Camping at The Gap – Yorke Peninsula.

Our Visit

Dwayne and I decided to spend a week camped by the beach. We were hoping to catch fish, swim, kayak and chill out. The Gap looked like the perfect place. The first couple of days the weather was fine, and we did paddle the kayaks, but the water was still too cold for us to swim in (we have gone a bit soft by spending too much time in the tropics). When the weather became colder and windy, we spent more time just relaxing. We also walked, cooked over the campfire and watched the wildlife.

During the first couple of days, we tried fishing from a kayak for the very first time. I wasn’t comfortable with it at all, but perhaps I was more nervous than I needed to be. I felt that we could tip the kayak very easily. It was windy and choppy, and because the water was cold, I did not relish falling in. It was probably not the best conditions for our maiden voyage, but there were no mishaps. I had a fishing rod set up for garfish and Dwayne’s rod was set for whiting. We also had a crab net and a squid jig on a reel.

We ended up only catching one squid, which was disappointing. However, it did give us a yummy feed of crumbed calamari. As mentioned, the weather changed shortly after that and, although Dwayne tried a couple more times, we didn’t end up catching anything else.

Moonta

We drove into Moonta a few times for ice and groceries. Plus we enjoyed a schnitzel at the Royal Hotel on the one day it rained continually. We walked the Moonta Jetty, and although at the time nothing much was being caught, there was ample evidence of past catch – squid ink coloured the jetty. Moonta is not far from the campground and has almost everything you will need. Fuel stations, ice, supermarket, fishing store, butcher, pharmacy, bars and restaurants etc. (But there is not a laundromat).

Balgowan

The drive to Balgowan from The Gap takes you past a couple of other campgrounds – Bamboos and Tiparra Rocks. It is an off-road, gravel track that is sandy in places. We stopped a few times to walk over the dunes to the beach, where we took in some spectacular views. Apart from a small caravan park and a kiosk, there is not much at Balgowan. However, we did see a little piece of history. There is an interpretive sign explaining the colourful history of the Balgowan Jetty 1881 – 1981.

Enjoy the beach

The rest of the time we spent walking along the coast exploring the rock pools and long sandy stretches of beach. We saw sights such as a small sailing dinghy washed ashore, a dead Port Jackson shark and shark eggs, and colossal seaweed mounds that look like long-dead mammoths. We also went for a drive along the coast .

Walk Yorke Peninsula

This stretch of coastline is part of the ‘Walk the Yorke’ trail. There are more than 500 kilometres of coastal trails for walking and cycling on the Yorke Peninsula. There are 16 walks starting from Port Wakefield; Balgowan to Moonta is the last of them. Click here for more information and here for a map.