Aldinga Beach
Aldinga Beach is a quiet and picturesque little valley, settlement and beach, however there are no facilities for visitors. Located about 46 kilometres south by west of Adelaide, Aldinga Beach is one of the few beaches in Australia where cars are permitted to drove on parts of the broad sand, making it easier for you to reach the water and surf. Aldinga Beach is a top spot for scuba diving and snorkelling, with the beach overlooking a unique aquatic reserve. Reef fishing straight off the beach is a popular activity for local fisherman, and the protected reef off Snapper Point is the perfect place for scuba divers to explore this pristine aquatic reserve.
Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park is located within the southern extent of the suburb and on land in the adjoining suburb of Sellicks Beach. The park was proclaimed in November 1975 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 for the purpose of protecting a parcel of undeveloped land considered to be ‘a significant remnant of the natural habitat that once occurred all along the southern Adelaide coastline’.
Aldinga Reef aquatic reserve is a protected area located immediately offshore of both Aldinga Beach and Port Willunga. It was declared in 1971 to protect aquatic plants and animals associated with the large intertidal limestone reef and the spectacular precipitous underwater cliff known as the drop-off and the surrounding sandy substrate for the purposes of education and recreation . The activities of fishing and the collection or removal any marine organism are prohibited, while the following activities are permitted – use of boats, swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving and walking on the intertidal reef exposed at low water. The reserve extends seaward a distance of about 2 kilometres around a headland named Snapper Point from Thomas Street, Aldinga Beach in the south to Seaborne Avenue, Port Willunga in the north.
Myponga Beach
Myponga Beach is a quiet beach not far from Aldinga Bay and is popular with the locals for its excellent surf breaks, boasting powerful waves that offer perfect conditions for keen surfers. Myponga Beach occupies a small valley that has been carved by Myponga Creek and is now partially filled with river and marine sediments forming a flat plain occupied by a few houses and an elongate lagoon and wetland that flows across the southern end of the beach.
Swimming is relatively safe in the sandy central portion of the beach. A popular spot for both launching boats and for shore-based fishing is off the adjacent rock reefs.
