Our perfect coastal camp site is close to the beach (or even on it), with a great coastline, away from hordes of people and low cost. Does this sound impossible? It’s absolutely not, as we found out at Carrow Wells, not far from Port Neill.
We’ve been meandering our way down the East coast of the Eyre Peninsula, hitting up as many good camp sites as we can find, and Carrow Wells is a ripper. If you want another, Fitzgerald Bay is also magic.
Our camp site at Carrow Wells was nothing short of stunning
Where is Carrow Wells?
You’ll find this lovely location just 7 minutes drive from Port Neil. We called into the town to grab a couple of basic supplies, before heading further south to the well signed camp ground of Carrow Wells.
Carrow Wells is only a short drive from Port Neill (in the distance)
Do you need a 4WD?
You don’t need a 4WD to get to Carrow Wells, and we saw plenty of 2WD vehicles there. The gravel road is kept in great condition, and Carrow Wells itself is relatively flat and easy to get to. If you venture further away from the Windmill though, it does get fairly rocky and rough. You still don’t need a 4WD unless you go where its sandy, but its worth considering the risk of a puncture!
On that note, you’d get any sort of rig into here, unless it was a massive bus or something way out of the ordinary.
You’d get virtually any setup into Carrow Wells, but it is rough the further you go
Carrow Wells Camping
In terms of the actual camping, Carrow Wells is a fairly large area on limestone and rock with a windmill to one side. There’s a heap of places you can camp, and if it got really busy you’d fit a lot of rigs in here.
Much of the campground is rocky limestone
You’ll drive in, past the Windmill
There are a couple of places where you can take your van or camper fairly close to the beach, and you could even drive onto the beach if you really wanted to.
We scored an amazing camp site as far north as you can go (without going to the next beach), at the end of a little turn around. Our Reconn R2 was tucked on a little off chute, and our folks van not far away with both of us having ocean views, and a short walk down to the water.
We managed to tuck into a little cut out in the dunes
We thoroughly enjoyed our camping here, and despite catching no fish the area is stunning. You can walk around the corner over a heap of rocks (and watch out for the hundreds of little lizards in the sun), or head up the beach all the way to the south corner (where most of the seaweed had been pushed).
A short walk and we were at the water
We spent plenty of time walking around Carrow Wells
We spent a lot of time walking up and down the beach!
Amenities at Carrow Wells
There are rubbish bins, and a drop toilet at Carrow Wells. You should come prepared to be self sufficient though, and leave without any trace. A chemical toilet is recommended, and you need water and your own supplies.
You need to be completely self sufficient to camp here
What does it cost?
This camp site is a donation arrangement, that is not very well signed (in terms of finding the donation box). It’s a burgundy bird arrangement on the edge of a fence, and you should 100% stop and drop some money in when leaving.
These sorts of camp sites are few and far between, and asides from supporting the local community by buying from the local stores, its important that we support their camp grounds too.
Putting money in the donation box
Would we recommend Carrow Wells?
In a heartbeat. There’s some nice camp sites on the Eyre Peninsula, but being able to camp so close to a stunning beach in a donation camp is marvellous.
We had a dive around the point (our first swim in the arctic waters of South Australia) and thoroughly enjoyed many hours on the beach, and watching the stunning views. You won’t go wrong with Carrow Wells!
Carrow Wells has been one of our best Eyre Peninsula Camps so far
