Lately we seem to have a knack for planning camping weekends when the weather is at its worst. Recently Victoria was hit with a severe cold snap, dumps of snow falls in unlikely places, destructive winds and icy temperatures that would test a polar bear.
That was the day before I had to make the decision: take the camper trailer and brave the elements or play it safe. We could only get away for one night (a birthday getaway for husband Doug and the shortest weekend getaway I’ve ever organised) and so we chose the easy option. In doing so we embarked on a short but easily achieved road trip to Wilsons Promontory, Australia’s southern-most tip reached via South Gippsland’s lush green countryside.
We left at the crack of dawn on a brisk but clear winter morning and, with minimal traffic on the Princes Highway, exited the highway at Koo Wee Rup and were driving on the picturesque South Gippsland Highway in no time. As you leave the M1 behind you enter some of the most scenic dairy countryside in Victoria, with lush green fields and rolling hills that look like a patchwork quilt. Pass through the larger townships of Korumburra and Leongatha and soon you hit the small quaint hamlets of Koonwarra and Fish Creek, just dots on the map but each with their own distinct charms.
Take Meeniyan, just ten minutes from Leongatha for instance. It’s often referred to as the turning point due to the fact that you can veer off here towards Wilsons Promontory or continue onwards along the South Gippsland Highway. There’s an art gallery, a golf course and, if you’re wanting to stock up on self-catering goodies, Moos at Meeniyan is a restaurant and café which stocks fantastic coffee, local wines and local produce. It was closed for the winter months when we passed though I think Doug was more taken with the local garage we passed, displaying a new for sale bull bar and canopy for a Colorado, exactly what he was looking for.
Further along, Fish Creek is home to 250 people, four art galleries and a very popular pub. Once known as the Fishy Pub this 1930s art décor building is today perhaps more appropriately known as the Fish Creek Hotel with a reputation for serving excellent food, using local produce. The town has its own Tea Cosy festival which attracts upwards of 10,000 visitors each year.
Yanakie is the last town before reaching Wilsons Promontory, more affectionately known as the Prom. Here you can refuel (the last fuel available before entering the National Park) or buy last minute supplies at the mini mart. Nearby there is a number of self-contained cottages to choose from as well as the Yanakie Caravan Park, a superbly positioned park overlooking Corner Inlet, a brilliant place to camp if you’re a keen fisherman. You can moor a boat at the Foley Road boat ramp, chances are good that you’ll snare something; these waters offer a huge variety of salt-water fish. The Inlet also offers access by boat to Bass Strait and the magnificent eastern coastline of Wilsons Promontory.
There’s a great walk to Duck Point which starts close by, leading through thickets of Coastal Tea-tree to the sheltered waters of Corner Inlet. There are beautiful views across the Inlet to the peaks of Wilsons Promontory. It’s only a 30 minute return walk, look out for the ‘Red Bluff’ jutting out. Red Bluff is formed out of a very reddish clay.
On the other side is Shallow Inlet. Shallow Inlet beach is the only beach in Victoria where it’s officially legal to drive on the beach, which makes it a very popular spot for fishermen and boat owners. Shallow Inlet sits between Sandy Point and Yanakie and can be accessed either from Hourigan’s Camp Road or Lester Road in Yanakie.
This is a vast and peaceful area however be careful if you arrive when the tide is out or only half way out. People have been known to park on the sand when the tide is out, an enormous area the size of many football fields and which can seem like miles from the water, then forget about their car. It’s never a good thing to come back and find the tide has overtaken your car. Nearby Shallow Inlet Caravan Park is a good place to camp with powered and unpowered sites and a camp kitchen.
From Yanakie it’s just ten minutes to the park entrance and from there Tidal River is a mere 25 minute drive away. Take it nice and slow on the way in as the area has an abundance of wildlife – emus, wallabies, kangaroos and wombats. Wombats are the most common inhabitants in the park and are everywhere. Reaching Tidal River it was just as I remembered it from my last visit nearly a decade earlier, minus the crowds. Being winter there were virtually no campers, in summer it is entirely different.
The popular campground – one of Victoria’s most loved – has hundreds of unpowered sites with access to toilet, shower and laundry facilities, and close to Norman Beach and many wonderful walks. There are also twenty powered sites and a number of self-contained cabins but as we discovered these are booked out months in advance. Christmas holiday bookings are by a ballot system and you need to get in early for other busy holiday periods.
For first time visitors with limited time the ultimate Prom walk is to the summit of Mount Oberon. The walk starts from Telegraph Station where you leave the car and take the road up to the summit. It’s a sheer climb and a good workout but at the top you will be rewarded with spectacular coastal views that will take your breath away. An alternative to Mount Oberon is a quieter walk to the top of Mount Bishop for equally inspiring views. Walking is what the Prom is all about and there are short strolls to multi day treks and overnight expeditions. Then there are the beaches. The aptly named Squeaky Beach and beautiful Whisky Bay are just as beautiful in winter as in summer, perhaps even more so. They were deserted when we visited, wild and windswept and deliciously appealing.
Another iconic walk is the rainforest track to the charmingly named Lilly Pilly Gully. On our visit there was evidence of the high winds that had ripped through the place just days before our visit. On a number of occasions we were clambering over fallen branches that had completely blocked tracks.
When you’re not walking, Wilsons Prom is a great place to kick back and relax with Tidal River a great spot for safe swimming and nearby Norman Beach another option if you prefer waves. Squeaky Beach is also popular with surfers.
The ocean surrounding the park has been declared a marine national park, with excellent snorkelling and scuba diving, or for sailing to check out the numerous offshore islands. Just make sure you check with the rangers before jumping off your boat as many of these are restricted and are home to endangered species.
