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- Cape Pembroke Lighthouse: The black-and-white tower is the reason to come. First lit in 1855 and rebuilt in 1906, it was taken out of service in 1982, and its position on the eastern point gives it the feel of a final outpost. The interior is generally closed, so plan on photos and a slow circuit of the grounds.
- The Keepers’ Cottages Area: Low buildings sit beside the tower, a reminder that people once lived here year-round in the wind. Even from the outside they show how exposed the station was.
- Yorke Bay Beach: A long arc of pale sand with surf rolling in. Gentoo penguins often come ashore here, and Magellanic penguins nest in burrows in the dunes. Keep your distance and stay on marked paths.
- Gentoo Penguin Colonies on the Peninsula: Small groups walk between the beach and the heath, and their
- Cape Pembroke Lighthouse: The black-and-white tower is the reason to come. First lit in 1855 and rebuilt in 1906, it was taken out of service in 1982, and its position on the eastern point gives it the feel of a final outpost. The interior is generally closed, so plan on photos and a slow circuit of the grounds.
- The Keepers’ Cottages Area: Low buildings sit beside the tower, a reminder that people once lived here year-round in the wind. Even from the outside they show how exposed the station was.
- Yorke Bay Beach: A long arc of pale sand with surf rolling in. Gentoo penguins often come ashore here, and Magellanic penguins nest in burrows in the dunes. Keep your distance and stay on marked paths.
- Gentoo Penguin Colonies on the Peninsula: Small groups walk between the beach and the heath, and their orange bills stand out against the grass. A few minutes watching them takes you further from the town than the short drive suggests.
- Magellanic Penguin Burrows: These birds nest in sandy tunnels on the cape and are most active in the warmer months. They bray like donkeys, which is the first sign you are near a burrow.
- The Clifftop and Rocky Shoreline: Walk the headland to see waves breaking on the rocks, with petrels and cormorants wheeling over the water. Sea lions occasionally haul out on the lower shore. Stay well back from the edges in strong wind.
- Former minefields: Yorke Bay and the north coast were mined in 1982 and cleared before the islands were declared mine-free in 2020, which explains why these beaches stayed so quiet for decades.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.