The goddess of love herself would love this place I think, our Newest, new favourite place to stay on Eyre Peninsula.  Just when we think we’ve found the one, another idyllic location grabs us and tempts us to stay longer.

Venus Bay is another beauty and the caravan park is in perfect position, sitting on the sheltered bay. The lovely managers were only too happy to give us ‘the best spot in the park’. OK they probably say that to everyone but we think we did pretty well. We parked parallel to the beach with a track onto the sand right next to us.

This is another town that is popular with fishers and it’s so easy to see why with plenty of boaties going out each day during our stay and many in the park having their own small boats which can be launched off the beach.  That is another fantastic thing about this park, it has hire boats which cost $20 per hour, including fuel, for a minimum of three hours which is a bargain price, especially when boaties were returning with huge whiting catches. It couldn’t be easier either, with the park staff launching and retrieving the boat for you.

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We were tempted, but tried fishing from the jetty instead which unfortunately wasn’t fruitful for us or any others that tried it. Venus Bay is also home to prawn trawlers which catch Western King Prawns during the season.

Other than fishing there are some spectacular drives and walks to take around Venus Bay including the South Head Walking Trail. On the caravan park side of the bay all is calm and quiet but at night you can hear the roar of the ocean nearby and when you take a walk on this trail you can see why. The trail is high on the clifftop overlooking the wild ocean on this side of the headland, vastly different to the bay.

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As well as this walk you can drive to see rock features like Needle Eye, then continue the drive to Mt Camel Beach and finally to the Talia Caves area.  Here you’ll find the spectacular Woolshed Cave which you can access via a set of steps onto flat rocks and then it’s just a short walk around the corner, take a look inside.  You do have to be careful and tread safely; a slip here would not end well.

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The scenic drive continues to another natural rock formation called The Tub, before ending at the long white, sandy Talia Beach which is popular with beach fishers. This drive is around 20 kilometres south of Venus Bay.

Back at the caravan park and the relaxed afternoon vibe is lovely. There is a camp kitchen to swap stories while you cook, and fish cleaning stations where the lucky ones that had been out in the bay were cleaning their catches and the envious ones watch on.  Even luckier are the many, many pelicans that live in the bay and know what they can expect from people carrying buckets down to the beach.

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Dare I say it again, but Venus Bay is a town we will revisit, it has a very friendly attitude and there is a general store to purchase all you’ll need during your stay.

And…if you’re not lucky enough to catch a feed of fresh fish, the caravan park also does takeaway, which would have to be the freshest fish and chips in town! You can even enjoy a campfire at your site and gaze at the millions of stars.

Happy fishing

Glenys