Life on the West Island - At the Prom

This week, Life on the West Island continued a sweep through south eastern Victoria with a visit to the southernmost point on the mainland at Wilsons Promontory, lovingly known by locals as “The Prom.” As with many attractions in Victoria, this wonderful national park does not charge any entry fee. The website of Parks Victoria gives a good introduction:

Welcome to Wilsons Prom, the southernmost tip of mainland Australia. Walk remote coastal bushland trails and swim at pristine beaches dominated by granite tors. Camp in comfort at family-friendly Tidal River or hike to a more secluded campsite. Either way, the local wombats, kangaroos and emus are waiting to meet you.

Swim at Norman Beach - just a few minutes' walk from Tidal River Campground, or go snorkelling for a unique underwater view of Victoria's largest marine national park. Bring the family and camp in comfort at Tidal River. Choose from powered or unpowered sites or stay in roofed accommodation.

Scale the granite peaks of Mount Oberon for sky-high panoramic views over the sea and a majestic sunset. Mount Bishop is a great alternative. You can walk to the summit from the Lilly Pilly car park or take the side track while on the Lilly Pilly Circuit walk. At the top, you'll see amazing views of the Prom's west coast and offshore islands. For a wider view over the National Park, head for lesser-known Vereker Outlook.

For adventure seekers, enjoy an overnight hike in The Prom. In the north there's a remote and rugged wilderness to explore, while the south is home to the historic Wilsons Promontory Lightstation and Sealers Cove. Feel the sand between your toes at some of the more secluded beaches of Wilsons Prom, from Cotters Beach to Whisky Bay and Fairy Cove.

We did not camp overnight, but enjoyed several bushwalks, the first of which was the Prom Wildlife Walk of around 3km., well away from roads and noisy visitors. The well-maintained track wound through dense bushland thick with bracken ferns, banksias, grevilleas and native grasses, then opened out onto extensive grasslands, where large groups of kangaroos, emus and wombats grazed languidly under a weak late autumn sun. On the way, we encountered two charming young French women spending a gap year on the West Island who had not seen our iconic animals in the wild. Shortly after, we met up with a couple from Japan who had walked over a kilometre and were despairing of seeing wildlife other than the finches, rosellas and ravens which thronged the bush. We reassured them that the kangaroos and emus were just around the next bend, and they went happily on their way toward a meaningful native animal encounter.

Then it was on to the park headquarters at Tidal Creek, which has an excellent interpretive centre and a spacious café and gift shop. We purchased a tasty lunch and wrote out postcards for family members to mail from the lonely red post box on the point.

During the afternoon, we took two more delightful walks to beaches. The first was through more bushland to Squeaky Beach, a gorgeous pristine expanse of almost pure white sand. The beach gets its name from the sound made when people walk through the fine white sands which stretch toward the horizon.

The wide path down to the beach is flanked with many native plants, seemingly in early spring flower, even though winter is yet to begin. There were pretty lemon wattles and bell-shaped correas in red and orange. But most prominent were the delicate red and pink common heaths, the floral emblem of Victoria, which were thriving in the volcanic soils of The Prom.

Many granite monoliths dominate the steep peaks surrounding the main Tidal River inlet. But what caught our attention at Squeaky Beach were the large boulders which seemed to have been man-made from concrete infused with thousands of small glittering stones. But these were naturally formed, as again explained by Parks Victoria:

The geological history of the Prom goes back some 400 million years to the early Devonian period. A cataclysmic event took place some 25km below ground when a hot red bubble formed in the earth’s lower crust. Granite was formed as an intrusion of molten rock, where crystals grew within the liquid rock several kilometres below the surface at around 800 degrees Celsius. As it slowly moved up towards the surface, it became solid rock. The crystals in the Prom granites are clearly visible – the more slowly the rock cooled, the larger the crystals.

More of these composite monoliths were found at the end of our next walk, this time to another pristine seascape at Picnic Beach. Again we traversed a steep path to a horseshoe-shaped beach, somewhat of the dimensions of Emily Bay. While the sand was a little less white than that at Squeaky Beach, once again it was clear of all seaweed and even shells. As with all of the rest of the park, we found no litter and there were almost no marks of human visitors, other than the park leading down the cliffs.

Next week, we will continue our Gippsland saga. But in the meantime, if you’re on the West Island, don’t miss the unspoiled natural beauty of The Prom.