As you travel around Australia on road trips and caravanning, you come across a lot of place names that can be quirky, strange, hard to pronounce or give you a giggle.

Some place names have been given for obviously apparent landmarks and scenery, and one such name that comes up often on our coastal holidays, has been Horseshoe Bay.

This is one of those obvious place names when you see them in person, a beautiful horseshoe shaped crescent beach, often edged with soft white sand and always popular places with beach lovers.

While there might not be any points for originality for the people who named them, you can pretty much guarantee that when you arrive at these places, they are spectacular.

So far we’ve visited and spent time in five different Horseshoe Bays in Australia and that doesn’t cover them all. Take a look at the ones we’ve been lucky enough to visit and add them to your itinerary.

Horseshoe Bay, Port Elliot, South Australia

This one is not far from where we now live, and it’s been a favourite for many years with our family holidays held here from the time our children were babies. Its close proximity to Adelaide, only around 85 kilometres from the CBD, has made it many a family’s favourite summer getaway.

At each end of the 700 metre long bay there are rocky headlands which keep the bay sheltered and safe for swimming and all manner of water sports. At one end of the bay there is a surf lifesaving club with brilliant views over the bay for a drink or bite to eat in the clubrooms.

The beach is patrolled in the summer and over busy holiday times, and there’s a small jetty near the life saving club too. The other end of the bay is popular with body surfers and boogie boarders where the waves are bit bigger. On many days during the year you’ll also find a hardy bunch of swimmers who swim across the bay, whatever the weather, and you’ll also often see seals and dolphins here too.

You can get terrific views of the bay from walking paths that take you in both directions up to the headlands and beyond and during winter you can also spot whales that use this area as a nursery to raise their calves before returning to Antarctica.

The bonus at this Horseshoe Bay, is that the Port Elliot Caravan Park is set right on the bay too, as close as you can get without getting your feet wet. Some sites have views of the bay and access to the beach is easy from anywhere in the park.

As well as the surf lifesaving club there is a lawn bowls club, which has to have one of the best views in Australia, and they also serve up great dinners in their clubrooms. (Check their social pages for days and times). Another restaurant / café on the bay is The Flying Fish, named after one of the ships that came to grief in the bay back in the 1850s when it was a busy maritime port.

Altogether there were seven shipwrecks in the area in an eleven year period and apparently some of the remains can be seen exposed sometimes, but in all the many years we’ve visited, I’ve never seen a sign.

There are places to picnic and playgrounds for the kids at Horseshoe Bay and the town of Port Elliot is within easy walking distance and has a friendly village feel with boutique shopping and more dining options.

Horseshoe Bay, South West Rocks, New South Wales

A smaller bay at only 150 metres in length, this one you could swim across with no problem. There are other longer beaches close by also for swimming and fishing. The bay is surrounded by pine trees and also has a caravan park overlooking it. South West Rocks is between the towns of Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour in NSW.

Again because of its sheltered position, it’s a popular spot for families with safe swimming, picnic spots, amenities and a kiosk. The beach is patrolled during summer and popular holiday times too and the Surf Lifesaving Club is another pick of ours for good food and drinks in an exceptional position.

The kiosk here is covered in a vivid beach and underwater themed mural which was painted by local artists, Bill and James Moulton and Ash Johnson. The mural features dolphin, turtles, bright corals as well as surfers and other beach scenes.

Horseshoe Bay, Bowen, Queensland

I first visited this Horseshoe Bay on a holiday with my parents, way back in the 1970s, and was a little bit worried about returning, time has a habit of rose colour tiniting our memories, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it’s still a beautiful spot to visit in this Whitsunday area of Queensland.

Bowen is around 40 minutes north of Airlie Beach and this Horseshoe Bay which is only around 100 metres long, is popular for being able to snorkel the reefs directly from walking in off the sand. The bay has granite outcrops at each end and a caravan park sits directly behind it.

The water colour and clarity is astounding and as well as being a popular diving and snorkelling spot, it’s perfect for swimming (outside of stinger season), kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, or just relaxing on the white sand, soaking up the sun.

The beach is patrolled on weekends and during school holidays and there is a café there, open 7 days a week. My memory of staying at the caravan park as a kid, was that they gave away tropical fruit for free, which was extremely exotic and generous from us southerners point of view.

Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island, Queensland

On the north side of Magnetic (Maggie) Island off Townsville in Queensland you’ll find the next Horseshoe Bay, a beautiful 3 kilometre curved sandy beach, fringed with palm trees.

Along the beachfront strip opposite the bay there are shops and places to eat or you can use picnic tables with a view at the beach. This bay is a water sport mecca where you can hire all sorts of equipment from kayaks all the way up to jet skis. There are a number of tour yachts and boat moored in the bay as well, some of which can be hired.

This Horseshoe Bay has a swimming enclosure during stinger season in summer. At the bay you can sometimes spot turtles, stingrays and dugongs as well as dolphins.

To get to Magnetic Island you can take a walk on, round trip ferry ride from Townsville which takes around 25 minutes, and once there you can take the island bus service which drops you off at a number of popular spots, including Horseshoe Bay.

Horseshoe Bay, Bermagui, New South Wales.

Bermagui’s Horseshoe Bay is the main beach which sits in the heart of the town, and that makes it a popular place for families and locals at this safe, 500 metre long patrolled beach.

There’s plenty of parking near the beach, as well as amenities, a playground and a grassy foreshore. It’s also conveniently right across the road from the Bermagui hotel, where you enjoy a delicious meal or drink overlooking the bay.

Bermagui is around a 5 hours’ drive south of Sydney.

So far in our travels, these have been the Horseshoe Bays we have visited, but have we missed any? Which Horsehoe Bays have you discovered?

Cheers

Glenys