News Your Beach Discovery Bucket List
From golden sands and hidden coves to wild and wicked outcrops, Gippsland is blessed with stunning coastline, just waiting to be discovered.
We are fortunate to have a very passionate, very active and very LOUD social media following 😉. Recently we asked our fans to share with us their favourite beaches that our guests should discover... Beaches that are off-the-beaten-track, the quiet achievers, the ones that are deserving of more recognition.
Here are their tips... your Gippsland beach discovery bucket list. Happy beaching!
(Oh, and if you want to join us on social media for more hot tips like these, find us at @visitgippsland on Facebook and Instagram.)
AROUND CAPE CONRAN
EAST CAPE
What’s to love?
Located in the spectacular Cape Conran Coastal Park, East Cape is the place for swimming, with shallower waters and gentler surf than its rowdier neighbours. Its long, sandy beach is ripe for a picnic on the sand, and if the tide’s out, a round of beach cricket. Wander along the East Cape Boardwalk through banksia woodlands and heathland, past sacred ancient meeting places of Aboriginal people. Nearby camping is available at the Banksia Bluff campground.
SALMON ROCKS
What’s to love?
This is Cape Conran Coastal Park’s centrepiece... a wide beach with turquoise water and golden sand. The beach is bookended by rocky outcrops where the granite changes colour with the light, from blood orange to amethyst.
PEARL POINT
What’s to love?
Close to Bemm River, this beach is blissfully long, flat and wide. The eastern beach is partially protected by the point and provides endless hours of rock pool exploration.
AROUND WILSONS PROMONTORY
SEALERS COVE & REFUGE COVE
What's to love?
Crystal clear azure waters lapping at the golden sandy shore await those who hike in to these off-the-beaten-track beaches. On the eastern side of Wilsons Promontory, they are well-protected. Both beaches are accessed on the overnight hike, Wilsons Promontory Southern Circuit Walk and there’s a campsite at each. You can also join a cruise with Wildlife Coast Cruises to see Refuge Cove, departing from Port Welshpool.
WALKERVILLE SOUTH
What's to love?
A small but beautiful half-moon beach, great for swimming, especially with young kids. There are giant rocks for clambering and remnants of the lime kilns can be seen from the beach. This beautiful beach was the inspiration for the much-loved children's classic book, Magic Beach by Alison Lester.
DARBY BEACH
What's to love?
Darby beach is one of the first beaches you’ll pass as you enter the gates of Wilsons Promontory. It’s easy to drive past in your race to set up camp at Tidal River, but you’re smarter than that... Those who stop are rewarded with a small sandy beach, fringed by rocky headlands and sand dunes.
AROUND MALLACOOTA
SANTA BARBARA BAY, GABO ISLAND
What's to love?
Take your boat or a water taxi and head for Gabo Island, just off Mallacoota’s coastline. You’ll be rewarded with a white sandy beach and turquoise waters gently lapping on the shore. The crystal clear sea offer fantastic snorkelling. A colony of Little Penguins calls this beach home, and can be found waddling to their burrows each day at sunset.
BETKA BEACH
What’s to love?
One of Mallacoota’s jaw-droppingly beautiful beaches, Betka Beach is the meeting point of the Betka River and the ocean. The interesting shoreline is peppered with lime-green mossy rocks, and the gentle gradient makes it a good choice for paddling.
BASS COAST
EAGLES NEST
What’s to love?
This geologically pleasing beach is like many of its Bunurong Coast neighbours, a cove tucked into the steep-sided bluff. Standing guard over the secluded beach is the fantastical rock formation jutting from the water, appearing like a nest. There are plenty of rockpools for fossicking in at low tide.
SHACK BAY
What's to love?
Make your way down a windy, wooden staircase to discover your own secluded slice of paradise along the Bass Coast. Shack Bay is one of a collection of bays and coves tucked into deep cliffs along the Bunurong Coast.
NINETY MILE BEACH
GOLDEN BEACH
What's to love?
Despite being the nearest beach from Sale, Golden Beach remains off the beaten track with only a handful of shops and facilities. Look out for the remnants of the Trinculo Shipwreck. All that remains is her iron spine sticking out of the sand after she ran aground due to bad weather in 1858.
THE HONEYSUCKLES
What's to love?
Ninety miles of sand stretch across this section of coast. You could walk for miles and not see a soul. This endless expanse of golden sand and pristine waters makes surf fishing dreams come true. It’s not only about the sea here, because the vantage point of the southern night skies is one of the best. You can enjoy a star-gazing experience with Honeysuckles Astronomy Tours.
MCGAURANS BEACH
What's to love?
An endless horizon of fine, golden sand can be found on Mcgaurans Beach. This surf beach along the Ninety Mile Beach is backed by dunes.
Published on under: Nature & Outdoor