A guide to swimming with sea lions in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula
When I do a somersault, the sea lions do a somersault. When I turn on to my back, they follow suit. I will never forget this incredible experience.
If I were to be reincarnated, I’d like to come back as an Australian sea lion. It’s the idea of spending endless hours in the ocean, hunting and feasting, before returning to land to bask on sun-warmed rocks that appeals. These creatures seem to have achieved the perfect work-life balance.
As a Sydney Anglican who doesn’t believe in such things, however, I’ll settle for the next best option: swimming with the amazing marine mammals in the pristine waters of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
The adventure is made possible by the Baird Bay Experience, a tourism operation in the sleepy fishing village from which the property takes its name. Established more than 30 years ago, it changed hands in 2023 and reopened last year with an enhanced offering of two newly renovated villas. It’s a setup that feels exclusive and deeply connected to nature, giving guests the rare chance to interact with these wild creatures in their environment.
Along with other participants in the activity, I’m kitted out in a wetsuit, mask and snorkel, and taken by boat to Jones Island, home to a colony of sea lions. Splashing shoulder-deep in the shallows, we wait patiently for them to tumble into the ocean and join us. They are busy baking in the beaming sun, the females snuggled together in a line just above the lapping waves. Meanwhile, a large bull stands guard behind them. There is space for only one patriarch on the island. At one point, another male approaches the group, but is scared off following a short scuffle.
After only about 10 minutes, the sea lions spot us in the water and about eight come to investigate. It all happens at their invitation – an interaction on their time, in their home – and their antics are hilariously entertaining. When I do a somersault, they do a somersault. When I turn on to my back, they follow suit. They have no concept of personal space, often coming right up to my mask, seemingly fascinated by the creature behind it. Their behaviour feels curious, light-hearted and joyful.
When they’ve finally had enough and drag themselves back up on to the sandy shores, we travel over to the opposite side of the bay to swim with dozens of friendly bottlenose dolphins.
Three hours’ drive from Port Lincoln, the Baird Bay Experience is operated by new owners The Tailor, a luxury travel company that creates bespoke, all-inclusive holidays for guests. Think: gourmet meals, marine adventures, e-bike rides, surf lessons, beach trips. “This isn’t for someone who wants to go to a fancy hotel and be waited on and pampered,” says Kat Bevan, one half of the husband-wife property management duo. “It’s more of an interactive experience. It’s more of an adventure.”
That’s not to diminish the appeal of the two villas, Eko and Selkie, which are positioned by a beautiful pool and have kitchens stocked with goodies such as local wines and gins. Featuring four and three bedrooms respectively, they have been thoroughly revamped to complement the natural surroundings with textures such as sandstone, seagrass, linen and pale timbers. They exude coastal elegance but I quickly realise that the true joy of my stay comes not from Eko’s high-end amenities, but from time spent outdoors.
The day after my rendezvous with the sea lions, I set off to Point Labatt where lounging on the rock platform below are dozens of sea lions living in total harmony with a collection of New Zealand fur seals. From here we hop on to e-bikes and ride to Cape Radstock, the highest point on the Great Australian Bight. It’s like standing on the edge of the Earth. One glance down and you can see exactly where the rugged coastline was torn from Antarctica.
Some of the whitest sand imaginable is waiting around the corner at Surfer’s Beach, an uninterrupted 11km stretch of paradise. There’s no trying to carve out space for your Cool Cabana; no need to be careful shaking the sand out of your towel for fear of spraying a fellow beachgoer. It’s just you, the ocean and perhaps a surfer or two. I take a walk through the bushland on the neighbouring headland, nibbling wild berries and spotting echidna burrows.
Occasionally I hear a gentle rustle, then kangaroos erupt from the native shrubbery and bounce away, sometimes accompanied by youngsters.
Kat speaks effusively of the remote, untamed setting, and how it has remained free from tourist hordes. “It’s not as polished, because the ecosystem is more untouched. It’s not as manicured, and if it was a pristine sandy beach and palm trees everywhere then it would have seen a lot more traffic already,” Kat says. “We’re on the far west coast, it’s a windswept spot, it is a bit more rugged and the wildlife is a bit more wild.”
After a second day of adventuring, I return to my villa to find head chef Calvin von Niebel cooking leatherjacket over an open fire on the beach. Formerly of Arkaba Conservancy in the Flinders Ranges and the famed Ottolenghi restaurant group, Calvin is a magician. Despite being a seafood sceptic, I am quickly converted by his coconut ceviche, blue swimmer crab, and Middle Eastern-style squid kebabs. Two weeks after my visit, I’m still dreaming of his goat’s cheese zucchini fritters.
We dine on the beach as the sun sets over the bay. In one hand, I hold a gin and tonic, and in the other, a freshly shucked Coffin Bay oyster. The moment feels suspended in time – peaceful, perfect. As the fire flickers nearby, Kat’s two young sons play, laughing and dancing around the flames. They have finished a day at primary school a half-hour drive away. Now they are free to roam the shores, and their energy is infectious. Kat paints a picture of a childhood seaside utopia; an endless wonderland of pebble crabs, sea urchins and anemones that keeps her boys entertained for hours. It’s an idyllic existence the sea lions obviously enjoy, too.
In the know
Baird Bay Experience is a three-hour drive from Port Lincoln airport, or an eight-hour drive from Adelaide. Packages, which include all meals and activities, from $2000 a person a night, minimum two nights, twin-share. Guests have exclusive use of their villa.
Ellie Dudley was a guest of Baird Bay Experience and the South Australian Tourism Commission.
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