Sandy Point, Inverloch & Cowes (Phillip Island)

This is a short 12 day trip staying 4 days in each of these 3 locations – Sandy Point, Inverloch & Cowes (Phillip Island).

Sandy Point

About Sandy Point

Sandy Point is a township in near Wilson’s Promontory. At the 2016 census, Sandy Point had a population of 270, growing to several thousand during the holiday period. It is surrounded by areas of significant natural heritage. Sandy Point is one of the few coastal towns in the region to remain relatively unaffected by the housing boom along the coast. That is partly due to its distance from Melbourne (around 2 hours), and the fact that a lack of town sewerage has meant a ban on further sub-division (sourced from the Wikipedia website – click for more).

Why Sandy Point?

Located on the western edge of Wilson’s Promontory, about 186 kms from home. We selected Sandy Point as Chris, one of our “Bailey mates, has his Bailey Caravan on site here for the summer season. It is a rather nice place to visit and the beach is absolutely huge, with no rocks and beautiful white sand as far as you can see.

Sandy Point Holiday Park

Located at 89-103 Beach Parade Sandy Point, this is an old park that is rather run down (owners are trying to sell off blocks for housing). Our site was on a bit of a hill, very uneven and as much as we tried we could not level the caravan with our leveling blocks. The toilets would probably not pass a health check but are cleaned daily.

Nice Sandy Point sunset

On our 1st night we strolled down to the beautiful beach to check out the sunset and it didn’t disappoint. We even got a sneaky sunset reflection in the surf club windows.

A day trip to Wilson’s Prom

It’s been many years since we last visited “The Prom” and it was great to return. Straight to Tidal River and we just could not believe the number of people in the massive campgrounds. After paying a visit to the information centre we headed off to “Squeaky Beach” for the rest of the day.

Squeaky Beach is just one of those unforgettably glorious locations. We took along our beach chairs and a picnic, settled in for lunch, before heading off for a stroll along the squeaky sand. The “squeakiness” of the sand is because it’s dry and composed of smooth, round grains of quartz with no shell material intermixed.

The rocks on the northern end of the beach are amazing with such an amazing redness to them.

Walkerville – Limestone Kilns

We came across a pretty impressive piece of history in the town of Walkerville (maplink) known as the Limestone Kilns, which are historically significant in that they provide evidence of the largest and longest lived commercial lime burning sites in Victoria, operating from 1875 to 1926 providing lime supplies to Melbourne’s building industry.

Inverloch

About Inverloch

Historically Inverloch, with its access to Venus Bay and the dramatic coastline of the Bunurong National Park, was a destination for coal miners from Wonthaggi. Today it has become a popular holiday resort town with cafes and gift shops where people from Melbourne come to enjoy the coastline, bushwalking, exploring the beaches and rock platforms. It is a charming, bustling holiday town (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

It was a very short 57 kms drive from Sandy Point to Inverloch, travelling through beautiful farmland along the way.

BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Caravan Park

Wow – what an amazing caravan park BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Inverloch truly is and it’s totally a family friendly park and the price is fairly expensive at $65 per night (Big4 members) for a powered site. They have an indoor pool, indoor water park, trampolines, basketball & tennis courts plus many more things (which we wouldn’t use 😕)

There is another section next door called Ingenia Holidays Inverloch Foreshore which is a basic caravan park without the pomp and glimmer that the Big4 one provides for $56.00 (still expensive, but next time we’ll book into there).

Cowes – Phillip Island

About Cowes

Cowes is a popular seaside resort and day tripper destination. It is Phillip Island’s main town and administrative centre and has a holiday atmosphere with pleasant sheltered beaches, a good range of cafes and a substantial number of accommodation options. It is commonly used as a base for visitors wanting to explore the island and consequently, apart from its beaches and a small number of attractions in the town, the primary appeal lies in the Little Penguin Parade which occurs at Summerland Beach every night (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

Accommodation

The NRMA Phillip Island Beachfront Holiday Park was chosen due to it’s closeness to the town of Cowes (walking distance to the Cowes Jetty) and the positive reviews we had read on WikiCamps.

The Pinnacles

yet to be completed

The Nobbies

yet to be completed

Penguins

We ventured out to the penguin parade which, for us was a return 22 years since our last visit. These little guys still make you gasp and giggle as they make their way home from work (fishing in Bass Strait). Some were so fat with fish in their bellies they kept tripping over – it was fantastic!

As we could not take any photos or videos (park rules), the images and YouTube video below are courtesy of Phillip Island Nature Parks website…

Ventnor & Grossard Point

yet to be completed

San Remo

yet to be completed