Bass Coast Parks and Reserves

Visitor Guide

From the majestic cliffs of the Anderson Peninsula near San Remo to Inverloch's sandy beaches this coastal area offers a wealth of activities. Visitors frequent this area to enjoy surf and rock fishing, surfing, significant cultural sites and many kilometres of scenic walking tracks. Come and explore the diverse cultural and natural attractions of the Bass Coast.

Location and access A haven for plants and wildlife The Bass Coast is situated 130 kilometres Although much of the Bass Coast has been south east of Melbourne via the South cleared for agriculture, the area’s many Gippsland and Bass Highways. Driving east conservation reserves provide a haven for from Anderson on the Bass Highway provides plants and wildlife. Tussock grass and low access to all the parks and reserves of the Bass growing shrubs including White Correa and Coast. Coastal Beard- heath cling stubbornly to the Remnants of history wind swept clifftops, while the sheltered creek gullies and the dune swales support Coastal The Boonwurrung aboriginal people were Banksia, Coastal Tea-tree and Boobialla. custodians of this stretch of coast for thousands Native animals (though often difficult to find) of years prior to white settlement. The include the Swamp Wallaby, Common Boakoolawal clan lived in the Kilcunda area Brushtail Possum, Ringtail Possum and south of the Bass River, and the Yowenjerre Echidna. The area is also home to the rare were west of the Tarwin River along what is now Swamp Antechinus the Bunurong Marine & Coastal Park. Middens (a small marsupial mouse). containing charcoal and shellfish mark the location of their campsites along the coast. The heathlands that occur along the coast are Wonthaggi and the State Coal Mine ideal for birdwatching. Warblers, honeyeaters, In early 1910 Victoria witnessed the beginnings flycatchers and many others are readily of a thriving coal industry that became the observed. Along the coast you may see foundation of a bustling settlement that was to Common Terns feeding on the beach or become the township of Wonthaggi we know Cormorants and Australian Gannets diving for today. fish. Pacific Gulls constantly patrol the coast exploiting the updraft created by the cliffs. Between August and March, Hooded Plovers The township of Wonthaggi is home to the State nest on the beaches above the high tide mark. Coal Mine and an extensive historic precinct Please take care and watch for eggs when that’s been the inspiration for many historians walking along the beach. and authors. Underground Tours run daily Through winter, the many lookouts along the excluding Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day coast provide a vantage point to view and ANZAC Day. Explore the network of Southern Right Whales on their annual underground tunnels and imagine them dusty migration to the warmer waters along the and dim, filled with last century's hard-working southern coastline of Australia. men drilling and chipping for coal.

For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963 or visit our website at ww w .pa r k s .vi c .g o v .au four million hectares of parkland available to For further information Victorians, why not escape Enjoying the coast Parks Victoria to a park today! Information Centre Swimming and surfing Call 13 1963 There are many popular beaches along this coast. or visit our website at However, visitors must be aware that strong www .p arks . v i c . go v .au currents, rips and steep sloping bottoms occur, Park Office making many of the beaches unsuitable for 71 Hotham Street swimming. Traralgon Vic 3844 The Inverloch surf beach and two Cape Paterson Ph 13 1963 beaches are patrolled by lifesavers during the Prom Country Visitor summer months. Information Centre South Gippsland Highway Accomodation Korumburra Vic 3950 Caravan Parks are located at San Remo, Cape Ph (03) 5655 2233 Paterson, Wonthaggi, Inverloch, Kilcunda and Latrobe Visitor Powlett River. Advance bookings are required Information Centre during the summer school holidays and Easter. Princes Highway Camping is not permitted within any of the parks Traralgon Vic 3844 or reserves. A range of other accomodation Ph (03) 5174 3199 including cabins, motels, B&B’s and farm stays are available throughout the region. Caring for Fishing and boating the environment Recreational line fishing is popular along the Bass Coast, both from the shore or by boat. The surf Help us look after your park beaches at Kilcunda Cemetery, Tea Tree Carpark by following these guidelines: and Williamsons Beach offer catches of whiting, Please take rubbish pike, flathead, salmon, snapper and trevally. Rock away with you for fishing at Inverloch, Flat Rocks, Cape Paterson recycling and and Kilcunda offers snapper, salmon, ruff and disposal leatherjacket. Rock fishing can be extremely All native plants and animals dangerous, so please beware of big seas and the are protected by law. incoming tide. Please do not disturb them in any way Anderson Inlet is popular for boat fishing with Please keep to designated anglers seeking black bream, yellow-eye mullet, walking tracks to avoid salmon, estuary perch and silver trevally. becoming lost Boats allow the angler to explore offshore. Bins are not provided within Launching facilities are located at Inverloch, Cape the park. Please take your rubbish home Paterson and New Haven (near San Remo). Camping is not permitted A recreational fishing licence is required to take fish within the park (including bait and shellfish) in all Victorian marine, Cats and dogs are not estuary and freshwaters. Licences are available permitted within the park from the Department of Primary Industries offices Fires may only be lit in the and most fishing stores, as is the Victorian fireplaces provided. No fires Recreational Fishing Guide which specifies size to be lit on days of Total and bag limits, and seasons for different fish. Fire Ban This park is located in the West & South Gippsland Total Fire Ban District Please stay aware of weather and fire forecasts by listening to local radio including ABC

