Ceduna Tours South Australia Australia

Catering for small personal groups, this tour visits a unique place in the world, the Head of the Great Australian Bight Whale Sanctuary, adjacent to the Nullabor Plain and Bunda Cliffs.

Touring Options

Ceduna to Nullarbor Two Day Whale Tour – CT03

Catering for small personal groups, this tour visits a unique place in the world, the Head of the Great Australian Bight Whale Sanctuary, adjacent to the Nullarbor Plain and Bunda Cliffs. There will be 60 to 100 or more Southern Right Whales in the area and you will view at close proximity from cliff top platforms 15 to 20 mothers and their calves.

. This tour passes through broad acre farmland and Australian native scrub lands to the treeless plain of the Nullarbor and on to where the spectacular white sandy beaches meet the Bunda Cliffs of the Nullarbor Plain. Perry is conversant with the history of the area, from the discovery by the Dutchmen, Pieter Nuyts and Francis Thijssen in 1627, and the maritime explorers of Frenchman, Nicholas Baudin and Englishman, Matthew Flinders, the overland explorer of Edward John Eyre who was followed by the pastoralists Swann and Barr-Smith and then much later, broad acre farmers of Lutheran German descent.

. You will be picked up from your accommodation at 0730 or at Ceduna Airport on arrival of REX Airlines to drive 300 kilometres by four-wheel drive vehicle to the Head of the Bight, arriving about 1030 or later. Morning tea, coffee or fruit juice and home-made cakes will be offered at the Head of Bight or somewhere along the track. We will pass through Penong, Bookabie, Nundroo and Yalata. Entry fees to the Marine Park Whale Sanctuary are inclusive. At the Head of the Bight there will be 60 to 100 or more Southern Right Whales in the area, at any one time you will see 15 to 20 mothers and their calves from the viewing platforms at the Head of the Bight Interpretive Facilities.

. Lunch at approximately 1300 – home-made soup and pastries, spelt or sourdough breads, roast chicken and salads, fruit and juices. No alcohol is permitted. Flights over the Whale Sanctuary can be arranged (weather permitting) from the Nullarbor Roadhouse (cost is extra). Stay at Nullarbor Hotel/Motel overnight. The cost of the accommodation will be included in the tour but you will have to pay for the evening meal and breakfast.

. In the morning, visit the Murrawijinie Caves to view the geology of the Nullarbor and Aboriginal art and return to the whale viewing area at the Head of the Bight. Returning to Ceduna via Yalata Roadhouse to see Aboriginal artefacts, and to read an account of the English testing of atomic bombs at Maralinga. We travel on to see the ruins of the old Yalata Homestead, headquarters of early pastoralist and then on to Fowlers Bay for afternoon tea. Here you will see the pure white sand hills that Edward John Eyre faced on the outset of his epic overland journey.

. If staying overnight in Ceduna, there is an optional chance to visit Cactus Beach, a world-renowned surfing beach and watch the winter sunset in sea mist. This is not possible if flying out of Ceduna that night. return to Ceduna Airport 1830, accommodation 1830, or return to accommodation from Cactus Beach option at 2000.

. Operates:
. Departs daily at 0730 from airport or accommodation in Ceduna.

Ceduna to Nullarbor Whale Day Tour – CT02

Catering for small personal groups, this tour visits a unique place in the world, the Head of the Great Australian Bight Whale Sanctuary, adjacent to the Nullarbor Plain and Bunda Cliffs. There will be 60 to 100 or more Southern Right Whales in the area and you will view at close proximity from cliff top platforms 15 to 20 mothers and their calves.

. This tour passes through broad acre farmland and Australian native scrub lands to the tree less plain of the Nullarbor and on to the spectacular white sandy beaches that meet the Bunda Cliffs of the Nullarbor Plain. Perry is conversant with the history of the area, from the discovery by the Dutchmen, Pieter Nuyts and Francis Thijssen in 1627, and the maritime explorers of Frenchman, Nicholas Baudin and Englishman, Matthew Flinders, the overland explorer of Edward John Eyre who was followed by the pastoralists Swann and Barr-Smith and then much later, broad acre farmers of Lutheran German descent.

. You will be picked up from you accommodation at 0730 to drive 300 kilometres by four-wheel drive to the Head of the Bight, arriving about 1030. Morning tea will then be offered. At the Head of Bight there will be 60 to 100 or more Southern Right Whales in the area, at any one time you will see 15 to 20 mothers and their calves from the viewing platforms at the Head of the Bight Interpretive Facilities.

