Coorong National Park

• Coorong Nation­al Park Teacher Resource Pack

The icon­ic Aus­tralian nov­el, ​‘Storm Boy’, was orig­i­nal­ly made into a movie in 1976 and in ear­ly 2019 a con­tem­po­rary reimag­in­ing of the orig­i­nal movie will be released. The sto­ry fea­tures the vast beach­es, lagoons and sand dunes of Coorong Nation­al Park, where you can fol­low in the foot­steps of char­ac­ters Storm Boy, Mr Per­ci­val and Fin­ger­bone Bill.

Storm Boy tells the sto­ry of Mike (Storm Boy), a young boy who has a spe­cial con­nec­tion with three orphaned pel­i­cans. It is a sto­ry about friend­ship, Abo­rig­i­nal cul­ture and grow­ing up in the iso­lat­ed wilder­ness of the Coorong. The 2019 film fea­tures Storm Boy, as an old man, reflect­ing on his time grow­ing up on the Coorong.

See the spots where Storm Boy was filmed

The Storm Boy movies were shot in numer­ous places through­out Coorong Nation­al Park. Film­ing loca­tions of the 2019 movie include Nine­ty Mile Beach (acces­si­ble by 4wd only) and Godfrey’s Land­ing (only acces­si­ble by boat/​kayak).

For those with­out a boat, kayak or 4wd, there are lots of tour com­pa­nies that can help you dis­cov­er the stun­ning wilder­ness of Storm Boy Country.

Pre­fer to explore Storm Boy coun­try on your own? There are heaps of walk­ing trails and camp­sites to explore as well as over 150km of lagoon and coast­line to dis­cov­er in a kayak.

Abo­rig­i­nal Culture

Coorong Nation­al Park is of enor­mous cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance to the Ngar­rind­jeri Peo­ple, with ancient mounds of dis­card­ed shells through­out the park reveal­ing archae­o­log­i­cal evi­dence of Abo­rig­i­nal camp­sites over thou­sands of years. ​‘Kurrangk’(meaning ​‘long nar­row neck’) is the Ngar­rind­jeri word for Coorong. The word Coorong is an Angli­cised adap­ta­tion of the Ngar­rind­jeri word named for that stretch of land and waters. 

Find your own Mr Percival

The Coorong sup­ports many sig­nif­i­cant and endan­gered flo­ra and fau­na species. The wet­land sys­tem is famous for its abun­dant birdlife, espe­cial­ly Aus­tralian pel­i­cans just like Mr Percival.

We rec­om­mend head­ing to Jack Point, home to a large breed­ing colony of the Aus­tralian pel­i­cans. Don’t for­get your binoculars!

Storm Boy edu­ca­tion­al resource

The Aus­tralian Teach­ers of Media (ATOM) have pub­lished a study guide for the new Storm Boy movie designed for stu­dents in Years 3 – 9.

• Down­load ATOM – Storm Boy study guide (6 MB — PDF)

More Storm Boy inspiration:

• Check out this Storm Boy inspired itin­er­ary by the South Aus­tralian Tourism Commission.
• Get ideas from Fleurieu Penin­su­la Tourism on what to see and do while you are in Storm Boy Country.
• Dis­cov­er 6 facts you might not know about the Coorong.

Bush­walk­ing is a fan­tas­tic way to con­nect with nature, keep fit and spend time with fam­i­ly and friends. South Aus­trali­a’s nation­al parks fea­ture a range of trails that let you expe­ri­ence a diver­si­ty of landscapes.

Easy walks

Chinaman’s Well His­toric Site Jour­ney to Gold Walk (1 hour return, 1.3km)

Nav­i­gate this trail on Google Street View 

Explore the Chinaman’s Well his­toric site to find the stone well and asso­ci­at­ed quar­ries, learn­ing the his­to­ry of the gold rush.

Godfrey’s Land­ing Walk — only acces­si­ble by boat (1 hour return, 3km)

A great wildlife walk, this trail takes you through the sand dunes from the Coorong Lagoon to the ocean beach.

