Family Activities
Adventures for Everyone
The best family activities in Cowell
Shuck oysters, jump off historic jetties, hand-feed dolphins, hunt for the Tumby Bay murals and watch the tuna toss at Tunarama. The Eyre Peninsula is a natural playground built for families.
The Eyre Peninsula is built for family adventures, with safe swimming beaches, hands-on wildlife and plenty of room for kids to roam. The sheltered gulf bays around Tumby Bay, Cowell and Smoky Bay offer shallow, calm water and grassy foreshores, while jetties along the coast are perfect for crabbing, squidding and learning to fish.
Up the wow factor with the region's wildlife encounters: wade out to shuck oysters at Coffin Bay, meet hand-raised animals at Glen Forest near Port Lincoln, or take an eco-cruise to swim with sea lions and dolphins. Kids love clambering up granite giants like Pildappa Rock and Mount Wudinna, and the silo and street art murals turn town stops into a treasure hunt.
Distances are long, so plan around plenty of beach breaks and pack supplies for remote stretches. Most foreshore reserves have playgrounds, barbecues and shade, and many attractions are free or low-cost. Summer suits swimming and water play; the milder shoulder seasons make the longer drives more comfortable with little ones.
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5 places
Arno Bay Foreshore & Estuary
A laid-back coastal town with a tidal estuary boardwalk, safe swimming beach and a jetty over Spencer Gulf.
Cowell Jetty
A long heritage jetty over the calm waters of Franklin Harbour at Cowell, a favourite for fishing and gulf sunsets.
Cowell Oysters & Jade
Famous Oysters & Southern Hemisphere Jade
An east-coast town on Franklin Harbour, known for its prized oysters and one of the largest jade deposits in the southern hemisphere.
Franklin Harbour Historical Museum
Cowell's story in an 1880s post office
A volunteer-run museum in Cowell's old post office and postmaster's residence, with period rooms, farming and shipping relics, and specimens of the local nephrite jade.
Lucky Bay
A shack settlement on a sand spit
A classic South Australian shack community strung along a sand spit north-east of Cowell, with safe swimming, blue swimmer crabs and gentle gulf water.