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Photo: Foraminifera, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
While the cape is known for its lighthouse, the primary reason for the cape's popularity is its well-positioned lighthouse which provides picturesque photo opportunities (such as that seen in the banner). Like most other lighthouses, Cape Spencer Lighthouse was built for navigation aid purposes and was fully automated in 1975.
Cape Spencer Lighthouse is a lighthouse in the Australian state of South Australia located on Cape Spencer on the Yorke Peninsula in gazetted locality of Inneston. The navigation aid was originally established as an automatic beacon which was first lit in late 1950, was established after a lengthy period of lobbying of the Australian government. The automatic beacon was replaced in 1975 by an automatic lighthouse facility.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
As implied by the name, Ethel Beach is home to Ethel Wreck, named after the ship Ethel which wrecked on the beach. The Ethel became an unfortunate victim of the storm in 1904 while it was en route to Port Adelaide from South Africa, causing it to end up on this beach. The 711-tonne iron ship has since remained on this beach for over a hundred years since.
A roadside lookout along Pondalowie Bay Road, that gives views of Cape Spencer and the road ahead, similar to that pictured to the right.
A jetty where the water beneath you is both turquoise and dark blue – it's a good place if you want to take a photo for the 'gram (or even if you want to take a photo of the landscape from the bay).
The park's other lighthouse which may not be impressive, both in the sense of looks and significance, but what the lighthouse does have is a nearby 360° lookout of the ocean and classic Yorke Peninsula coastal scenery.
A more northerly lookout but one that's more secluded. Access to the lookout is via a 2.4-kilometre hike (one-way) from Browns Beach Road. There is parking near the start of the trail, but it is limited.