Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay takes its name from streaks of seaweed oil Flinders noticed on the water in 1802. The town sits on a wide sheltered bay with a jetty and a long tidal foreshore, and it serves as the base for a coast of considerable variety within a short drive: Murphy's Haystacks, a group of pink granite inselbergs weathered into rounded shapes on a farm, thought to be around 1,500 million years old; Point Labatt, one of the few mainland Australian sea lion colonies, watched from a clifftop platform; and Cape Bauer's blowholes and whistling rocks. The Westward Ho cliffs run south, and the surf breaks nearby are heavy and largely uncrowded.

History

The Wirangu people have lived around the bay for many thousands of years, and the Dutch explorer Pieter Nuyts in the Gulden Zeepaard was the first European to see the area, in 1627, marked by an obelisk raised for the tercentenary in 1937. Matthew Flinders named the bay on 5 February 1802 for the streaks discolouring the water, now thought to come from oils of seaweed, and John Hill and Samuel Stephens made the first land exploration in August 1839, followed on 25 August by Edward John Eyre, who set up a small base near the present town (Wikipedia, Streaky Bay, South Australia).

What you'll find

• Murphy's Haystacks - ancient pink granite inselbergs standing in a paddock.
• Point Labatt - a mainland sea lion colony seen from a clifftop platform.
• Cape Bauer - blowholes and whistling rocks on the loop drive.
• The sheltered bay - the town jetty and calm tidal water.

When to go

September to May for the mildest weather; the west coast is windy year-round. Whales pass in winter and spring. Surf is best in the cooler months. School holidays fill the caravan parks.

Practical notes

Distances between sights are substantial and some access roads are unsealed. Point Labatt is viewed from a cliff a long way above the animals, so binoculars matter. Murphy's Haystacks is on private land with a small honesty-box fee.

Nearby

Baird Bay lies south; Ceduna and the Nullarbor are northwest.

Key facts