A Trip To Whyalla: Where The Outback Meets The Sea

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During my trip to Whyalla , I was constantly amazed at the dessert-like terrain that meets the bright water of the great Austrailian Bight. Just as they say, it is where the outback meets the sea. Whyalla has its roots in steelworks as the major port for iron ore shipments from the surrounding iron ore deposits, so I was a bit sceptical at first about Whyalla tourism and finding cool things to do in Whyalla. But I quickly found Whyalla to be a dazzling country town with fantastic weather, beaches, and water sports. Several Whyalla attractions are of great interest and they added to a most pleasant trip to this town in the state of South Australia on the Northeastern Eyre Peninsula.I flew into Whyalla's airport at the southern entrance to the city from Adelaide in under an hour. A car hire was quick and simple with three major worldwide companies available ( all of them are listed at carhirewhyalla.net.au). I strongly suggest a car hire for experiencing the best of Whyalla. For example, the Whyalla Fauna and Reptile Park, as well as Mount Laura Homestead Museum are both on the outskirts of town.

We began our tour of Whyalla with a visit to the Tanderra Tourist Centre which proved to be an excellent starting point. It's located next to the HMAS Whyalla and they give out free very detailed maps to all the major Whyalla attractions. After chatting with a few friendly locals and picking up our map, we naturally began with a visit to the nearby Whyalla Maritime Museum and, of course a guided tour of the great HMAS Whyalla, the first ship ever completed at the shipyard, and now the most famous. We enjoyed a delightful and very comprehensive display that explained the local shipping history through models and audiovisual displays. A short drive to Hummock Hill helped to get an overall perspective of Whyalla . It was an observation post during WWII (gun emplacements are still intact) and we could see the BHP Pellet Plant north of town and across the marina to the east side as well as down to the south coast and to the west across from the city centre. I was especially impressed with the Ada Ryan Gardens on the hill's southern slope near the beach. It was a cool, surprising retreat with a duck pond and native foliage. We followed this green tranquillity with a visit to the nearby National Trust Mount Laura Homestead Museum. I found the old rural homestead in the middle of suburbia and shopping centres to be a unique sight. Of great interest to me was the use of Whyalla's original wood and corrugated iron lockup, South Australia's only known portable gaol. We did find time to tour the steelworks with a public tour that left from the Visitor's Information Centre. I found this two-hour tour that explained the entire steel-making process informative and fascinating. But the highlight of the trip for me was the great diving and snorkelling around the area. We were lucky enough to have gone during the breeding season of the Australian Giant Cuttlefish (between May and August). All of these activities along with a few scenic drives made out trip to Whyalla an unforgettable experience.

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