Greenly Beach, South Australia: Eyre Peninsula dunes & rock pools

Greenly Beach on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula has mediocre surf, but you really come to swim in the photogenic Greenly Beach rock pools.

Australia has several world famous beaches. Bells Beach, Bondi Beach and Whitehaven Beach have reputations that stretch far beyond Australian shores.

But the joy of travelling in Australia, sometimes, is discovering largely unheralded but absolutely spectacular beaches. And this is very much the case with Greenly Beach in South Australia.

Greenly Beach is on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula. This is not a heavily visited area, hence Greenly Beach hasn’t perhaps got the attention it deserves.

Getting to Greenly Beach, South Australia

The nearest town to Greenly Beach is Coulta, a short drive north of the Coffin Bay oyster sheds and Coffin Bay National Park. It’s about an hour’s drive from Port Lincoln, with an access road leading off the Flinders Highway.

This Lower Eyre Peninsula beach is backed by sand dunes that stretch near a kilometre inland. There are bluffs at either side, too, which make for a stunning setting.

Greenly Beach on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Photo by Isaac Barber.

There is some surf at Greenly Beach, but waves are usually less than a metre high. This isn’t one of Australia’s great surfing beaches. It’s usually fine for swimming, but be aware of the remote location. There’s no surf club at Greenly Beach, no flags to swim between and no lifeguards to pull you out if you get into trouble.

Greenly Beach rock pools

However, the star attraction at Greenly Beach is the rock pools. There are several pools that fill up as the tide gets high, with long, photogenic rock pools at either end of the beach.

The water in the Greenly Beach rock pools can appear incredibly clear, and there’s enough space to swim around in. The rising rocks provide an excellent frame – something which increasing number of Instagrammers are cottoning onto.

Other attractions of the Eyre Peninsula include Sheringa Beach, Whalers Way, great white shark dives from Port Lincoln and the koalas of Mikkira Station.