Port Noarlunga- Adelaide Suburbs

There was a very good thread on the sister site (PIA) a few years ago concerning suburbs and schools.

There has been many changes during the past few years and this is an update on the suburb where I settled when I moved here. I still live here...

Port Noarlunga.

Please feel free to add to this and provide your in depth details of other Adelaide suburbs.

Port Noarlunga: Everything on your doorstep.

A few things to do in our local area:

Where to start…there is so much in this local area and adjoining suburbs of Christies beach and Noarlunga.

This suburb has everything that a family could want, and everywhere can be reached by walking. I do not know of any other suburb that has so much right on it's doorstep.

Transport:

There is a transport interchange at the large Noarlunga shopping centre. The Noarlunga transport interchange (buses and trains) is only a few minutes drive from the Port Noarlunga residential suburb. A new free car park is popular for park and ride commuters. A train to the city takes between 29 and 40 minutes depending upon whether you take a limited stop train. The rail link into the city has been electrified with brand new trains and rolling stock. The line extends to Seaford in the south.

If you choose to drive then the southern expressway can be reached within a few minutes (top of Beach Road) and this reduces the travel time into the city. Travel from Port Noarlunga to Flinders medical centre is around 15 minutes. The expressway has been upgraded into a dual flow road with reduced travel times to the city and back. Travel times to the city range from 27 minutes off peak to 45 minutes in peak periods.

Beaches: It's a seaside suburb with the most stunning sandy beach. The Port Noarlunga jetty and natural reef offer protected swimming and is a demarcated aquatic reserve.

At Port Noarlunga Beach swimming, canoeing, and enjoying the marine life are all popular. The more adventurous can go exploring the Port Noarlunga reef - snorkelling, scuba and SNUBA diving can show you unseen beauty under water. Over 200 species of marine plant and fish are found at the reef and include bryozoans, sponges, hydroids, ascidians and molluscs, and fishing from the Port Noarlunga jetty is popular too.

Best snorkelling location near Adelaide

Just half an hour from Adelaide, Port Noarlunga is a fantastic destination for some summer fun. What makes this beach so special is the reef, a natural rock pile that runs parallel to shore for over 1.5 km. This protective barrier shields the beach from waves, large sea creatures, and strong rip currents. The best time to visit Port Noarlunga is at low tide when the reef is exposed and the water is clearer.

Port Noarlunga Reef

Port Noarlunga Reef is a narrow reef about 400 metres (1,300 ft) offshore and about 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) long and was formed from a consolidated Pleistocene sand dune. The reef runs parallel to shore and has two sections, with the area separating them called The Gap. It is a popular scuba diving and snorkelling location, with more than 200 marine plant species and over 60 fish species. There is a self-guided diving trail which was established in 1994, which is marked with a series of 12 glass plaques. The plaques indicate aspects of the reef ecosystem relevant to their location.^[6]

The Port Noarlunga Aquatic Reserve was the first aquatic reserve proclaimed in South Australia, being established in 1971 to protect the reef life and the adjacent river estuary. The boundaries of the reserve were extended to the north in 1993 to include an adjacent limestone reef known as Horseshoe Reef at Christies Beach. As of 2007, it extends along the coastline from Onkaparinga Head at Port Noarlunga South in the south to Gulfview Road at Christies Beach in the north and includes the Onkaparinga River up until the Main South Road at Old Noarlunga. The reserve covers an area of 527 hectares (1,300 acres). Fishing activity is limited to the use of rod and handline while the use of ‘hand nets for the taking of shrimps for bait only’ is permitted in estuary and the Onkaparinga River. No fishing is permitted within 25 metres (82 ft) of Horseshoe and Port Noarlunga Reefs and can only be carried out from the jetty and the beach at Port Noarlunga.^[6][7][8]

Anglers fish from the jetty and children and divers share the sea! You can walk there or reach them within a few minutes by car. The nearby Christies Beach / O Sullivans is dog friendly and your pets can run free in the sand and surf every day.

Port Noarlunga / Port Noarlunga South took the 2010/ 2011 award for Australia's cleanest beach. Over $8 million has being spent on new beachfront facilities. In 2013 Port Noarlunga was ranked in the top 101 beaches in Australia (out of nearly 9000 beaches!)

The village of Port Noarlunga has character.