. Lunch at approximately 1300. Flights over the Whale Sanctuary can be arranged (weather permitting) from the Nullarbor Roadhouse. Return to Ceduna via Yalata Roadhouse to see Aboriginal artefacts and read an account of the English testing of atomic bombs at Maralinga. We travel on to see the ruins of the old Yalata Homestead, headquarters of early pastoralists and then on to Fowlers Bay for afternoon tea. Here you will see the pure white sand hills that Edward John Eyre faced on the outset of his epic journey.

. If staying overnight in Ceduna, there is an optional chance to visit Cactus Beach, a world-renowned surfing beach and watch the winter sunset in sea mist. This is not possible if flying out of Ceduna that night.

. Operates:
. Departs daily at 0730 from airport or accommodation in Ceduna, 1 July to 4 October 2006.

Ceduna to St Peter Island Two Day Adventure Tour – CTSP206

This fully inclusive tour is catering for the wilderness Adventure tourist, who wants to observe and experience the existence of endangered and reintroduced species, namely Australian sea lions, brush tail bettongs and greater stick-nest rats, in their native habitat. St Peter Island was purchased by National Parks and Wildlife of South Australia in 1988 and proclaimed a conservation park within the Nuyts Archipelago Conservation Park and is returning to the pristine natural wilderness as it was when Dutch maritime explorers Pieter Nuyts and Francis Thijssen discovered it 1627. Of interest is that 100 years later, from the ships’ logs, Jonathon Swift, wrote the book ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, this archipelago being the mythical isles of Lilliput, the land of the ‘Little People’.

. Day One – Tour departs from Ceduna Airport or accommodation to board Ceduna Boat Charter’s Shark Cat ‘Spirit of the West’ at Puckridge Boat Ramp. From the boat ramp to the landing point on St Peter Island is 15 kilometres. St Peter Island is the largest in the archipelago approximately 16 kilometres long and eight kilometres wide. However a short distance from the ramp the skipper will pull razor fish for bait using tongs and glass bottom bucket. This will also give you a chance to see the wonderful underwater world of seagrasses in these sheltered bays. Morning tea is partaken while visiting Bird Rock on the edge of Yatala Channel to observe from the boat at close proximity Australian sea lions, who have the epitome of laid back carefree attitude, sleeping and sunning themselves among the seabirds. Sometimes the young sea lions because of their inquisitive nature will come right up to greet the boat. As the tour continues to St Peter Island, Bottlenose dolphins race and leap toward the boat to swim and surf on the bow.

. Some options are available on the day; a consensus of the group prevails. You can fish for King George whiting, Tommy ruffs, trevally, snook or salmon and have lunch on the boat; or proceed to St Peter Island, unload onto the beach and have lunch on the beach; or continue to the homestead by four wheel drive and have lunch on the verandah. The homestead has three comfortable bedrooms, kitchen and dining room, bathroom and toilet and will be your accommodation for the night. The front verandah offers excellent views of the island, Yatala Channel and the mainland, and the only views of civilisation are the grain silos of Thevenard and at night the lights of the towns. If you sit quietly here, many of the animals will appear and go about their daily business. At the homestead there is a rustic collection of old farm machinery, left behind from an earlier era. A short walk to the west is the sheep shearing shed with all the past, hard working equipment now at rest.

. After lunch proceed to the base of Mount Younghusband, for a leisurely walk to the summit, only 44 metres above sea level. From here you will have panoramic views of Smoky Bay and Eyre Island to the east, the Franklin Islands to the south, and all over St Peter Island, and on a clear day Evans, Lacey and St Francis Islands to the west. There is also a breeding colony of White-faced Storm petrels that may be viewed from the distance in the near vicinity. On St Peter Island there are more than 80 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles and 160 species of plants to view. From October to March in the early evening, a short drive south to a rocky ridge will allow you to experience the home coming of the Mutton birds. In the twilight, thousands of the nautical birds that have been feeding by skimming the sea all day, fly home and crash land at their burrows to feed their young with much commotion and noise. At times the huge numbers of birds can block out the sunset and sky. Return to the homestead for a dinner of your local harvest of the sea. After dinner take a quite walk with torches to observe the ‘Little People’ of St Peter Island, the reintroduced, endangered Greater Stick-nest Rat and Brush Tailed Bettong. Bettongs are small furry kangaroo like animals that each have a personality of their own, and can entertain one for hours.

. Day Two – A relaxing morning exploring the island and heading to the beach for a short walk in the recently proclaimed heritage area to see early history of whaling, a cave dug out to store supplies, part of a stone hut and granite whale flensing platforms. Board Sharkcat for the return to Ceduna.

. Operates:
. Tours depart on request at 0900 from accommodation or Ceduna Airport.

Website: www.cedunatours.com.au