Your Epic Guide To A South Australia Road Trip

1/01/2021Scott Runacres

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1/01/2021Scott Runacres

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A ten-day South Australia road trip, from Port Augusta to the Nullarbor, proves this stretch of Australia truly encapsulates what this beautiful country is renowned for.

South Australia by Road

Although riddled with tiresome long roads and sharks, it still makes a superb escape from the city for your next road trip. If you want to achieve total isolation, have a stretch of coastline to yourself, or share a cuppa with mates under a squillion stars, then go no further than here.

This stretch of South Australia’s coast gives you a great opportunity to ditch the GPS and hunt down your own isolated magic. According to the surf code, I can’t completely spill the beans about these magical surf breaks. So let me give you the gist and leave the rest up to you to discover. Starting the South Australia road trip from Port Augusta and ending in Fowlers Bay (not far from the start of the Nullarbor) here’s what you can expect:

Port Augusta to Elliston

Distance – 338km
Time – 3 hrs 50 mins

Take this time, all four hours of it, to soak up just how big Australia is. With a whole lot of not much, this stretch will only make you crave the coastline. With the tiny town of Elliston residing by the coast, it’ll make for a perfect place for your first cold dip in some of Australia’s cleanest salty water.

Tired after the drive? You can find paid campsites in town. Otherwise, hunt around for dirt roads off the highway or one of the numerous campgrounds along the coast, like Walker’s Rock Campground.

P.S If you love a kick of the footy, you may even get invited to play a game or two. Footy is the heart and soul of these rural towns and watching the local matches will not disappoint.

Elliston to Venus Bay & Streaky Bay

Distance – 126km
Time – 1 hr 20 mins

Stunning holiday focussed towns with great waves and even greater people. They’re great spots to stock up on essentials and plenty of paid camping can be found here. Have a chat with some locals and if it’s waves you’re after, they might point you in the right direction.

Around the outskirts of town, you’ll stumble across some dirt tracks that lead to self-sufficient campgrounds.

Streaky Bay to Ceduna & Fowler’s Bay

Distance – 250km
Time – 2 hrs 50 mins

A rather big town that pops up out of nowhere – stop in for another food and fuel top-up and get stoked for the stretch of coast between Ceduna, Penong, and Fowlers Bay.

Not many changes between this stretch, it just offers another opportunity to turn left and drive towards the coast to see what you can find. It’s really a search in the unknown, which makes the whole experience vastly rewarding.

The Joy of Unfamiliar Terrain

Lucky for those of us who love having a spot to ourselves, this whole coastline is truly underrated and therefore, relatively unexplored. It’s one of the few places where you can enter unfamiliar environments and discover truly hidden gems.

And I want to help keep it this way – it benefits us all! There’s no better feeling than hunting down epic places on your own, this is just a shove in the right direction. There’s so much to explore, so stack up ya boot and get driving!

What You’ll Need

Given the environment and rather poor conditions of some of the dirt roads that lead to the coast, a 4WD will handle better. Nevertheless, our Toyota Camry got a whipping and saw some magic too. A quiver of surfboards is a must, tent, pooper trowel, and all other camping equipment to be self-sustainable. Many places, in the non-summer months, allow fires, so some logs will also be a treat.