You can sit on the sheltered beachfront and eat fish and chips from the local fish shop.....less than 100m away in the Port Noarlunga village. You can have a drink and meal on the beachfront. The village has plenty of popular eateries including pub food, Indian, Mexican and a variety of restaurants. All are within walking distance.

The Port Noarlunga life saving club have new facilities on the beachfront. You have peace of mind when the little ones are on the beach. The clubs at Port Noarlunga, Christies and nearby Port Noarlunga South are community driven and a great way to meet people too.

Encounter Marine Park stretches along the Fleurieu Peninsula coast from pretty Port Noarlunga to the top of the Coorong, and out as far as the beaches of Kangaroo Island. Apart from enjoying the natural beauty, there are many fun things to do at places all through the marine park. Boating, canoeing, flying a kite, snorkelling, exploring rock pools, wakesurfing, spearfishing and exploring underwater wrecks are just a few of the water sports that are possible in the Encounter Marine Park.

Since 1976 the Port Noarlunga Aquatic Centre has operated classes for primary school children from throughout the state. The program runs in the first and last school terms each year and provides the opportunity to try waveskiing, canoeing, fishing, snorkelling, sailing, swimming and sailboarding. About 15,000 students have access to this program each year.^[3]

Shopping:

Too much to list! All the major retailer are present in the Noarlunga centre as well as the big banks. The Noarlunga centre is within walking distance from the residential area and is 2 minutes by car. As well as the centre the surrounding shopping precinct has many new stores. The shopping centre is connected to the transport interchange at Noarlunga and many people travel from the new stations on the Seaford line.

Beach road in Christies Beach has Coles and Woolworth’s and many eateries and fast food outlets. There are a variety of shops in Beach road, and many real estate companies are situated on this popular strip. The supermarkets are open from 7 till 9 and you don't even need a car to get there. There are liquor stores and drive in liquor stores. There are 24-hour petrol stations, convenience stores and all the major fast food outlets.

Many teenagers find casual work at the fast food outlets and local shops especially over the festive period.

Port Noarlunga is served by three local post offices. There is a community post office in Port Noarlunga village, a post office in the Noarlunga centre and one in Beach Road, Christies Beach. All offer PO box rentals that are a good idea for new migrants who may move around during their initial period.

The Port Noarlunga area is well served by local community services. The Medicare and Centrelink office is located in the Noarlunga centre precinct. The Service SA centre (drivers licences) is just off Beach Road, Christies and all these facilities are within a short walk.

Schools:

There are childcare and kindy facilities in Port Noarlunga, Noarlunga centre and Christies Beach.

The Port Noarlunga primary school is very popular and this school has been expanded and refurbished with $4 million from the nation-building fund (due to the growing demand especially new migrants). The local kindy “Frieda Corpe” is very popular.

Port Noarlunga Primary School is located in the historic township of Port Noarlunga. The school opened in 1916 and moved to its present site in 1924. It is situated well away from busy main streets, giving it a pleasantly tranquil atmosphere. Its many leafy old trees provide plentiful shade and character, adding to the quiet serenity of this historical site. Port Noarlunga is an older (historic) district with a mix of residential and commercial zones. The school is within walking distance of beaches and community facilities. Port Noarlunga Primary School will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2016.

In 2015 they have seventeen classes with students from Reception to Year 7.

Port Noarlunga is noted for its community atmosphere which enables us to care for and support all children in their endeavours to reach their full potential. The school community is very involved with and supportive of the school's educational programme. The Governing Council has a strong parent representation and is actively involved in all school matters and decision making.

The school has strong links to the beach and Aquatics. The annual Beach Carnival is held at nearby Port Noarlunga Beach. A statewide Aquatic Centre is also administered from this site, with lessons held at the nearby Port Noarlunga beach.

Frieda Corpe Kindergarten is the main feeder kindergarten with some children enrolling from other kingergartens. Christies Beach High School and Seaford Secondary College are local secondary schools.

Our school logo shows the local memorial cairn which was erected in 1933 and paid for by the residents of Port Noarlunga at that time. The cairn is made from stones collected from Moana Beach and is a memorial to Captain Collet Barker who landed in 1831 at the Port Noarlunga site. The cairn is located at the Esplanade, Witton Bluff at Port Noarlunga.

There is a Catholic primary school (St Johns) in nearby O Sullivans and a larger primary school in Beach road. There is also a private primary school “All Saints” nearby.

