Swim with Sea Lions and Dolphins at Baird Bay, SA

As a kid, I never imagined I would swim with Sea Lions and dolphins--in Australia!  It is worthy of putting on your bucket list.

We joined Baird Bay Eco-Experience, for a half-day boat tour, located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. For us a large part of travel enjoyment is interacting and doing activities with people from around the world. So we were thrilled that our boat had 14 diverse international people, 6 from Germany, 3 from China, 3 from Australia, and us as the only Americans. 

The boat ride to the island with the seals only took about 20 minutes.  The tide was down, so the Sea Lions were content sleeping and frolicking with each other.  It was magical to watch them so closely from the boat---no binoculars needed.  They put on quite a show, so we didn't mind that it took awhile for them to enter the water and share swimming within feet of us in the sea.  Amazing indeed!

Next we cruised to a cove that habitually has pods of dolphins.  I felt I should pinch myself as a reminder that this experience was for real--and not in a movie, as we watched the dolphin pod swim dance around our boat.  Prior to our plopping into the water to join in on the dance, we were instructed to NOT swim after the dolphins, but "just put your head equipped with your snorkel in the water and float-- allow the dolphins to swim to you."   Their hello greetings were within feet of us and our hearts were captured by their friendly and beautiful nature. Who said dogs are man's best friend?  Wrong! I want a dolphin for my nature friend.

The day before we had driven to Point Labatt, which is the only mainland colony of Sea Lions in Australia--here binoculars would be beneficial-- to view them.  We were glad we had done this prior to our up close swimming experience with the Sea Lions.

The pelicans in this photo are common along the coast of South Australia, and a major reason why Coorong National Park, SA is a wetland area of world standing. We enjoyed watching them waddle walk on the beach, as we refueled with lunch and terrific coffee at Eco-Experience beach and ocean view cafe. Relaxing and savory moments!

The Streaky Bay District, where we stayed for three days, has 360 km of coastline and a population of only 2,200. There are three scenic loop drives, all abundant with trails, beach lookouts, sand dunes and extraordinary photo opportunities. Since our nature is to not to miss out on anything, of course we drove all of them and enjoyed the different aspects of each drive. The drives only take one to two hours each, depending on how long you linger in nature.  Anyone driving across the famed "Nullabor", note a small detour to this region will be enjoyed.
                                                                       

Enjoying long walks on magnificent white beaches that just go on and on.........

We stayed another three nights at Sceale Bay in a VBRO, which was 20 miles from Streaky Bay, on a hillside above the most amazing stretch of white beach, that went for over 10 km (6 miles) ...... we couldn't see the end of the beach with our naked eye.  Needless to say we had daily long walks on the beach..........and the only person the entire three days at the beach was a man on a four wheeler running his dog.  Lucky for us we came well stocked to cook our own food, as there are no concessionary services for 20 miles. The District's travel website certainly had it right of the area when they stated, "Want to find the perfect place to "Just Be"?"
                                                                        

Murphy's Haystacks is the main landmark on the predominately flat interior of Streaky Bay District. Hundreds of photographers take pictures of these geologic wonders and they grace many a photo calendars. Legend has it over a hundred years ago, they received their name when a stagecoach passing from a distance, by Murphy's farm had a passenger who was a prominent agricultural expert, who made the droll comment “the farmer must have harrowed his land to produce such an impressive abundance of hay”.  Thereafter, the mail coach driver amused his passengers by referring to the distant inselbergs as ‘Murphys Haystacks’.

The outstanding restaurants, coastal biking trails and chatting with Australian fishermen hoping to have luck with a catch of Blue Swimmer Crabs or King George Whiting were our highlights of the township of Streaky Bay. Other local fish available at restaurants and a local fish market are Snapper, oysters and abalone. Besides fishing, drivers of the district's economy are wheat and barley farming as well as sheep. This experience has me wondering how small towns back home might share their unique experiences and lives with travelers passing through--who might linger if we invited them to participate in authentic area experiences.                          

Streaky Bay Coastal Biking Trail: Beautiful 7km Paved One Way Trail

One of the best reason to travel to South Australia is the solitude and the low number of tourists compared to many other places and beaches of Australia. Okay, you are right--perhaps there is a contradiction in that statement. But in my defense, many of us travelers don't view ourselves as tourists and simply desire area experiences to enjoy and appreciate---in the same manner the locals do.

In part, the low numbers of tourists may be because of the distance to travel to South Australia. I suppose Australia's long travel distances should be anticipated and therefore not surprising, as after all it is a huge country continent, but nonetheless it is hard to wrap your head around the vastness of Australia.  Consider carving out time to travel here, as it's wildlife, solitude beach walking and friendly people are travel highlights. And best of all, the local people willingly converse with you not as a tourist but as.............well a person.  Isn't that refreshing and worth the extra effort to travel here?  Hands down it's a yes for us

Wondrous Waves to Watch or Surf in Streaky Bay District