Jack Point Pel­i­can Obser­va­to­ry Walk (20 mins return, 1.2km)

Nav­i­gate this trail on Google Street View 

A great walk for fam­i­lies wind­ing through the dunes to a view­ing area over­look­ing pel­i­can breed­ing islands.

Lakes Nature Walk Trail (1 hour loop, 3km)

Nav­i­gate this trail on Google Street View 

A gen­tle, pleas­ant walk past ephemer­al lakes, through mallee scrub and over low sand dunes.

Ngrugie Ngop­pun Walk (1 hour 15 mins loop, 2.5km)

Nav­i­gate this trail on Google Street View 

This means ​‘good walk’ in the Ngar­rind­jeri lan­guage. This short loop offers wildlife view­ing and access to some local history.

Mod­er­ate hikes

Parn­ka Ngop­pun Trail (2 hour loop, 5 km)

Take in the spec­tac­u­lar beau­ty of the Parn­ka Point shore­line and stun­ning views of the North and South Lagoons and the dynam­ic dune sys­tem of the Younghus­band Penin­su­la on this loop trail. As you go, keep an eye out for the icon­ic pel­i­cans and­mi­gra­to­ry birds such as avo­cets, band­ed stilts, sharp-tailed sand­pipers and red-necked stints. 

Nukan Kun­gun Hike (2 days one way, 25km)

This 25km trail is great for school and walk­ing groups. It starts from Salt Creek and links some of the more pop­u­lar trails in the park, con­clud­ing at the 42 Mile Cross­ing camp­ground. From the camp­ground you may con­tin­ue over the sand dunes to the ocean beach, a fur­ther 1.3km. Seclud­ed bush camp­sites are also dot­ted along the trail.

There are no des­ig­nat­ed moun­tain bik­ing trails in this park. 

• Which parks can you ride in?

Expe­ri­ence camp­ing under the night sky along­side salt lagoons and white sandy beach­es at one of the park’s camp­grounds. From the spa­cious, fam­i­ly-friend­ly 42 Mile Cross­ing camp­ground to the seclud­ed camp­sites along the Younghus­band Penin­su­la, which are only acces­si­ble by boat, there are plen­ty of camp­ing options.

Camp­sites must be booked pri­or to arrival to the park.

Book online to reserve your camp­site up to 12 months in advance.

Tent camp­ing

The camp­grounds at the south­ern end of the Coorong pro­vide the best shel­ter for tent camp­ing. There are camp­grounds with des­ig­nat­ed sites and toi­lets along the Loop Road, 42 Mile Cross­ing, 28 Mile Cross­ing and at Parn­ka Point.

Boat access only campsites

The Godfrey’s Land­ing camp­ing area is acces­si­ble only by boat, and you will find oth­er seclud­ed camp­sites along the Younghus­band Penin­su­la. Remem­ber that nav­i­gat­ing boats in the Coorong can be haz­ardous because of chang­ing weath­er con­di­tions, shal­low water and rocky reefs.

Car­a­vans

The camp­ing areas best suit­ed for car­a­vans are 42 Mile Cross­ing, Parn­ka Point, Long Point and Mark Point. Sites in the park are not pow­ered. Tak­ing a car­a­van below 42 Mile Cross­ing is not rec­om­mend­ed because of unpre­dictable ter­rain. Tea Tree Cross­ing is also not rec­om­mend­ed for car­a­vans – there’s a high risk of get­ting bogged and the water lev­els at the cross­ing are unpredictable.

Camp­grounds

28 Mile Cross­ing campground

View camp­ground on Google Street View 

Suit­able for: tents, camper trail­ers and caravans

Facil­i­ties: toilets

This camp­ground is set amongst sand dunes that offer some pro­tec­tion. A walk­ing trail from the camp­ground leads to the beach.

42 Mile Cross­ing campground

View camp­ground on Google Street View 

Suit­able for: tents, camper trail­ers and caravans

Facil­i­ties: toi­lets, non-potable water, pic­nic table and walk­ing trail

This camp­ground has large grassed area and is semi-shel­tered by veg­e­ta­tion. A walk­ing trail from the camp­ground leads to the beach. Camp­sites are unallocated.

