On the central western side of Yorke Peninsula is the town of Port Victoria, a small town which has a jetty, boat ramp, hotel / motel, foreshore store / post office and caravan park. There’s also a small maritime museum sitting at the start of the jetty in the original general cargo shed.

The town is known as the last of the Windjammer ports, from the time when it was a main shipping port, exporting grain to England for over 70 years, before the last commercial voyage in 1949.

In 2026 the town is having its 150 years celebration, and to mark the occasion, two tall ships will be visiting the port from the 6^th to the 8^th of March. The Soren Larson, a 43 metre Danish built brigantine and the 42 metre One and All, from South Australia, are the ships making their way to the port and once there, they will recreate scenes from times past and take passengers for scenic sails.

The town will be a hive of activity with events planned over the weekend and accommodation options are filling fast. As well as the Gulfview Caravan Park overlooking the jetty, there is a bush camping option at the town oval, where you can stay for $10 per night with ablution facilities, a dump point and potable water available.

If you can’t make it to the planned celebrations, Port Victoria is a town worth visiting any time and is especially a favourite with fishers as a reliable spot to catch big King George whiting in the waters off the coast and around Wardang Island.  For those without a boat the jetty is usually a great option too, but that will depend on the current state of the algal bloom that is still causing a few problems across the South Australian coastline at the moment. Fortunately, in places where the algal bloom has moved on, there are signs of recovery so don’t write off these fishing spots for too long.

From the caravan park it’s an easy stroll to the jetty, past a family friendly foreshore area with BBQ’s, and a playground for the kids. There are historical references to read along the foreshore and also a volcano trail to take.  The trail follows the coastline and has interpretive signage explaining how a gigantic underwater volcano eruption around 2 billion years ago, created a number of geosites with spectacular rock formations to look for. The entire trail covers a stretch of around 4 kilometres.

Make sure to dine in at the Port Victoria Hotel when you stay, the food is divine, the service friendly and Friday night raffles are a hoot, with money raised going to the Royal Flying Doctors service.

 Port Victoria has a golf course with tar scrapes for enthusiasts and there are also a couple of beautiful white sandy beaches to visit just a short drive south out of town.

At the end of the day try to capture one of the stunning sunsets that have a habit of lighting up the sky in spectacular fashion.

Cheers

Glenys