Port Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary
The "Need to Knows"
Where: Port Adelaide, SA
Access: Garden Island Boat Ramp
Cost: Free (if spotting from the boardwalk or bringing your own vessel)
If going with a tour company costs start at approximately $45.
Other: Kayak tours and hire are available (minimum age is 8 years).
The Ships Graveyard can be accessed from the Garden Island Boat ramp by heading right into North Arm.
Kid friendly: Yes, the paddling is easy and waters fairly calm.
Nearby: Port Adelaide Fisherman's Wharf markets (Sunday only)
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I stumbled across this place while stalking Adelaide in our trip planning stage. I found it hard to find quality information regarding access and safety but dragged our inflatable kayak across 3 states just in case…. Taking the kayak turned out to be the right choice, as Port Adelaide’s dolphin sanctuary turned out to be one of my all time favourite experiences. The sanctuary is located about 20 minutes outside of Adelaide city, and the easiest access point is from the boat ramp on Garden Island. There is also a beautiful boardwalk here where you can try to spot the dolphins from the land. There are about 30 permanent dolphins that live in the sanctuary and other dolphins that simply visit. Our experience started early in the morning when Larissa and I arrived at the boat ramp. We could already see a dolphin out in the river and as we paddled out, the dolphin swam around us, diving under the kayak and popping back up on the other side. It was literally, at this point, just us and our new dolphin friend. It was truly amazing and magical. Soon the tour groups started paddling out and so we made our way around the boardwalk to take a look. It didn’t take long for us to make another sea friend who was happy to play hide and seek, jumping up and then disappearing, only to resurface somewhere completely different. We then paddled further out and found a pair of dolphins, possibly a mother and calf, who we watched for a while. Although we didn’t paddle further around, you can kayak to the “Ships Graveyard”. Located on the southern side of Gardwn Island, you need to paddle right into North Arm from the boat ramp. The graveyard contains wreckage from 26 marine vessels, some dating back to 1856. You can also see some of these from the bridge that takes you over to garden island, although ease of visibility is dependent on the tide. I had read conflicting information regarding whether you could access this in a private vessel, but there appeared to be no issues when we were there. The paddle is 6km. If you don’t have your own kayak, there are two local companies that conduct tours of the dolphin sanctuary and ships graveyard. Minimum age is 8 years and there is a shorter “family” tour. Overall, we highly recommend the sanctuary. It was the highlight of this particular trip for me, and Larissa often tells people about it.