Bark­er Knoll (boat/​canoe access only)

Suit­able for: tents

Facil­i­ties: walk­ing trail

This camp­ground is only acces­si­ble by boat or canoe and is locat­ed on the edge of the Coorong Lagoon.

God­freys Land­ing (boat/​canoe access only)

Suit­able for: tents

Facil­i­ties: toi­lets, non-potable water, shel­ter, small boat ramp and walk­ing trail

This camp­ground is only acces­si­ble by boat or canoe and is locat­ed on the edge of the Coorong Lagoon.

Kar­too Road camp­ground (4WD)

View camp­ground on Google Street View 

Suit­able for: tents and camper trailers

Facil­i­ties: none

There is sev­en camp sites spread along the Kar­too Road (4WD only). Camp sites are locat­ed on edge of Coorong Lagoon.

Long Point campground

View camp­ground on Google Street View 

Suit­able for: tents, camper trail­ers and caravans

Facil­i­ties: toi­lets, pic­nic table, small jet­ty and small boat ramp

This camp­ground has five camp sites avail­able and offers great views of the Coorong Lagoon.

Loop Road campgrounds

View Hood­ed Plover camp­ground on Google Street View
View Malleefowl camp­ground on Google Street View

Suit­able for: tents, camper trail­ers and caravans

Facil­i­ties: toi­lets and walk­ing trails

There is 14 camp­sites across four camp­grounds that are spread along the Loop Road. Camp sites offer a bush camp­ing expe­ri­ence in a nat­ur­al setting.

Mark Point campground

View camp­ground on Google Street View 

Suit­able for: tents, camper trail­ers and caravans

Facil­i­ties: boat ramp

This camp­ground has two camp sites avail­able and offers great views of the Coorong Lagoon.

Beach camp­ing (4WD)

Suit­able for: tents

Facil­i­ties: none

Camp­ing is allowed along the beach between the high and low water­marks, and with­in the des­ig­nat­ed camp­sites indi­cat­ed by wood­en posts and poly fenc­ing between Tea Tree and 42 Mile Cross­ings. Ocean Beach is only acces­si­ble by 4WD and expe­ri­ence in sand dri­ving is recommended.

Parn­ka Point campgrounds

Suit­able for: tents and camper trailers

Facil­i­ties: toi­lets, non-potable water, boat ramp and shel­tered pic­nic tables (locat­ed at Parn­ka Point)

There is 15 camp­sites across two camp­grounds. Camp sites over­look the Coorong Lagoon and some offer shel­ter pro­vid­ed by trees.

Tea Tree Cross­ing camp­ground (4WD)

Suit­able for: tents and camper trailers

Facil­i­ties: none

This camp­ground is only acces­si­ble to 4WD vehi­cles. There is a large grassed area which has some shel­ter pro­vid­ed by veg­e­ta­tion. The camp­ground can only be accessed from the main­land dur­ing sum­mer due to high water lev­els in the Coorong Lagoon dur­ing win­ter. At oth­er times, the camp­ground may be accessed via the 42 Mile Cross­ing and the ocean beach (sub­ject to weath­er and beach con­di­tions). Camp­sites are unallocated.

Tea Tree Cross­ing – Oys­ter­catch­er camp­ground (4WD)

Suit­able for: tents and camper trailers

Facil­i­ties: none

There are 4 shel­tered camp­sites acces­si­ble from Loop Road when there is water cov­er­ing Tea Tree Crossing 

Sand­piper campsites

Suit­able for: tents and camper trailers

Facil­i­ties: Boat launch

There are 4 camp­sites suit­able for short stays locat­ed adja­cent the Princes High­way, 40km south of Meningie over­look­ing the Coorong Lagoon

Sev­en Mile Road campsites

Suit­able for tents: camper trail­ers and caravans

Facil­i­ties: Boat launch, lookout 

There are 3 camp­sites locat­ed adja­cent the Sev­en Mile Road, over­look­ing the Coorong Lagoon

Wreck Cross­ing campground

View camp­ground on Google Street View

Suit­able for: tents and camper trailers

Facil­i­ties: none

Only acces­si­ble dur­ing sum­mer months, this camp­ground has five camp­sites that offer shel­ter pro­vid­ed by tall trees.

