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11th January 2015, 11:30 PM
#1
Coffin Bay - SA ... brief review
Howdy Folks!
Spent 8 days camping at Coffin Bay (between 26th Dec-3rd Jan) and drove all over the place, so thought I'd add some tips
So - the national park is good. It's $10 entry for the day - but the freeby pass that's doing the rounds will get you in for free.
Once you start getting into the park, you'll wanna get your tyres down.
Gunyahs beach is def worth a drive - stunning white sand and we caught some salmon there too, but the sea was way to rough to swim, with the waves coming in fast making all the parents pretty nervous watching the kids.
The sand getting to Gunyahs is pretty soft, and we spent nearly 3 hours saving a BT50 who managed to get right along the beach, with no recovery gear, no tyre pressure gauge, road tyres and no knowledge. With 10-15 people helping, we eventually got him out, with snatching, plus maxtrax and a lot of digging!
Another day we drove to Seven Mile Beach - it was pretty stunning, and a lot better for the kids. The drive around Coffin Bay NP varies from soft sand to rocky - we were running about 18 PSI the whole time, and didn't get stuck once, but met some others running road tyres and they were struggling, especially those towing boats/campers around.
We also checked out:
- farm beach, which was a bit busier
- gallipoli beach (near farm beach) - steep walk down to the beach, but we were the only ones there, so was worth it!
- kellidie bay - drove round to the point which was a nice scenic drive. We fished off the rocks, but the beach at the end wasn't too bad either
- Little Dutton - stunning bay, which was shallow enough to walk across (with a few metres of swimming) from the inland to the outside bit of land. Beach was pretty soft to drive on, but only a short drive from the boat ramp. This was def the non-NP highlight! The Bay is sheltered, so on at 42degree day we were very comfortable sitting in our own shade or playing in the water.
The caravan park is pretty nice too - if you are going unpowered tents, try get spots 9-12, as they are on the end, with a big open area behind you. We had 4 families in those spots, and they were perfect for the kids to play cricket etc behind the tents, but they are a bit of a walk to the toilets. The showers & toilets are kept clean, although they have keys for M and F toilet blocks .... which can be annoying when kids/adults are sharing one key (e.g. girl and mum or boy and dad). You also get a great view of all the kangaroos in the evening. There are soon many of them - be prepared to hear them jumping past your tent at night, or eating grass etc. Didn't have any issues with them - but the park has clear instructions not to feed or approach. Also, if you are going powered - avoid the sites further up the park - aim for the bottom end near the unpowered sites, as the birds are noisy and messy near the top - with most people opting to buy a tarp to cover their tent/camper to avoid the damage.
The pub is pretty good and provides a 'booze bus' to pickup and drop off - win! The staff were pretty friendly, and the steak was fab, so was the satay sauce! So good we went back a couple of nights later & all had the same food hahaha.
2006 GU ST 3.0td manual. CTEK 250S Dual Battery - Ironman 65L Ice Cube - Pioneer AVH-3600DAB - Tough Dog Adj 45mm Shocks, springs and HD steering damper - Airtec Snorkel - King Brown 3" exhaust
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The Following 10 Users Say Thank You to tracemul7 For This Useful Post:
BigRAWesty (12th January 2015), Chubba (16th January 2016), Clunk (12th January 2015), growler2058 (12th January 2015), mrflibbles (27th January 2015), mudnut (12th January 2015), Stropp (12th January 2015), the evil twin (11th January 2015), TPC (12th January 2015), Woof (11th January 2015)
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11th January 2015 11:30 PM
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12th January 2015, 09:15 AM
#2
..........
Good report but needs photos.
I love Coffin Bay, we stayed in the national park a few years back for a week and had sandy bay to ourselves that was perfect for swimming, even had dolphins swimming around the bay.
Hope you tried the oysters, best in the country IMO.
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12th January 2015, 01:35 PM
#3
2006 GU ST 3.0td manual. CTEK 250S Dual Battery - Ironman 65L Ice Cube - Pioneer AVH-3600DAB - Tough Dog Adj 45mm Shocks, springs and HD steering damper - Airtec Snorkel - King Brown 3" exhaust
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The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to tracemul7 For This Useful Post:
Chubba (16th January 2016), Clunk (12th January 2015), rusty_nail (12th January 2015), TPC (12th January 2015), Woof (11th February 2015)
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12th January 2015, 01:38 PM
#4
2006 GU ST 3.0td manual. CTEK 250S Dual Battery - Ironman 65L Ice Cube - Pioneer AVH-3600DAB - Tough Dog Adj 45mm Shocks, springs and HD steering damper - Airtec Snorkel - King Brown 3" exhaust
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The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to tracemul7 For This Useful Post:
Chubba (16th January 2016), Clunk (12th January 2015), mudnut (4th March 2015), rusty_nail (12th January 2015), Stropp (12th January 2015), TPC (12th January 2015), Woof (11th February 2015)
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12th January 2015, 01:42 PM
#5
Daily Lurker
spectacular photos mate! it looks very nice there!
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12th January 2015, 07:21 PM
#6
Patrol God
2003 gu3 td42tdi sold 😞 bloody gvm towing crap. Bt50 3500kg gvm.
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12th January 2015, 08:00 PM
#7
Administrator
It's on my list now. Looks like a great spot!
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12th January 2015, 08:09 PM
#8
BIG & BALD
Really does look worth while going through there.
Keep this in the memory bank.
2011 GU8 ST 3.0 CRD, ARB Bullbar with IPF spotties, scrub bars and side steps, Snorkel, Dual Battery system, Waeco fridge, Turbo Timer, ARB Roof Rack with 5 IPF spotties across the front, Custom full Leather Bucket seats, DPchip, 3" Taipan exhaust, ARE Intercooler & scoop, Autron EGT/Boost and dual volt gauges, ARB front locker.
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12th January 2015, 09:55 PM
#9
If you are driving from Adelaide, it's over 7 hours, allowing for some stops for food etc. So I would recommend having at least 4-5 days there.
The national park is all 40km/h, but some bits you will be going a lot less. It takes most of the day to get around the full thing, so you want to allow plenty of time. While I don't mind paying the $10 day entry, I also like to make it worthwhile
We had 2 different days in the NP, which worked quite well - I would say that 1 day is enough to see some great spots, but a second day allows you to head for your fave and relax
As the tracks are quite narrow in spots, it's really handy to have the CB on when travelling with others - we knew to expect 1 vehicle or 6 etc. In some areas there isn't much opportunity to pass people ... we were lucky to encounter someone bogged in one of these spots. We helped them on their way, and luckily they were going the same way as us!
Must admit I was really shocked by the people who went in there totally unprepared. There were a number of spots that we would probably have turned back if we were on our own, mainly around the soft sand. We travelled in a group of 4 vehicles most of the time, 2 patrols and a land cruiser. Clearly the Patrols were there to collect all the bits that drop off the Cruiser
2006 GU ST 3.0td manual. CTEK 250S Dual Battery - Ironman 65L Ice Cube - Pioneer AVH-3600DAB - Tough Dog Adj 45mm Shocks, springs and HD steering damper - Airtec Snorkel - King Brown 3" exhaust
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to tracemul7 For This Useful Post:
mrflibbles (27th January 2015), Woof (11th February 2015)
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11th February 2015, 09:54 PM
#10
Nice review mate, appreciate the write up, Will def make it down there with the missus.
Dog friendly caravan park?
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