streaked appearance of the sea may well have been due
to the out flowing of a river into the sea. In fact the banded
appearance is due to oils given off by kelp growing within the
bay.
Flinder's mistaken belief that a river flowed into the bay prompted
later Australian explorers such as Mitchell and Edward John
Eyre to speculate that a great river flowed from the Great Dividing
Range to the South West across fully half of the Australian
continent, before finally entering the sea in the vicinity of
Streaky Bay. Eyre's later explorations of the Eyre Peninsula
in 1839-40 proved this to be wrong.
Today Streaky Bay is a small picturesque town of approximately
1000 people. The town itself serves the local wheat farming
community and a significant fishing industry specialising in
Crayfish (Lobsters), Abalone and shark. During school holidays
it is a favored holiday destination for South Australian families.
Streaky Bay Community Hotel - Motel
Streaky Bay Facilities
For the traveller Streaky
Bay offers a wide range of facilities to cover all budgets.
Within the town centre are two main shopping streets, both just
metres from the Streaky Bay Foreshore and Jetty.
Streaky Bay Roadhouse and Tourist Information Centre
is located on 7 - 15 Alfred Terrace, just a stone's throw away
from the foreshore. Within the tourist centre travelers will
find quite a wide range of brochures and maps detailing Streaky
Bay's many fine attractions. Streaky Bay's Roadhouse also sells
petrol, take away foods, and has eat in facilities for up to
100 people. Opening hours are 6.30 am to 9.00 pm. For further
information and local advice telephone (08) 8626 1126.
Located on Bay Road are a number of businesses within view of
the local jetty. On Bay Road you will find a Chemplus pharmacy
which sells camera supplies, a newsagency, Crowder's Tyre service,
a post office with online banking, and the ANZ bank. The local
IGA supermarket is also located on Bay Road and is open during
the day from Monday to Saturday. EFTPOS facilities are
available at the IGA supermarket. Colleen's Kitchen is
also located on Bay Road and offers friendly service and a pleasant
dining area. Nullarbor Net recommends you try their Roast Chicken
rolls with almond and mayonnaise dressings. For local crafts
you can check out the Eyre Craft Centre on the corner of Bay
and Wells streets. Beck Brothers also have a number of holiday
units located on the beachfront. Labatt House is also situated
on the waterfront and provides Backpacker Accommodation.
Streaky Bay Accommodation
Streaky Bay Foreshore Tourist Caravan Park is located
at 82 Wells Street, a couple of hundred metres west of the Hotel.
Within the Caravan Park you will find 162 powered sites, a camp kitchen,
and 26 cabins. Two laundromats are also available, and adjacent
to the Caravan Park is the local APEX children's playground.
Located within the Caravan Park are coin operated barbecues,
a kiosk and takeaway food facility. Pensioners are offered concessional
rates. Dogs are permitted on a leash. Streaky Bay Caravan Park
is conveniently located on the foreshore, and can be accessed via Wells Street
which runs off Bay Road. Streaky Bay's Caravan Park accommodation rates are as follows:
Executive en suite cabins - $110 per night
Deluxe en suite cabins - $90 per night
Brick en suite cabins - $100 per night
Standard en suite cabins - $80 per night
Caravan Park Units $55 per night
Powered Caravan Sites $28 per night for 2
Unpowered caravan Sites $23 per night for 2
Rates are valid as at 8 October 2011.
For further information please view www.streakybayftpark.com.au or contact (08)
8626 1666 or
info@streakybayftpark.com.au.
The
Streaky Bay Hotel is also located on the corner of Alfred
Terrace and Bay Road. The Hotel is impossible to miss given
its colonial style of architecture and sweeping views to the
Streaky Bay Jetty. Within the Streaky Bay Hotel are 24 Motel
units, 13 Hotel Rooms, and a self contained flat. Units are
also available with amenities for the disabled. EFTPOS facilities
are available. Other facilities within the Streaky Bay Hotel
Motel include bar facilities and an al fresco dining area with
great views over Streaky Bay. For further information contact
(08) 8626 1008, fax (08) 8626 1630 or admin@streakybayhotel.com.au..
Streaky Bay Motel & Villas
is located at 7 Alfred Terrace. This
motel and villa complex has a number of different accommodation types and caters for
singles, doubles, twin and family groups.
Amenities include an inside pool, heated spa and games room,
large BBQ area and fish cleaning area. Streaky Bay Motel and Villas
is conveniently located on the front main street, only metres away from
the local jetty, shops and restaurants. For further
information you can telephone or fax (08) 8626 1126. Alternatively view website
www.streakybayvillas.com.au
Transport
Four
days a week the Stateliner Premier Bus Company operates a
service between Streaky Bay and Adelaide, and vice versa. Stateliner bus services
arrive at and depart from the front of Clearwater Cafe. In Adelaide tickets
can be bought from the Franklin
Street bus depot - located at 85 Franklin Street. For
timetable details and online bookings please visit www.premierstateliner.com.au.
Medical
Facilities
Located
on the foreshore at the north eastern end of Streaky Bay is
the local hospital. The hospital has the services of an on call
doctor and nearby on Burke Street is the local Doctor's and
Dentist's surgery. The contact number for the doctor's clinic
is (08) 8626 1072 and the dentist surgery can be contacted on
(08) 8626 1629. Streaky Bay also has the service of a vet located
at 2A Anderson Place. The vet clinic can be contacted
on (08) 8626 1350.
Streaky Bay Attractions
Streaky
Bay and the adjacent coastline offer the traveler a wealth of
things to do. Streaky Bay itself has a jetty which offers fine
fishing, and local crabs when they are in season. Snapper can
be caught from the Streaky Bay jetty between October and December,
with some specimens weighing in at 10 to 20 kilograms. Dotted
along the coast are fine sandy swimming beaches, free beachside
camping sites, rock pools, and many rock and surf fishing sites.