Chi­na­man’s Well

A walk around the intri­cate stone well, asso­ci­at­ed quar­ries and eat­ing house ruins pro­vides an insight into the his­to­ry of the area when the Chi­nese passed through the Coorong dur­ing the gold rush era.

God­frey’s Landing

Acces­si­ble by boat from Gool­wa and Hind­marsh Island, God­frey’s Land­ing offers a fas­ci­nat­ing walk through the sand dunes of the Younghus­band Penin­su­la to the ocean beach near the Mur­ray Mouth.

Jack Point

Home of the largest breed­ing colony of the Aus­tralian Pel­i­can, Jack­’s Point Obser­va­to­ry allows vis­i­tors to observe numer­ous birds fly­ing back and forth to vis­it and breed on the near­by islands. Don’t for­get your binoculars!

Long Point

A jet­ty pro­vides vis­i­tors with easy access to their boat to explore the Coorong. Long Point is also a great spot to go fish­ing as the sun sets over the Coorong lagoon on a calm evening.

Parn­ka Point

Parn­ka Point or ​‘Hells Gate’ is the nar­row­est point between the north­ern and south­ern Coorong lagoon. It is not­ed for excel­lent views up and down the lagoon, and wad­ing birds are com­mon­ly seen fos­sick­ing in the shal­low and shel­tered bays nearby.

Pel­i­can Point

Pel­i­can Point offers a great van­tage point to see some of the wide vari­ety of birdlife in the park. It is also where Lake Alexan­d­ri­na enters the Coorong through the Tauwitchere bar­rage. There is no pub­lic access to the barrage.

Salt Creek

The longest walk­ing trail in the Coorong (27km) starts at Salt Creek and extends south to the 42 Mile Cross­ing. This trail links four oth­er inter­est­ing but short­er walks focus­ing on wildlife, scenery, sand dune sys­tems and the ear­ly set­tle­ment of the Chi­nese. Des­ig­nat­ed camp sites are avail­able along the near­by Loop Road.

42 Mile Crossing

42 Mile Cross­ing is the clos­est point for 2WD vehi­cles to access the beach. A pleas­ant 20 minute walk through the sand dunes along an eas­i­ly acces­si­ble walk­ing trail from the camp­ground rewards you with the sight and sound of the end­less South­ern Ocean waves rolling onto the beach. To pro­tect the breed­ing site of the hood­ed plover, access to the beach north of Tea Tree Cross­ing to the Mur­ray Mouth is closed to vehi­cles from 24 Octo­ber to 24 Decem­ber each year.

The Coorong holds great inter­est in rela­tion to ear­ly Euro­pean explo­ration of South Aus­tralia. The area was a major sec­tion of the over­land stock route, mail coach route, migrant route and tele­graph line route between Ade­laide and Melbourne.

Join us on a self-guid­ed tour of some high­light­ed his­toric loca­tions and enjoy the Coorong, the scenery and its abun­dant wildlife which amazed ear­ly Euro­pean settlers.

Coorong self-guid­ed his­to­ry trail — map and guide

With over 150km of lagoon and coast­line to explore, the waters of the Coorong are ide­al for boat­ing, kayak­ing and canoe­ing. There are two sep­a­rate bod­ies of water in the park – the North­ern Lagoon (from Gool­wa Bar­rage to Parn­ka Point) and the South­ern Lagoon (Parn­ka Point to Salt Creek).

• View Mundoo Chan­nel. God­freys Land­ing and the Mur­ray Mouth on Google Street View
• Water safe­ty

There is excel­lent surf fish­ing along the Coorong Ocean Beach. The steep beach offers good access to deep gut­ters along the shore where fish hunt for food. Between the Mur­ray Mouth and Long Point are good spots for boat fish­ing – try cast­ing a line in the lagoon for the famous Coorong Mul­let and Mulloway.

