South Australia: Lincoln's catch

Makybe Diva, the horse that captured the heart of a nation by winning the Melbourne Cup three times in a row, watches over the heart of the tuna fishing port of Port Lincoln in the form of a larger-than-life sculpture of the great racehorse.

The British-bred Australian thoroughbred won the cup in 2003 and 2004, and won both the cup and the Cox Plate in 2005 - a winning streak that has cemented her place in the history books - is owned by South Australian tuna fisherman Tony Santic, who named her after the first two letters in five of his employees' names (Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diana and Vanessa). 

But while the great galloping diva may be the stealing the limelight in Port Lincoln these days, she's not the only special horse in town. According to Tracey Worland, it's sea horses that have really put the tuna town on the map.

Tracy has been breeding and farming seahorses for the aquarium trade at her Port Lincoln Sea Horse Farm for the past seven years and is passionate about what she does.

"Seahorse populations throughout the world are diminishing," explains Tracey as she walks between the rows of tanks holding countless varieties of colourful sea horses in varying stages of growth. "Twenty million seahorses are taken from the wild each year to supply the aquarium trade. They are also used in many herbal medicines, as well as to make curios and jewellery."

"Australian Seahorses were placed under the Wildlife Protection Act in 1998 but their conservation status is considered vulnerable. We wanted to offer an alternative to the market that was sustainable, selling captive-bred seahorses to replace those that are harvested in the wild."

"Hopefully, by farming seahorses and offering them for sale to the aquarium trade, along with an education program encouraging the world to purchase 'Captive Bred Seahorses' we can help these beautiful creatures survive," she says.

'Seafood capital of Australia'

The Eyre Peninsula is famous for its seafood, particularly its succulent oysters prized in restaurants from Darwin to Sydney and Perth. Along with farming, fishing and aquaculture is the main industry in the region and Port Lincoln, which likes to call itself the 'Seafood capital of Australia', is home to the largest commercial fishing fleet in the Southern Hemisphere. Wander the Lincoln Cove Marina on a guided walking tour to hear the history of fishing in the town and how it grew to become a $300 million a year export industry, see live rock lobster (November to May), or if they are in port, tour a working prawn trawler. You can also take a tour of tuna and yellowfish farming pens in the bay and visit a mussel farm. 

If you like your seafood, and want to know about more about how it gets from the sea to your plate pick up a free copy of the Seafood and Aquaculture Trail map from the visitor information centre for details of abalone and crayfish farms, oyster sheds, fish hatcheries and processors that open their doors for informative tours.

As the largest town on the Peninsula, Port Lincoln has plenty of good restaurants, cafes, galleries and shops but the best part of this bit of the world is the scenery.

Lincoln National Park

Just south of the town is Lincoln National Park, a wild and rugged peninsula with vast expanses of coastal mallee, spectacular ocean cliffs and extensive sand dunes, sandy beaches and sheltered camping sites. If you've got a 4WD you can take a spectacular drive through the rugged southern section of the park along the cliff edges to the Sleaford sand dunes, an endless sea of towering white sand dunes leading to beaches pounded by enormous waves. 

The more sheltered, northern section of the park is fine for conventional cars and has a string of pretty bays and calm beaches - most with camp and picnic sites where you'll often be the only ones there. Pick of the crop is Memory Cove, but you will need to get a gate key from the Visitors Centre in Port Lincoln before you go and 4WD is recommended.

Coffin Bay National Park is on the western side of the Peninsula, about 40km from Port Lincoln and is also great for 4WDs. Much of the road is actually on the beach, so you need to check the tide chart before you set off. If you're in a conventional car, there are also plenty of great beaches and lookouts you can visit and you may just see the resident mob of wild Coffin Bay brumbies.

Proof positive that Port Lincoln really is a horse's town after all.

More information

• South Australian Sea Horse Marine Services: daily tours of the seahorse farm, the only one of its type in South Australia, take around 40 minutes or so and will teach you more about seahorses than you thought possible. Book at the Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre.
• Boston Bay Wines: 6km north of Port Lincoln on the Lincoln Highway. Cellar Door open for tastings and sales 12-4pm, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
• Where to stay: The Marina Hotel & Apartments, 13 Jubilee Drive, Port Lincoln. Tel: (08) 8682 6141.
• How to get there: Port Lincoln 646km south-west of Adelaide. Regional Express operates daily services to Port Lincoln.
• Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre: 3 Adelaide Place, Port Lincoln. Tel 1300 788 378.

Article by Lee Atkinson, November 2006.