After exploring Tidal River and walking to Pillar Point we enjoyed a gourmet picnic we’d brought from home. It was quiet but we felt eyes on us everywhere. Pacific gulls, cheeky colourful rosellas and a remarkably large wombat close by. On closer inspection we realised it was carrying a baby in its pouch. Every so often a tiny face would peek out and survey its surroundings. Wombats are everywhere in the park and if you stay overnight you’re likely to stumble over one if you go walking so take a torch. Secure your boxes as they have an insatiable knack of getting into campers supplies and don’t leave your boots outside as wombats mark their territory with poo and they have a fondness of depositing it on the highest point available.
Having spent most of a glorious day in the park, enjoying lunch with the local wildlife it was time to head towards our accommodation for the night. Toora was our destination, a pretty little town about twenty minutes from Yanakie and a great alternative to staying inside the Prom. There’s also some worthwhile attractions in the area including the spectacular Agnes Falls, located just fifteen minutes from town as well as panoramic lookouts at Mount Fatigue and Mount Best.
For those who have time to head into the hills, take the Toora-Gunyah Road, via the Mount Fatigue lookout, to the magical Gunyah Forest. This is cool, ferny, tall Victorian forest at its most stunning. Then turn west along the Grand Ridge Road with its historic sites. To get back onto the South Gippsland Highway near Foster take the left turn at Gunyah junction onto the Foster-Boolarra Road.
To get to Agnes Falls turn left at Toora and head into the hills of the Strzelecki Ranges following Silcocks Hill Road, Hazel Park Road and Agnes Falls Road. At 59 metres, Agnes Falls are the highest single span falls in Victoria. Hidden within the green, rolling hills of the Strzelecki Ranges, the meandering Agnes River cascades over rocks into a deep picturesque gorge. The falls were thundering when we visited, no doubt thanks to the recent heavy rain.
There’s a great picnic area there and new facilities have only recently been completed by the group Friends of Agnes Falls. On the way back we took the scenic route, with Daniel our thirteen year old son over-awed by the sheer size of the wind turbines as we were by the views over Toora and Wilsons Promontory.
As you come into the town the Toora Wind Farm stands high above the town, a visible landmark for miles around. Close by, almost at the beginning of the Corner Inlet Marine and Coastal Park, you can visit the Toora Bird Hide and Board walk on Jetty road. There are various information plaques with descriptions of land and sea birds, migratory patterns and information about the Marine Park itself.
There is a boardwalk which connects to the bird hide. The surrounding area is made up of mud flats and mangroves, with many varieties of grasses and sedges. Enjoy views of Wilson’s Prom, Barry Beach, Yanakie and the Toora wind farm from the car park.
Toora Tourist Park sits on a quiet stretch of the South Gippsland Highway, behind it on a green hill is the silhouette of a wind-farm turbine, something that seems somehow otherworldly. It’s a family friendly park with plenty to keep young and old amused: a tennis court, jumping pillow, a mini-golf course and giant chess set and an indoor heated swimming pool and spa which was in the process of being renovated when we visited. It will be complete in September, in time for the oncoming holiday period. There are ensuite and powered camping sites and cabins nestled amongst eucalyptus trees.
Behind the park you can walk through the gate and up the hill for sweeping views over the township and the peaks of the Prom. A Highland Bull lives in the paddock and he looks on nonchalantly as we entered the gate. We walked around him and up the hill and at the top Doug settled into a seat to enjoy the last rays of sun as they set over the township and the distant hills of the Prom. The bull seemed unfazed by us. We had been assured he is completely friendly. Good thing as he had a massive set of handle bars and we wouldn’t have wanted to mess with him.
Within walking distance is the Toora Standard Pub, with food that is far from standard. In fact it’s exceptional and people come from miles to eat here. We enjoyed a delicious meal by a toasty open fire, washed down with a couple of celebratory birthday drinks. The following morning we drew the curtains and were welcomed to a new day by the silhouette of our friend the bull up on the hill. Then it was back to the Prom to tackle another walk in this pristine paradise – red lichen covered rocks and diamante blue waters, pristine white sands and yellow banksia covered headlands – before heading back to reality, to the dog and to reminisce on a wonderful, but fleeting, weekend.
How to get there
To get onto the South Gippsland Highway take the Princes Highway from Melbourne and turn off at Koo Wee Rup. Wilsons Promontory is 200kms from Melbourne via the Princes Highway and the South Gippsland Highway. Toora is about ten minutes from Foster and about half an hour from the entrance to the National Park.
Where to stay
Toora Tourist Park, South Gippsland Highway Toora
Telephone 1800 88 99 66 or (03) 5686 2257
Visit www.tooratouristpark.com.au
Camping at Tidal River
Tidal River has over 480 camping and caravan sites, near the beach and river. 20 powered sites are available and pre-booking is essential as they are very popular. Telephone 13 1963. Outside of defined peak season booking periods Tidal River campsites can be pre-booked up to 12 months in advance.
Leave your pets at home. Generators and campfires are not permitted so take a gas or fuel stove. Tidal River has a general store, post office, camping gas supplies and a take-away food shop. Meals are available on some nights. Open-air cinema and doctor services are available during summer.
Tidal River also offers self-contained cabins (6 people), units (4 people), group lodges (12, 24 or 30 bed), huts (4 or 6 bed) and Wilderness (Safari style) Retreats. All accommodation is very popular and must be booked well in advance.
More Information
For more information about Toora, South Gipppsland and Wilsons Promontory visit www.visitpromcountry.com.au