Boat Ramps are also located near Streaky Bay to enable the keen
angler to fish the middle of the Bay itself.
Streaky
Bay Restored Engine Centre is located on Alfred Terrace
and would appeal to the traveler with an interest in vintage
machinery. On display are a large number of vintage exhibits
and agricultural machinery - with some exhibits dating from
1904. Much of this ever growing collection is in good working
order, and opening times are from 2 pm to 4 pm on Tuesdays and
Fridays. Other times can be arranged by appointment by telephoning
(08) 8626 1001.
Westall
Way is as good a reason as any to stay another day
in Streaky Bay. For a short 2 or 3 hour excursion I would recommend
you make a journey along the Westall
Way Tourist Drive. This tourist drive is made along
a well maintained dirt road that takes in the coastal scenery
of areas known to locals as High Cliff, The Granites, Smooth
Pool, Yanerbie Sand hills and Speeds Point. These areas provide
quite amazing scenery and definitely are a must see for the
serious seascape photographer.
Cape
Bauer is situated approximately 20 kilometres northwest
of Streaky Bay and is located on one of the areas scenic drives.
The area has a number of high cliffs and sweeping ocean views
out towards Olive Island. Along the way you will pass Moore's
Boat Ramp (8 kilometres west of Streaky Bay), Hally's Beach,
and whistling Rocks where there are some blow holes.
Point Labatt is located 55 kilometres south
of Streaky Bay. At Point Labatt Australia's only mainland colony
of Sea lions can be observed.
It might be an idea to take your Binoculars if you are heading
there.
Murphy's
Haystacks are located approximately 40 kilometres south
of Streaky Bay. As Streaky Bay locals will tell you the term
"Haystacks" is something of a misnomer. These haystacks
have nothing to do with farming and are in fact very fine
examples of weathered granite inselberg structures. As such
they definitely are a must see for the serious landscape photographer.
As you can see from the Murphy's
Haystack Gallery these inselbergs are exemplified by finely
sculpted pink granite forms that are often encrusted with lichen
growths. From a photographic point of view perhaps
it is best to photograph Murphy's Haystacks in the
early morning or late afternoon light.
Murphys Haystacks - Standing Like Silent Sentinels
Located near to the entrance of Murphy's Haystacks is a picnic
area with toilet facilities. Entry to Murphy's Haystacks
is made by a donation of $2-00 which is placed in an honesty
box. We recommend you don't begrudge this money as it
is used to maintain the facilities and improve the area. To
drive to Murphy's Haystacks you will need to head south from
Streaky Bay down the Flinder's Highway towards Port Lincoln.
After approximately 40 kilometres you then turn right onto a
sealed road which leads to Calca and Murphy's Haystacks.
A kilometre or so on the right is the entry point to Murphy's
Haystacks. If the sealed road turns into a dirt road go
back because you have gone too far!
Murphys Haystacks: One of Nature's Little Gems
Along the way to Murphy's
Haystacks it may be a good idea for the traveler to view
Eyre's waterhole which is located about 4 kilometres south of
Streaky Bay. Originally this site was the waterhole which
Edward John Eyre used as his first watering point in his
explorations and crossing of the Nullarbor Plain further to
the west. In something of an irony, today's travellers
frequently use this waterhole as a pleasant enough roadside
picnic spot - one in which it is easy to contemplate the
difficulties that Eyre encountered in passing through this remote
coastline.
Felchillo Oasis is located twenty kilometres
to the North East of Streaky Bay.and can be accessed by travelling
north along the main Streaky Bay to Ceduna road. At Perlubie
Beach there is a turnoff that heads inland for 10 kilometres
or so, whereupon you will finally arrive at the Oasis. This
destination is well signposted so just keep an eye out for it.
Felchillo Oasis is a pleasant place for the family to stop and
have a break. Felchillo Oasis is part of a broad acre farm of
some 4,500 acres and within the area you will find a fauna
park that has quite a few species of birds, many of which are
housed in an aviary. Also found at Felchillo Oasis are an Alpaca,
Horse, Camels, Wombats, Donkeys, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits Pigs and
Dogs. I would imagine these sights would appeal to young children.
Within Felchillo Oasis is a Quandong Orchard. Quandongs
are a native fruit of arid Australian regions and ripen between
October and December each year. From a health point of view
the vitamin C content of Quandongs somewhat higher than that
for Oranges on a weight for weight basis. Quandongs also
make very fine jams and chutneys, and if these are available
we recommend you try some and then buy some! From the traveller's
point of view Felchillo Oasis also offers cabin accommodation,
a self contained cottage, and both powered and unpowered caravan
and camping sites.
Beach
Side Camping
Beach
side camping is an attractive feature of South Australia's remote
far western coastline. Within the Streaky Bay area good camp
sites, surfing and beach fishing can be found along Westall
Way Drive. If you are travelling along the west coast a budget
traveler's beachside camp site can also be found at Haslam,
situated midway between Streaky Bay and Smoky Bay. Adjacent
to the camp site is the Haslam Jetty. Generally you will find
that you will have this camp site to yourself. This site would
be particularly suited to those of you who are heading to or
from Western Australia.
Beach Campers at nearby Haslam
Nullarbor Net Travel Tips
If you are heading to
or from the Nullarbor, Streaky Bay is a destination well
worth visiting. To travel via Streaky Bay will only add 30 to
40 kilometres extra distance to your journey. If you are heading
west to Perth you should make a detour to Streaky Bay from Poochera.
Alternatively if you have just crossed the Nullarbor head south
to Streaky Bay from Ceduna. As the locals say, spend a day in
Streaky Bay!
