The beach at Penneshaw was named "Bay of Springs" by the early European explorers but became known as "Hog Bay" to the marooned sailors and escaped convicts who hunted wild pigs to supplement their food supplies. The name continues to be used to identify the eastern peninsula of Kangaroo Island as a separate community from the main townships.

The beach is truly wonderful, safe for children and with clear waters above white sands.

Penneshaw is now the arrival point for the Sealink ferry, crossing the 12 miles of open sea from Cape Jervois in approximately 40 minutes, in all weathers.