At first glance, the tiny South Australian township of Fowlers Bay may appear fairly unremarkable, its location on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain makes it an immensely memorable stopping point for travel-weary grey nomads.
As with many Australian destinations, there is a lot more to this spot some 900 kilometres north-west of Adelaide, than initially meets the eye.
As well as its impressive jetty and scattered ruins hinting at a more prosperous past, Fowlers Bay boasts an amazing and simply huge sand dune that protects it from the Southern Ocean, pristine beaches.
And it is a superb place from which to observe migrating whales.
The township, known as Yalata until a 1940 name change, was once a relatively bustling port with a court house, police station, school, whaling station, post office, and a pub with a serious Wild West-style reputation. The Globe Hotel opened for business in 1892. However, times changed and Fowlers Bay fell into decline in the late 1950s and 1960s and, one by one, its businesses and services closed. Evidence of this decline is both visible and palpable.
Despite a steady stream of tourists which keeps a caravan park and kiosk in business, there is a definite ghost town feel in the air. This feeling is certainly exacerbated by the giant sand dunes which surround the town and appear to be creeping ever closer. There are even fears that they will eventually swamp the much-loved caravan park.
Fowlers Bay coastline was named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 in honour of his First Lieutenant, Robert Fowler, as they charted the area together aboard the HMS Investigator. The ocean nearby was popular with whaling ships back in the day, and the area is also notable because it was amongst the sandhills here that Edward John Eyre set up a depot in 1841 prior to his famous crossing of the Australian continent.
For history buffs, there are many interesting sites around, including a monument recalling the arrival of Matthew Flinders, and the remains of some early settlement public buildings and cottages. The ruins of the homestead of the Yalata station can be found just out of town, as can a small cemetery.
As well as the massive sand dunes, most visitors enjoy viewing the rugged 30-metre cliffs close by and, of course, throwing a line in. For grey nomads who enjoy a bit of luck from the jetty or the headlands, anything from Mulloway and Whiting to Tommy Ruff and Trevally could be on the menu.
The other big attraction is spotting the Southern Right whales which return to nursery grounds in the waters of the head of the Great Australian Bight from June to October each year.
There’s a whale observation deck telescope on the Esplanade, and the Head of Bight Whale observation platform is about 150 kilometres to the west.
While grey nomads will discover hundreds of beautiful places with fascinating histories on their Big Lap, there is something about Fowlers Bay which makes it stand out from the very special ‘crowd’. It’s different … in a good way!