Wilsons Prom National Park or the ‘Prom’ as the locals call it, is the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland. It is a three hour drive from Melbourne and Victoria’s oldest, and number one National Park. The park covers over 50,000 hectares and includes beautiful beaches, forests, mountains and lots of wildlife. There are many walking tracks, from short walks to a 4 -5 day hike. It is a perfect place for camping and to spot native wildlife.
We heard that the Wilsons Prom National Park is one of Victoria’s most-loved places and that you should avoid it during weekends and school holidays as the main campsite around Tidal River allows 4000 overnights guests per day. Personally, we prefer quiet camping places, so we decided to go during the weekdays and just after the school holidays to avoid the crowd.
When we arrived we were allowed to pick our own camp spot, it was 32 degrees that day so a place in the shade and near the beach was very welcome. The camp site is big, but for us it didn’t feel like it was too big or too crowded, it is all very spread out. We luckily found a spot next to the beach and under some trees.
After setting up our tent, we decided to check out some beaches as it was too warm to do a lot of trekking. We first went to Norman Beach, the beach which is connected with the Tidal River campsite. It’s is a beautiful large beach and very suitable for swimming. Although the water is very cold even in this time of the year (after living in Asia for 1,5 year I still have to get used to the cold waters around Australia).
After a bit if relaxing on Norman Beach, we hiked to the iconic Squeaky beach. From the Tidal River, it was an easy 50 minutes walk. The views along the way were simply amazing. The signs around Wilsons Prom are very clear, all the treks are easy to find.
The reason that this beach is called Squeaky beach, is because of the squeaking sound the sand makes when you walk on it. The beach is absolutely stunning located in-between high cliffs and the sand is super white. The waves are a bit bigger here and the current a bit stronger, so less suitable for swimming than Norman beach.
After spending a view hours in the sun, we headed back to the campsite for a bit of relaxing. The camp site at Tidal river has gas barbecue places dotted around, so you can easily prepare your diner there. It was a beautiful clear night, the rest of the night we spend watching the stars and milky ways.
The next morning we woke up early (6.30 am) for a walk at the Wilsons Prom Wildlife Walk, roughly 20 minutes drive from the campsite. We heard that this is the place to spot Kangaroos, Wallabies, Wombats and Emus in the early morning or after sunset. It was definitely worth the drive! Soo many Kangaroos and Wallabies around, even spotted some Emus running across
the road.
When we got back to the campsites, we prepared ourselves a good breakfast. Luckily it was not as warm as the day before, perfect for trekking! We decided to do the 4.1 KM (one way) trek from Norman Beach to Norman Point and Little Oberon Bay. It was a beautiful trek leading us to Little Oberon Bay. The walk provides great views of Wilsons Prom National Park and the marine park with several islands.
As we had to go back to Melbourne this day, we decided to go back to the campsite to pack our stuff and head for another time to the Wildlife walk around sunset. Wilsons Prom National Park is well known for it’s big population of Wombats and as I have never seen one, I wanted to try our luck again at the wildlife walk. Doing the Wilsons Prom Wildlife walk around sunset was a great decision! We spotted 5 wombats, who were not shy at all and so many Kangaroos, Wallabies and Emus! I just love the Australian Wildlife!
