Mariners Retreat

Mariners Retreat is an absolute beachfront holiday house at 8 Black Oak Cove in Fitzgerald Bay, the quiet shack-and-fishing locality on the Spencer Gulf about half an hour's coastal drive from Whyalla. Four bedrooms sleep up to ten, and the property is listed as pet friendly on booking platforms, which makes it a rare whole-house option for a group trip with dogs on this stretch of the Eyre Peninsula coast.

Dogs at the retreat

Booking platforms tag the house pet friendly, but the listings do not spell out a size limit, a fee, or which parts of the property a dog can use, and pet terms for private houses like this come down to the host. Message the host through the booking platform before you lock in the stay, especially with a large dog or more than one, and ask about the yard, whether the decks are enclosed, and the house rules for furniture and cleanup. One thing worth flagging: kangaroos and emus move through the locality, and dolphins feed in the bay, so keep your dog supervised or leashed outside rather than assuming the whole property is a free-run yard.

Max: the pet-friendly tag is real but thin on detail. Get the yard, the fee and the wildlife rules from the host in writing before you pay.

The place itself

It is a modern, well-set-up house rather than a bare shack: open-plan living and dining, a full kitchen, two bathrooms, a laundry, ducted reverse-cycle air-conditioning and electric blankets. Outside there are front and back decks, a gas BBQ, a fire pit and kayaks for guest use, with the bay at high tide close by. Reviews mention the wildlife, the location and long weekends, and the setting is genuinely secluded, so this suits a dog that settles in a house rather than one that needs town at hand.

Getting there and nearby

Fitzgerald Bay sits along the coast north-east of Whyalla, reached via the Point Lowly road. The bay itself has free camping spots nearby at Fitzgerald Bay North Free Camping and Fitzgerald Bay Camping if part of your group is towing. In Whyalla, Discovery Parks Whyalla Foreshore runs pet-friendly cabins and sites, and Blended Cafe covers the coffee stop on the drive through.

More options are on the South Australia pet friendly stays guide and the Fitzgerald Bay destination page.