Innes National Park packs surf, shipwrecks, a ghost town and clifftop walks into one wild corner.
If the Yorke Peninsula has a grand finale, it is Innes National Park. Out at the very bottom of the peninsula's boot, the farmland gives way to a wedge of mallee, cliff and surf that feels a world away from the gentle gulf coasts to the north.
The surf is the headline. Pondalowie Bay is a legendary break, and the park's exposed western coast catches swell that rolls in off the Southern Ocean. Even if you do not surf, the beaches are worth the trip: Browns Beach for its famous salmon, Ethel Beach for the rusting wreck of the Ethel half-buried in the sand.
Inland, the ghost town of Inneston tells a stranger story. This was once a busy gypsum-mining settlement, complete with shops and a school, before the industry faded and the bush moved back in. Today its ruins and restored cottages make an evocative wander.
The walking is superb. Clifftop tracks lead out to headlands like Royston Head and West Cape, where the land falls away to the sea and ospreys ride the updrafts. Camp at Pondalowie or stay in one of the heritage cottages, and give yourself at least a full day, ideally two. Innes rewards anyone who slows down enough to take it in.
