Nestled in at the southern most end of mainland Australia is one of Victoria’s most treasured tourist destinations and one of Australia’s most unique national parks. The ‘Prom’ as locals call it, boasts some of the most stunning scenery, littered with granite headlands, cool fern gullies, curious rock formations, and abundance of native animals, birds, reptiles and vegetation, and finished off with secluded beaches with dramatic red sunsets.
Just a 3 hour drive from Melbourne and an hour from the Bass Coast, will bring you to this magnificent national park located in Victoria’s Gippsland. The largest coastal wilderness area in Victoria has much to offer for those wanting to get back to nature. With a 130km coastline, and the 30km long Tidal River located inside the park, there is a wealth of recreational and leisure activities on offer including camping, canoeing, beach and estuary fishing, sailing, short nature hikes and wind surfing.
Wilsons Promontory after the Victorian Bush Fires
The Victorian bushfires in February, 2009, indiscriminately ripped through the Prom and with it took a great deal of the park’s lush vegetation and native wildlife. Almost 50% of the park was burnt in the fires - 25 200ha over five weeks.
Many of the most popular visitor areas in the park were blackened including Tongue Point walking track, Fairy Cove and Sparkles lookout, Whisky Bay, Lilly Pilly Circuit and Mount Bishop walking track. These areas are still closed for visitors while the park’s authorities work on regenerating them.
Tidal River, which is renowned for its camp spots has been reopened to visitors along with many of the nearby walking tracks such as Mount Oberon, Lilly Pilly, Picnic Bay and Squeaky Beach track. Many of the southern section of the park and its campsites have also since been reopened.
Although many parts of the park are now tainted with a red and black backdrop, the Prom still retains its beauty and charm, and the process of regeneration of the native plants and trees lends a renewing air to the park. All is not lost. Many of the native have thrived, requiring fire to release seeds en masse, while the foreground is showered with new shoots. The grass trees have sprouted spectacular green shoots, which only flower after fire, while the eucalypt trees are sprinkled with impressive red and green dormant buds.
What to See and Do at Wilsons Promontory
Whether visiting for the day or a few days, the first stop should be Tidal River. Here visitors can find information on the park as well as camping facilities and overnight hikes. Camping at Tidal River can b the best way to explore the park and all it has to offer, rather than coming for just a day trip.
Tidal River has over 480 powered and unpowered campsites and caravan spots, all located by either the river or the beach. Norman Bay along Tidal River is one of the safest sandy beaches for swimming for both adults and children.
Squeaky Beach, also known as the ‘singing sands’ beach because of the noise the sand makes when walked upon, is a stunning place to start to explore the coastal views of the Prom, with striking, rolling surf and wind-swept vegetation. This popular quartz sand beach travels along the headland to eventually head back to Tidal River.
The Mount Oberon Summit has some of the best views in Victoria. Endowed with 360? picture perfect panoramas, the summit is a great way to discover how vegetation alters with changes in altitude.
Rare is the opportunity to watch the sunset over the ocean on the coastline of Eastern Australia, however Wilsons Promontory provides two dramatic sunset locations to view the spectacular colours set down over the coast. Normans Lookout, between Picnic and Squeaky Beach; and Whisky Bay, just north of Picnic Bay offer some impressive viewing mid-summer, as the sunsets behind Norman Island.
More information about tourism in and around Gippsland can also be found at the Visit Victoria website.
Natasha Malinda - Natasha's three life passions are travel, politics and food & wine. She holds a Diploma in Freelance Journalism and writes on these topics ...
