Spectacular coastal landscapes with rugged cliffs and sandy beaches provide the backdrop of Innes National Park

The shine of sails appearing over the horizon as ships moved supplies up and down the South Australia coast was a common sight during the late eighteen hundreds. This trade was not without risk and the news of another ship being wrecked by storm or treacherous coastline was an all too familiar news item.

These tragedies are no more evident than on the southern-most tip of Yorke Peninsular where the 300 hectare Innes National Park sits astride one of the last pieces of remnant vegetation in the area.

Beaten by harsh winter storms and the baking summer sun, the coastline is littered with about forty ships that have come to grief here in the last one hundred years.

Budding photographers are encouraged to walk the Investigator Strait Shipwreck Trail, where you will experience something of the bravery shown by the victims of these treacherous waters and the early settlers. Take care though. Do not become so enthralled by the windblown vegetation and wide expanses that you forget the cliff edges that are very unpredictable following thousands of years of wind and water erosion.

Reached by a leisurely 4-hour drive from Adelaide via Pt. Wakefield and Ardrossan, Innes National Park provides a wide variety of fantastic recreational opportunities, including camping , bushwalking, bird watching, fishing or surfing.

You can wander through the remains of early European settlement or learn something of the original inhabitants of this harsh and beautiful land. The Narungga people retain a strong connection to a land where they have lived for many thousands of years and Innes National Park offers a glimpse into their lives.