Second Valley Beach, South Australia PART I for Water H2O Thursday

August 19, 2025 • 22 Comments

Joel and I were compelled to alter our course when unfavourable weather swept across Granite Island, and so we made our way to the opposite side of the Fleurieu Peninsula, to the sheltered shores of Second Valley. Our hope that the conditions might prove more amenable was rewarded; the clouds broke and the sea lay calmer beneath the cliffs. Yet our true purpose in venturing to this place was to behold the famed sea caves, carved by centuries of unrelenting surf into the ancient rock. At high tide the entrances were beyond our reach, the waters jealously guarding them, yet even from a distance the scene provided ample delight and a rich field for photography.

Second Valley, named by Colonel William Light during his survey in 1836 as the “second valley” north of Rapid Bay, is distinguished by its dramatic geological formations. Here rugged cliffs of quartzite and slate, formed some 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period, descend precipitously into waters of remarkable clarity. Over countless ages, wind and tide have hewn caves and narrow inlets, giving the shoreline its romantic character. The surrounding hills, once traversed by the Kaurna people, offer a reminder of the deep Aboriginal heritage of the region, while the settlement that later grew upon the valley floor became a modest but enduring coastal village.

Today the beach is beloved not only for its natural grandeur but also for the tranquillity it affords. The play of light upon stone and sea, the stratified cliffs rising behind the narrow strand, and the hidden caverns accessible only when the tide recedes—all combine to make Second Valley a place where the photographer’s art finds inexhaustible inspiration.

BUY WALL MOUNTS AND PRINTS HERE

Second Valley South Australia Gallery

Second Valley Beach, South Australia