Please note:

• net fish­ers must have recre­ation­al licences
• you must observe bag sizes and limits
• there is cur­rent­ly no recre­ation­al col­lec­tion of cock­les allowed in the Coorong (reg­u­la­tions are sub­ject to change).
• no fish­ing is allowed with­in 150m of the barrages.

Fish­ing is not allowed in marine park sanc­tu­ary zones. Coorong Beach South and Coorong Beach North sanc­tu­ary zones bor­der Coorong Nation­al Park.

Fish­ing is active­ly man­aged in South Aus­tralia by the Depart­ment of Pri­ma­ry Indus­tries and Resources SA.
Check out these use­ful links before embark­ing on your fish­ing adventure:

• Recre­ation­al fish­ing regulations
• SA recre­ation­al fish­ing guide app
• Aquat­ic reserves

The Coorong is a bird­watch­ers’ par­adise. Over 200 species of birds have been record­ed in the park, includ­ing two rare species. Many dif­fer­ent water birds vis­it the wet­land, par­tic­u­lar­ly in sum­mer. The dis­tinc­tive land­scape is an inter­na­tion­al­ly renowned breed­ing area for the Aus­tralian pel­i­can and a refuge for ducks, swans, cor­morants, terns, grebes and numer­ous species of migra­to­ry birds.

When bird watch­ing, car­ry binoc­u­lars and a field guide to help with bird iden­ti­fi­ca­tion. Wear clothes that blend in with the sur­rounds and be qui­et, par­tic­u­lar­ly if birds are nest­ing. Do not approach or inter­fere with nests – this can cause birds to aban­don them.

With its long and chal­leng­ing beach dri­ve, nar­row cross­ings, and seclud­ed camp­sites, the Coorong is one of Australia’s favourite four-wheel dri­ving destinations.

From Gool­wa it is pos­si­ble to access the very top end of the Coorong, but there is no vehi­cle access across the bar­rages or the mouth of the Riv­er Mur­ray into the main areas of the park. Pri­ma­ry access into the park is via the Princes High­way from Tailem Bend.

The ocean beach is a gazetted road so speed restric­tions apply. Stan­dard road rules apply when dri­ving any­where in the Coorong, includ­ing the laws for speed lim­its, drink dri­ving, vehi­cle reg­is­tra­tion, dri­vers licences and seat belts.

Be care­ful if dri­ving on the beach, and only do so at low tide. Remem­ber tides are unpre­dictable and can turn quick­ly. You may only dri­ve on the beach between the high and low water mark. Do not take your vehi­cle off the des­ig­nat­ed tracks. Pre­cious Indige­nous sites can be dam­aged and wildlife threat­ened by off track dri­ving, and fines apply.

Only reg­is­tered motor­bikes are per­mit­ted in the park. Quad bikes are not permitted.

To pro­tect the hood­ed plover, the ocean beach track north of Tea Tree Cross­ing is closed to vehi­cles from 24 Octo­ber to 24 Decem­ber every year. This clo­sure applies to the beach from Tea Tree Cross­ing to the Mur­ray Mouth.

• 4WDriving safe­ty

View 4WD tracks using Google Street View

• 32 Mile Cross­ing to Ocean Beach
• 42 Mile Camp­ground to Ocean Beach
• Kar­too Road 

Want to help?

To find out how you can help in this park or near­by, please vis­it Nat­ur­al Resources South East.

Want to join oth­ers and become a Park Friend?

To find out more about Friends of Parks groups please vis­it Friends of Parks South Australia.

You could join oth­ers to help look after a park. You can take part in work­ing bees, train­ing and oth­er events.

Become a Camp­ground Host

Com­bine your love of camp­ing with doing a good deed by becom­ing a vol­un­teer camp­ground host in this park.

A camp­ground host is a vol­un­teer who stays at the park either for a spe­cif­ic peak peri­od, like the East­er break or a long week­end, or an extend­ed peri­od of time (up to a few months) to sup­port park rangers. 

If you are pas­sion­ate about the envi­ron­ment, a keen camper, like to meet peo­ple from all around the world, and are a hap­py to help, then host­ing could be right up your alley. 

• SA’s Camp­ground Hosts Program