Northern Coastline

Point Lowly

The Point Lowly Lighthouse and nearby beach is just a 20-minute drive from Whyalla (about 34kms) on a sealed road. It offers beautiful views of the gulf, coastline, and across to the Southern Flinders Ranges.

Dolphins and birdlife often frequent the waters, while the rocky shoreline is popular for fishing, sightseeing, or a relaxing and leisurely stroll.

Facilities include a breakwater and an all-weather concrete double boat ramp with a floating walkway between the ramps. Although primarily established to assist the growing aquaculture industry, it gives visitors and local shack owners ready access to the nearby coastal waters of Fitzgerald Bay. Located near the boat ramp is a playground and new toilet facilities which were opened in late 2005.

At the Point Lowly Beach, new toilets, cold showers, BBQ, and surf lifesavers facility were opened in late 1999. The beach is a popular spot for a day's outing.

Click here to view the map of the Northern Coastline

Point Lowly Lighthouse

The lighthouse and two lighthouse keepers' cottages are the oldest buildings in the Whyalla area. Completed in 1883, the lighthouse eased the way for maritime traffic around Point Lowly. The original 15 metres tall tower was extended by eight metres in 1909. Manned for 90 years, the Point Lowly beacon became automated and was eventually delisted from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority register. Since 1995, the lighthouse has been owned by the City of Whyalla, while the cottages are available for holiday accommodation through the Whyalla Uniting Church.

 

Port Bonython

Tours do not operate over the Santos plant, but visitors can clearly see its size and complexity from the roadside and shoreline vantage points.

Liquid hydrocarbons - oil, condensate and LPG - are mixed at Moomba and pumped through a 659km underground pipeline to Port Bonython where the liquids are split into their various components by a distillation process.

Port Bonython commenced operation in 1984 and crude oil, napthas, propane and butane (LPG), are produced and held in storage tanks with capacities of 250,000 barrels, before being pumped along a 2.4km jetty to waiting tankers of up to 110,000 tonnes deadweight capacity.

An information bay is provided for visitors.

 

Fitzgerald Bay

Approximately 20kms northeast of Whyalla, Fitzgerald Bay offers stunning views of the blue gulf waters framed by picturesque hills and Southern Flinders Ranges. Semidesert vegetation reaches to the beaches that are mainly formed by pebbles, sand and a line of mangroves. The scenic drive extends approximately 20kms north to the uppermost holiday shack area of Point Douglas. The first section from the turn off to Fitzgerald Bay is a sealed road while the remainder is a gravel surface.

Fitzgerald Bay is also a home to an aquaculture enterprise. The sea cages in the gulf are part of fish farms that specialise in growing yellow tail kingfish. The Freycinet heritage trail also starts here.

Bush camping is available at Fitzgerald Bay in a designated area with toilet facilities (refer map).

 

Freycinet Trail

Fitzgerald Bay/Point Lowly hiking, cycling and driving trail. This twelve kilometre long heritage and nature trail follows the coast. The interpretive signs along the trail explain the Aboriginal history, early European exploration, flora and fauna, marine life and contemporary use of modern technology in the area. A separate Freycinet Trail brochure is available from the Whyalla Visitor Centre, or follow the signboards. Always carry enough water and use sun protection while on the trail.

 

Shingle Beach Ridges

A geological phenomenon when travelling along the Scenic Coastal Drive are ridges of stones which resemble man made barriers - but they are far from man made.

These stranded shingle beach deposits have been traced over a distance of some 50kms from near the head of Spencer Gulf southwards along its western shore to Stony Point, near Whyalla, and provide a distinctive geological feature which is believed to date back to the pleistocene period.

Consisting of moderately sorted, rounded to sub-angular pebbles and cobbles, the deposits form sinuous, flat topped and well preserved ridges 3-5 metres above present mean sea level.

Most are usually narrow - no more than 10-15 metres wide. In some areas the deposits form cliffs behind the modern beach.

The movement of gravel by present day waves in the northern part of Spencer Gulf is restricted compared with that indicated by the ridges. During the Pleistocene, it appears that the combination of a high sea level (3 metres higher than today), strong easterly winds, and high wave energy dissipation along the shore line, were responsible for the deposits.

In fact, such structures are very uncommon in Australia, and the Fitzgerald Bay Ridges are the only ones in South Australia.