Shocked beachgoers find bus bogged on Aldinga Beach

Frantic efforts are under way to dig out a bus that’s stuck in wet sand in the shallows of one of SA’s most popular beaches. Here’s how it happened.

A bus has got bogged at Aldinga Beach. Picture: Facebook

Beachgoers got an early-morning surprise when they stumbled on a bus bogged in shallow water, waves lapping against its wheels, at Aldinga Beach on Thursday.

The Advertiser understands the bus, which had been repurposed as a motorhome, was driven onto the beach on Wednesday night, only for the owner to fall asleep and wake at 4am to find the bottom submerged.

The owner spent the morning fielding questions from bemused beachgoers, as one local, describing the situation as a “beach misadventure”, queried why the non-4WD vehicle had been taken on the beach in the first place.

Interestingly, a sign just metres from the stricken vehicle told beachgoers to only park on “hard sand”.

The Advertiser also learnt a local towing company had reportedly offered to remove the vehicle from the beach for a fee of $2000.

In the meantime, there have been frantic efforts to dig out the bus, and get it off the beach before the next high tide.

Vehicles are allowed on Aldinga, Moana, Sellicks and Silver Sands beaches between 5.30am and 11.59pm.

Cars can only access the beach if they have a current beach permit or pay a vehicle access fee of $12, with any drivers who breach the restrictions facing a $312.50 fine.

Aldinga Beach has long been a favourite with South Australians and tourists, especially 4WD vehicles.

Thousands of people flock to the beach every summer, with drone footage revealing the swarm of cars that had driven onto the sand for Australia Day celebrations.

The City of Onkaparinga recently increased beach access on the stretch of coast, up from $8 to $12.

It’s not the first time a vehicle has ended up in the drink at a metropolitan Adelaide beach.

In December, a sedan got into trouble at Glenelg, amazing onlookers including media legend Peter Goers, who was one of the first at the scene.

“This is very unusual … It’s a white car and it’s sort of diagonally in the water and the waves, it’s very rough sea this morning, and the waves are sort of … overwhelming the car,” he said at the time.

SA Police later confirmed that a man had been reported for bogging the car.

Originally published as Shocked beachgoers find bus bogged on Aldinga Beach