Wilsons
Promontory
Home
| Bushwalking
| Ski-Touring
| Photo Galleries
| Published
Books
Overseas Walks | External
Links | The
Author | What's
New | Site Map
Return to Victoria
Bushwalking
Introduction
Its known by locals as 'The Prom' and it is one of the most popular
places for a beach holiday in Victoria. While most go to the huge
camping ground at the end of the road at Tidal River, a better way to
see the Prom is to walk around it on the well established track sytem.
The main walk is a 2 to 3 day circuit walk of the southern half of the
pninsula. The most popular walk for begineers is an easy two day return
walk to Sealers Cove. A much better walk is a four day circuit that
starts by walking to Sealers Refuge to camp. Next day to Waterloo Bay
to camp, next day down to the lighthouse then continue
to Roaring Meg to camp. An optional sidetrip is to South Cape, the most
southerly point on the Australian maniland then return to Tidal River
via Oberon Bay. The walk can also be shortened to two days by following
a linking track from Waterloo Bay to the main central track. The
northern half of The Prom is less visited. The main walk follows a
vehicle track for a day to Five Mile Beach to camp. The tracks then
follow the coast to Johnny Soey Cove then north to a light station then
inland to Tin Mine Cove to the next capsite. The third day crosses the
swamp of Chinamans Creek to return to the start - the track through the
swamp is often waist deep water so plan on getting very wet.
In recent years, bushfires and storms have had major effects on The
Prom and while they are being repaired some tracks are currently closed.
History
In 1898, most of the peninsula was declared a national park - along
with Mt Buffalo, this was Victorias first natioanl park. As with many
other parks set aside 100 plus years ago, the park was initially used
for some activities that now seem strange like logging, mining and army
training. In the 1970s community expectations changed and eventually
the focus shifted
to conservaton. Today the entire peninsula is a national park and most
of it is managed as wilderness.
Location
Wilsons Promontory is a large forested peninsula in southern Victoria
that extends into Bass Strait Its located 180km south-east of
Melbourne and being surrounded by ocean it has a maritime climate.
Summer is variable, it can be very hot or pleasantly cool when sea
breezes blow.
Winter is also highly variable, it can be mild due to the nearby ocean
but
it is also exposed to south-westerly storms and in such weather it can
be pretty wet and cold. The shoulder seasons of autumn and spring are
the ebst walking periods.
Access
From Melbourne follow the South Gippsland Highway past Leongatha to
either Meenniyan or Foster then head south-east following signposts to
Tidal River. This is 241km from Melbourne. Entry fees apply for cars
and all campsites must be booked. During holiday periods, all campsites
are booked months in advance.
Maps and Track Notes
Being a popular park, numerous mps and guide books have been produced
to this park. The most complete book that describes all tracks is
Discovering The Prom by the
Victorian National Parks Association, published 1999. The two main
overnight walks are also described in Weekend Walks Around Melbourne by
Glenn Tempest, published in 2003. The southern circuit is also
described in our Bushwalking In
Australia
guide book. The most comprehensive map is Wilsons Promontory National
Park which is produced by VICMAP and is one of the Outdoor Leisure
series.
Permits
Permits are needed for all walks. While permits can be obtained at the
ranger station at Tidal River, it is recommended to book ahead as this
guarantees a place at your preferred campsite. A quote system applies
to total numbers and each camping area and rangers do enforce this,
usually by using a small trail bike. For those wishing to walk
off-track, I suggest dont bother unless you know the place well. This
is because the scrub is extremely thick and in places impenetrable. To
keep the off-ttrack areas untracked, rangers issue very few permits,
you will need to specify exactly where you are walking and will need to
plan well ahead. From experience, if you like walking off-track go
elsewhere as The Prom off-track is extremely tough walking and not very
scenic being in tall dense scrub most of the time. There are also
plebty of swamps which you seem to end up in as well, the tracks skirt
around these.
Snail Mail Address
John Chapman, PO Box 5042, Laburnum, 3130, Australia
Photographs and text are copyright © 1999-2015 John Chapman.
Last updated : December 8th 2015