Wildlife & Nature
Where the Wild Things Are
The best wildlife & nature in Port Lincoln
Swim with sea lions and dolphins at Baird Bay, watch Australia's largest mainland sea lion colony haul out at Point Labatt, spot wild koalas at Mikkira Station and dive into the world's only mass cuttlefish aggregation at Whyalla. The Eyre Peninsula is one of the great wildlife encounters in Australia.
The Eyre Peninsula is one of the best places in Australia to get genuinely close to wild animals. Off Port Lincoln you can swim with wild sea lions and dolphins, dive in a cage alongside great white sharks, or watch tuna and giant cuttlefish in their natural habitat — the Whyalla cuttlefish aggregation is a globally significant winter spectacle.
On land, the parks teem with life. Emus and kangaroos graze the Gawler Ranges, ospreys and sea eagles nest along the cliffs, and rare southern hairy-nosed wombats burrow inland. At Point Labatt, one of Australia's only mainland Australian sea lion colonies lounges on the rocks below the lookout, while the Head of Bight hosts southern right whales between roughly May and October.
Much of this wildlife is protected within national and conservation parks, so come prepared and keep a respectful distance. Combine sightings with the region's walking trails and beaches for days that move easily between encounters. Winter is prime for whales and cuttlefish; summer suits sea lions and seabirds.
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14 places
Adventure Bay Charters
$$$Cage-dive with great white sharks or swim with sea lions and tuna on eco-accredited day trips out of Port Lincoln, the shark-cage-diving capital of Australia.
Australian Coastal Safaris
Guided Adventures Across the Peninsula
A local tour operator running guided four-wheel-drive, wildlife, seafood and fishing experiences across the southern Eyre Peninsula.
Boston Bay
Australia's Biggest Natural Harbour
The vast, sheltered bay that Port Lincoln is built on — more than three times the size of Sydney Harbour and the home of the tuna fleet.
Cape Donington Lighthouse
A historic lighthouse at the tip of Lincoln National Park, looking out over Spilsby Island and the entrance to Boston Bay.
Donington Beach
A sheltered, shallow swimming beach near the tip of Lincoln National Park, with calm clear water and granite headlands.
Fishery Bay Lookout
A clifftop vantage over the wild surf and pale sand of Fishery Bay, south of Port Lincoln.
Glen-Forest Tourist Park
Animals, Slides & Family Fun
A family-friendly wildlife and activity park near Port Lincoln, combining hand-feeding native animals with water slides, mini golf and more.
Lincoln National Park
Headlands, Bays & Memory Cove
A rugged coastal park just south of Port Lincoln, with sheltered swimming bays, dramatic headlands and the protected Memory Cove Wilderness.
Memory Cove
A Wilderness Named in Grief
A pristine white-sand cove in a strictly protected wilderness area, named by Matthew Flinders for the crew he lost here in 1802.
Mikkira Station
Wild Koalas Under the Manna Gums
A historic sheep station where wild koalas doze in the manna gums — one of the few places on the Eyre Peninsula to see them in the wild.
Parnkalla Trail
Boston Bay, one footstep at a time
A shoreline walking trail tracing the curve of Boston Bay through Port Lincoln — first landing site, beaches, marina and headlands, with the city never far away.
Stamford Hill Lookout
A summit walk in Lincoln National Park to a Flinders monument, with 360-degree views over Boston Bay and the islands.
Wanna Dunes
A vast field of white dunes tumbling to a wild surf beach in the south of Lincoln National Park.
Whalers Way
Granite Cliffs at the End of the Earth
A privately owned stretch of spectacular, untamed coastline at the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula, accessed by permit.