Pt. Westall

Pt. Labatt sea-lion colony lookout

Pt. Labatt sea-lion colony

Murphy's Haystacks

Cape Bauer

The Granites

A short coastal drive, Westall Way is one of the Eyre Peninsula's best kept secrets, a showcase for an amazing variety of landforms and seascapes. Dotted along Westall Way are rugged limestone cliffs, granite boulders covered in golden lichen, secluded granite pools and quite striking seascapes with foaming white breakers. In stark contrast are the huge white Yanerbie sand dunes. At Pt. Labatt, visitors are treated to a bird's eye view of Australia's only mainland sea-lion colony.

High Cliffs from Tractor Beach, Corvisart Bay

Location: Streaky Bay, Eyre Peninsula, SA

Length: 80 km

Suggested return journey: taking the drive as part of the journey between Ceduna and Port Lincoln, the journey from Streaky Bay to Flinders Hwy near Murphy's Haystacks is 80 kms. If you are based in Streaky Bay, return to Streaky Bay via Flinders Hwy (38 km).

Features/attractions: Yanerbie sandhills; Pt. Westall; Pt. Labatt sea-lion colony viewing platform

Minimum duration (one way): 1 hour 30 mins.

The drive as we document it here includes the Westall Way Loop plus an additional drive in the area to other points of interest which travellers must pass if the drive is incorporated into a road trip from Ceduna to Port Lincoln.
The Westall Way Loop (see PDF of map) begins off Sceale Bay Road some 10 km south of Streaky Bay. The first view of the coast is at Tractor Beach on Corvisart Bay. The cliffs across the bay give an inkling as to the type of rugged cliffs that line this seaboard. High Cliffs offers extensive views up and down the coast.
The Granites are a series of an eroding granite shelf which stretches for several hundred metres along the shore line. Children will love wading out through the rocks looking for crabs and other sea life in the many pools left at low tide. Smooth Pool has similar granite pools and Fisherman's Paradise is what its name implies. Behind Yanerbie beach are the shifting sands of the Yanerbie sand dunes.
Returning to Sceale Bay Road completes the Westall Way Loop, but we recommend you turn right towards Sceale Bay rather than returning to Streaky Bay as there is much more to see in the area (see PDF of Blue Loop).
Sceale Bay (pronounced Scale) is a small holiday and retirement town 32 kilometres south of Streaky Bay. Sceale Bay offers the tourist good fishing, beautiful beaches and excellent surf. From Sceale Bay head south down the gravel road along Calga Peninsula to Pt. Labatt Conservation Park. Here a viewing platform has been erected on the cliffs directly above Australia's only mainland sea-lion colony. Interpretive signs explain about these sea creatures. The reefs at the foot of the cliffs provide a resting place for the sea-lions, which have often spent several weeks at sea catching fish. Pt. Labatt has exposed headlands, sheltered bays and is known for bird life including the Osprey and the Whitebellied Sea-eagle.
Return almost to Sceale Bay, taking the road to the right to Flinders Highway and Murphy's Haystacks, our next point of interest. Murphy's Haystacks are not haystacks at all but a clump of pink granite boulders that give the appearance of haystacks. These lone sentinels on the hillside were formed from ancient granite inselbergs dating back 1,500 million years. [The name inselberg comes from German insel, meaning island and berg, mountain.] The pillars and boulders in their present day form only go back as far as 100,000 years and have been formed by the uneven weathering of crystalline rock as densely fractured compartments break down through weathering more quickly than massive unfractured compartments. The granite hills of the district, including the haystacks, were buried by calcareous dune sand about 30,000 years ago. Subsequent erosion of the surrounding land surface has gradually revealed the forms we see today.
From Murphy's Haystacks, either return to Streaky Bay via Flinders Highway or continue travelling south on the highway towards Port Lincoln.