He was stabilised at the Port Lincoln Hospital before being airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital just before 11am yesterday.

Port Lincoln paramedic Dean Vivian said the man had a fractured ankle, a possible fractured elbow and internal chest injuries but a full assessment of his condition would be done in Adelaide.

Police reported he was also suffering from hypothermia.

The 53-year-old man from Aberfoyle Park left his campsite near Groper Bay at about 2.15pm on Tuesday to go for a walk but failed to return.

His partner conducted a search for the area for about one and a half hours but was unable to locate him.

Local police received the report at about 5.10pm and launched a search with State Emergency Services at about 7pm.

The search was scaled down at about 10.30 pm due to the dangerous conditions and no light.

The search resumed at about 6.30am on Wednesday with assistance from Whyalla SES and the Adelaide Bank Rescue Helicopter.

At about 7.40 am the man was located at the base of a 25 metre cliff at Groper Bay.

Ground crews were unable to reach the man on foot and he was winched to safety by helicopter at 8.45am.

Once the helicopter was overhead it took about 15 minutes to get the man on a stretcher and winch him up.

Senior constable Bowman from the Adelaide Special Task and Rescue Force said the man had taken a tumble down the cliff and seemed to think he had fallen about 10 metres.

According to Senior constable Bowman his injuries were not life threatening but were serious.

Whalers Way popular tourist attraction

PORT Lincoln Visitor Information Centre co-manager Di Dennis said Whalers Way was one of the most asked about places to visit on lower Eyre Peninsula.

Last month the centre gave out 163 vehicle permits and Ms Dennis said between 300 or 400 permits were issued in December and January.

"When people come in and get their permits we always say they do need to abide by the warning signs because there are freak waves down there," Ms Dennis said.