High schools and technical colleges include the Catholic Cardijn, Christies High, and Marcellin technical.

The Noarlunga TAFE is situated in the Noarlunga Centre, just a few minutes away and this offers so many courses for teenagers and adults. It's next door to the modern public library. Many new migrants enrol at TAFE to learn new skills or do components for their trade certificates.

Housing:

Prices in the range of $350,000 to over a million dollar properties for beachfront homes. The area is undergoing massive transformation with many 1960's homes being renovated or replaced with modern units. There is a large expat population and the adjoining suburb of Christies beach is also undergoing massive regeneration and upgrading. 25% of the residents in Christies were born in the UK! Prices are rising in this suburb and many properties are being converted into holiday accommodation. Council changes to development regulations have resulted in a suburb where older beach shacks are being replaced by multiple new dwellings and by modern double storey homes. Not only is it a great place to live...it's a great investment area too.

Entertainment:

The nearby and walkable Noarlunga entertainment precinct has a cinema complex (Wallis), bowling, ice skating, large indoor pool and sports facility, and laser quest. There are a number of new gyms at the leisure centre and in the entertainment precinct.

There is the floodlit footy at the sports oval in Noarlunga (called South Adelaide: Panthers stadium) and the footy and cricket oval is in Christies (Bice Oval). The local footy team at Bice are The Saints.

The local rugby league team is based at the Port Noarlunga football club in Saltfleet Street (near the wooden fort).

There are bowling clubs in Christies and Port Noarlunga, local RSL clubs with functions and live music, free community tennis courts, and canoeing with canoe hire and trails along the Onkaparinga river.

For young children the community park “Jubilee Park” is very popular. Onkaparinga Adventure Playground.

The children's fort (Jubilee Park) and play area just across the Onkaparinga estuary and this has barbie and picknik facilities. There are also local barbecue facilities on the Port Noarlunga beachfront, Rotary park in Christies and outside the Christies Beach surf life saving and sailing club.

The Onkaparinga River Recreation Park, part of the greater Onkaparinga River National Park, is located in the seaside town of Port Noarlunga. It is a large reserve that encompasses the Onkaparinga River, South Australia's second longest river.

The recreation park is mostly comprised of natural attractions but the most recent addition is a bridge that traverses the park as part of the Seaford Rail Extension. The park offers a great view of the new bridge and in some parts the opportunity to get up close to it, if that is what floats your boat. The main attractions of the Onkaparinga River Recreation Park, other than the river itself, are the two walks that take place either side of it; the Wetlands Walk and Pingle Farm Walk.

Others will choose to float their boat along the gentle waters of the Onkaparinga River which is ideal to canoe and kayak. The river is also a popular fishing spot and the paths alongside it are well tread by walkers, runners and cyclists. The tranquil estuary and wetlands abound with flora and fauna that will keep nature watchers content.

A gym with a view

Situated on the cliff top of the Esplanade at Port Noarlunga is a small park that overlooks the town and offers dramatic coastal views. The panoramic vista showcases the Port Noarlunga beach, reef, jetty and the Onkaparinga River Recreation Park.

The park has recently been modified to include outdoor exercise equipment for public use, the first of its kind in the area. An outdoor gym has long been discussed, and even petitioned, by locals with many hoping it would be introduced along the Esplanade between Port Noarlunga South and Moana, but this is a welcome first addition to encourage health and fitness in the community.

Port Noarlunga Esplanade Exercise Equipment

Other facilities: There are local doctors and a hospital at Noarlunga. The GP super clinic has been completed and is part of the health village. There are surf lifsaving associations, launch sites on the beaches and local dive facilities. There are great fishing spots on the river, from the jetty or from boats launched from O Sullivans beach. The water is calm and protected and the kids swim, surf and body board in safety. There are loads of parks and playgrounds, tennis courts and sport facilities. It's a safe suburb, an in demand suburb and many new migrants decide to live around here.

What an excellent post @Tamara I will make this a sticky

Thank you very much Ktee.

I hope that you visit Port Noarlunga should you visit Adelaide :smile:

Thank you very much Ktee.

I hope that you visit Port Noarlunga should you visit Adelaide :smile:

Wkd post! Thanks for sooo much info.

You have listed everything someone would need.

This has been v helpful to me

thanks again

anna