Healthy Parks Healthy People Visiting a park can improve your health, mind, body and soul. So, with over These walks explore the low heathlands and Walking coastal scrubs of the reserve. The walks This coast features a commence at the carpark on Chisholms Road, diverse range of walking or Reed Cr, in Wonthaggi. opportunities from short 5. Williamsons Beach to Baxters strolls within the coastal Beach 5 km, 2 hours return townships to walks along Start at Williamsons Beach carpark, take the windswept cliffs. Try inland track to Baxters Beach and return via some of these suggestions: beach to Williamsons Beach. 1. Georg 6. Anderson to Wonthaggi Rail e Bass Trail 15 kms one way Coastal Walk 7 Constructed by the Victorian Railways in 1910 to kms, 2 access the coalfields. The disused railway line hrs one from Anderson to Wonthaggi has been way developed into a walking, cycling and horse trail which is fifteen kilometres in length. The trail This walk follows the route offers a diverse range of landscapes, from the of George Bass’ epic rugged coastline at Kilcunda, through farmland, voyage of discovery along coastal bushland and historic mine areas. A the southern edge of the major attraction along the trail is the old trestle Anderson Peninsula. The bridge at Kilcunda offering a unique walk offers panoramic photographic opportunity of the coastline. ocean views from a narrow winding path along cliffs that August 2012 rise high above the Printed on Australian-made 100% recycled paper pounding surf of Bass Strait. The walk starts from the southern end of Punchbowl Road, off the Phillip Island Tourist Road or alternatively off the Bass Highway at Kilcunda. 2. Screw Creek Nature Walk 1.5 kms, 40 min. one way This track starts at the eastern end of the Inverloch Foreshore Camping Ground. It leads through stands of coast tea-tree, mangroves and climbs to a lookout on Townsend Bluff. 3. Baxter s Wetlands Birdhide 500 metres, 20 minutes return Start at the corner of Campbell Street and Chisholms Road, Wonthaggi. For a longer walk continue west to Baxters Beach. 4. Wonthaggi Heathlands 3 km, 90 minutes return Local attractions Bunurong Marine and Coastal Park The rugged sandstone cliffs, broad rock platforms and underwater reefs of the Bunurong Marine and Coastal Park represent some of Victoria’s most spectacular coastal scenery. Stretching along the coast from Harmers Haven to Inverloch, the park provides for boating, fishing, swimming and snorkelling or a quiet walk along a secluded sandy beach. The park contains one of the most significant fossil sites, where dinosaur bones over 115 million years old have been excavated. State Coal Mine At its peak the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi was a bustling network of underground tunnels filled with men, pit ponies, dust and dim lights. Operating from 1909 to 1968, some seventeen million tonnes of coal was mined in underground operations during the life of the Wonthaggi mines. Today visitors can inspect the original East Area workings and take a self-guided tour of the relics. Wonthaggi Heathlands Nature Conservation Reserve Walking tracks lead through this reserve linking the rugged ocean beach to the extensive coastal heathlands and scrubs. During spring, the heathlands host a spectacular display of wildflowers. The reserve is a bird watcher’s paradise being home to over 80 species of birds. Bunurong Marine National Park The Bunurong Marine National Park’s underwater reefs are home to a multitude of plants and animals that flourish in a rich underwater ‘garden’ of seaweeds. Found amongst the seaweeds are an abundance of brightly coloured sea-stars, feature stars, crabs, large marine snails and many smaller animals. The park provides opportunities for snorkelling and diving or exploring the marine life of the intertidal rock platforms. Marine National Parks are fully protected areas of the sea, like national parks on land. These “no take” areas safeguard a unique and diverse range of marine plants, animals and habitats for the benefit of current and future generations.