rapid bay
Now this place came highly recommended by a few of our mates and we can see why! A quaint little seaside town nestled on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula with it's steep cliffs, two jetties and turquoise water!
After a few days of solid travel and a quick visit to Victor Harbor, Rapid Bay was the perfect place to drop the anchor for four nights and celebrate Christmas together, just the four of us. We were beyond stoked that we snagged a booking at Rapid Bay Camping Ground for Christmas. It was a fair feat to book a few months ago as the management of the campground has changed, however, this new process is much simpler! No longer do you need to ring the caretakers, you can now jump online and book it. It guarantees the campground but not a campsite, so choose where you would like to camp when you arrive. For us, the prime beachfront sites were already taken so we opted for a spot on the eastern fence line where we still had water views and a little more protected from the northerly winds that were smashing the front of the campground.
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The water here is something from the Maldives! Clear, turquoise water with the occasional dolphin frolicking around. The beach is mainly sand and rocks with an easy access boat launching area. There are two jetties at the western end of the beach which is an attraction for snorkelers and scuba divers as it home to leafy seadragons and dramatic shipwrecks. The original jetty was built in 1940 and is closed to the public, however, the newer jetty that was built in 2009 provides for some stunning views back towards the campground and a place to throw a line in. The area was historically mined for limestone and the remains can be seen on the hill. At the eastern end of the beach, you will find a cave. Our warriors loved exploring around here but be mindful that there are signs warning of slipping rocks around the cliffs. Along the dunes were quaint wildflowers where we also saw an abundance of orange butterflies. Rapid Bay is usually calm, but when the northerly hits, you will find plenty of white caps in the bay and the campground becomes quite dusty.
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Rapid Bay is located on the traditional Country of the Kaurna People. It's original name is 'Patpangga' meaning 'in the south'. At the entrance to the campground you can find a monument about Colonel William Light who moored his ship named 'The Rapid' in the bay in 1836. The campground is off-grid so be sure to come with full water tanks. There is a toilet block but no dump point. The township is undeveloped with a handful of houses and a tiny primary school. The streets in town are rather quiet which was great for our warriors to burn some energy on their bikes. There is also a sporting field above the campground to kick a ball around or play some cricket. For supplies including fuel, gas bottles, limited groceries, coffee and pastries, head to The Delamere General Store which is 6km from the campground. For a bigger shop, Normanville is a 25min drive. You can find a dump point and drinking water at Yankalilla. There is both Optus and Telstra reception.
christmas on the road
For the entirety of our lives, we have always celebrated Christmas with our immediate families, from nieces and nephews, all the way to great grandparents! We are blessed to have all of our family live in the same community. This was the first time where we hadn’t been with our family for Christmas so it felt a little different. However, we still made the most epic memories, lazed around in the sunshine, watched those annual Christmas movies, stuffed our faces with the traditional bruschetta, all at our beachside campsite in Rapid Bay!
Cape Jervis is only a 15min drive if you wish to visit Kangaroo Island. We did originally have this down on our itinerary but opted to treasure some downtime at the campground. It was also quite expensive to book return transfers on the Sealink Kangaroo Island Ferry so it was a cost that we were happy to chuck back into the piggy bank. All refreshed and ready to move to Wauraltee Beach for a special birthday, we left Rapid Bay with full hearts.
Peace + love,
Peace + love,