5 national parks to visit on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula

South Australia’s Fleurieu Penin­su­la has some­thing for every­one. Bare­ly more than 100 km south of Ade­laide, the region is an easy day-trip away, but is also per­fect for a longer stay.

The region is home to some of the best local food and wine in the coun­try, and is alive all year-round with vibrant and cre­ative fes­ti­vals and events.

Not to be missed are the diverse and beau­ti­ful nation­al parks, with their coastal thrills, seclud­ed beach­es and unspoilt wildlife.

Here are our pick of parks to vis­it next time you’re in the region:

1. Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park

A short 2.2 km dri­ve from pop­u­lar tourist town Vic­tor Har­bor is Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park.

Enjoy the unique expe­ri­ence of trav­el­ling on a horse-drawn tram along the wood­en cause­way that con­nects the main­land to the island, or put on your walk­ing shoes and make your way over by foot.

Take the 1.9 km Kai­ki Walk around the island and mar­vel at the huge gran­ite boul­ders, tinged with orange lichen, and dis­cov­er fas­ci­nat­ing facts about the island’s wildlife, geol­o­gy and his­to­ry through the inter­pre­tive signs along the way.

Along the walk, take some time to stop and admire the sweep­ing views of Encounter Bay and the Bluff from the island’s many van­tage points.

If you’re vis­it­ing in win­ter, you may even be lucky enough to chance a sight­ing of a south­ern right whale.

2. Encounter Marine Park

Encounter Marine Park stretch­es across many kilo­me­tres of coast and has mul­ti­ple access points along the Fleurieu Penin­su­la, includ­ing Port Noar­lun­ga, Aldin­ga, Rapid Bay, Cape Jervis, Vic­tor Har­bor, Port Elliot and Bashams Beach.

The marine park holds some of SA’s best snorkelling and dive sites, where you’ll be wit­ness to a spec­tac­u­lar show­case of the state’s diverse marine life.

Head to Rapid Bay for a chance to glimpse the icon­ic leafy sea drag­on. The best place to spot these mag­nif­i­cent crea­tures is under the old jet­ty, just west of the new jetty.

For a chance to see cut­tle­fish, perch and blue dev­il fish, take a dive in Aldin­ga Reef, or head to Sec­ond Val­ley to see sea urchins, leather jack­ets and salmon trout.

For those who pre­fer land-based fun, hop in your four-wheel dri­ve (4WD) and dri­ve along the beach from Gool­wa all the way to the Mur­ray Mouth, where Encounter Marine Park and Coorong Nation­al Park over­lap. Just remem­ber to respect the speed lim­it on the beach and watch out for wildlife like seals and birds rest­ing on the beach. 

3. Cox Scrub Con­ser­va­tion Park

A 563 hectare delight for bush­walk­ers and bird­watch­ers, Cox Scrub Con­ser­va­tion Park is amongst one of the larg­er parks on the Fleurieu Peninsula. 

Beau­ti­ful open stands of stringy bark and banksia under­sto­ry pro­vide habi­tat for a range of birdlife, includ­ing New Hol­land hon­eyeaters, superb fairy­wren, and red-browed finch. This park is tru­ly a bird­watch­ing haven. 

Enjoy the three walk­ing trails locat­ed in the park, which pro­vide won­der­ful oppor­tu­ni­ties to enjoy the seren­i­ty. You may spot wildlife among the low wood­ed hills, includ­ing the elu­sive south­ern brown bandicoot.

4. New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park

Locat­ed on the south­ern coast of the Fleurieu Penin­su­la, New­land Head Con­ser­va­tion Park is a pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion for bird watch­ing, surf­ing, fish­ing and is home to one of the most mem­o­rable sec­tions of the Wild South Coast Way.

The park pro­tects two long beach­es, Wait­pin­ga and Par­sons, as well as the scenic Wait­pin­ga Cliffs and sur­round­ing mallee heath veg­e­ta­tion. Fol­low the walk­ing trails along­side the rolling sand dunes and rugged cliffs which pro­vide panoram­ic views of Wait­pin­ga Creek, Encounter Marine Park, the Pages in Back­stairs Pas­sage and Kan­ga­roo Island.

After a day of explor­ing, set up camp at Wait­pin­ga Camp­ground or Natun­yu­ru Ngawan­thi (Sand Dunes camp­ground) and enjoy the dis­tant sound of waves rolling onto the beach. 

Due to strong rips and hid­den gut­ters, the park’s beach­es are not suit­able for swimming.

5. Deep Creek Nation­al Park

Locat­ed with­in 100 km of Ade­laide, and home to a wide array of native wildlife such as west­ern grey kan­ga­roos, short-beaked echid­nas and 100 species of birds, is Deep Creek Nation­al Park.

For stun­ning coastal views across the east­ern and west­ern sec­tions of the park, jump in your 4WD and head along one of the 2 tracks in the park.

The Boat Har­bour track winds through stringy­bark for­est with steep descents and ends at a small carpark where you can stop dri­ving and walk to Boat Har­bour Beach.

The Blow­hole Beach track is as steep as it is rocky and pro­vides access to a sandy beach with dis­tant views of Kan­ga­roo Island.

Look­ing for some­where to stay the night? The park has 5 camp­grounds with sites suit­able for tents, car­a­vans, camper vans and camper trail­ers – but be sure to check avail­abil­i­ty and book online before you go.

If you want to stay in the park but aren’t a fan of camp­ing, South­ern Ocean Retreats has you sort­ed with a range of accom­mo­da­tion options, from rus­tic cot­tages to archi­tec­tural­ly designed eco-retreats.

Park of the Month

Through­out March, Parks of Fleurieu Penin­su­la are being cel­e­brat­ed as the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Australia’s Park of the Month. There are lots of events and activ­i­ties to get involved in – check the web­site for all the details.

Main image: Deep Creek Nation­al Park