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South West Victoria On Line
A
travelogue of South West Victoria - independent and impartial travel
advice for the Southwest of Victoria and the Southeast of South
Australia
featuring the towns of Warrnambool,
Port Fairy, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Robe, Halls Gap, Lorne, Torquay,
Robe and Mt Gambier
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Warrnambool January 18th - Warrnambool is the largest
city on the south west coast of Victoria and one of the
regions most popular summer holiday destination. Its main
attraction during this time of year are its beaches with
over 6 kilometers of sandy beaches offering a variety of
different conditions to beach goers, from safe swimming
beaches for families, through to surf beaches suitable for
waveboard and surfboard riders.
The Main beach ( pictured above) runs from the mouth of
the Hopkins river ( the sandy point at the upper right setion
of the photo above) through to the Warrnambool Breakwater
( in the photo below). and because of its size various sections
of the beach have aquired local names, primarily to let
family and friends which part of the beach you intended
to go to.
The eastern part of the bay has the best surfing conditions
and about 500 metres from the mouth of the Hopkins river
is an area known as "Granny's Grave" which is
quite a popular surfing spot, also on the other side of
the mouth ( to the East) is Logan's beach which is probably
the best surfing conditions in Warrnambool
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Worm Bay - ( named because it is a popular spot for fishermen
to collect sand worms) is at the opposite end of Lady Bay,
and located behind the Shipwreck Bay caravan park. This part
of the beach is sheltered by the breakwater and is popular
with families with younger children. The best access to this
beach is via a public car park at the rear of the Lady Bay
Resort and the concentration of swimmers at the right side
of this picture indicates the approximate position of the
Worm Bay car park
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McGennan's Car Park - is the section of beach in the middle
section of the bay and is directly in front of the public
car park (opposite the Lake Pertobe adventure playground).
This is usually the most popular section of beach with locals
and has enough surf to make it suitable for body boards etc
but also reasonably safe as it is very close to the Surf Life
Saving Club ( and beach patrols )
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Stingray Bay ( opposite the breakwater) is also a very popular
family beach, located within with a small sheltered bay. This
is a popular beach with locals when the southerly breeze at
the main beach is a bit too cool.
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The
South West's Best Fish & Chips
Synonymous with summer holidays, fish
and chips are still Australia's favorite summer take away
food - sitting on the beach eating a Big Mac doesn't quite
seem the right thing to do, but Fish and Chips out of the
paper, especially when mixed with a little bit of beach
sand that is still on your fingers is as Australian as Aussie
Rules Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars, and
to partake of this gastronomic delight there is no better
place than the South West Coast. The waters along this section
of coast produce some of Australia's best and freshest seafood,
when you combine that with some of the best Potato growing
country outside Ireland, the result is arguably the best
Fish and Chips in Australia.
So this week we go in search of the best Fish and Chips
along the coast. Click the photo
for more information..
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New
Look to Warrnambool's foreshore.
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Redevelopment of the Warrnambool
Yacht club and the construction of the new $2.3 million Warrnambool
Foreshore Pavilion began just a few weeks ago. The planning
of the development however seems to have occurred at the worst
possible time, with yacht club and the very popular Fishsails
restaurant both shut during the busiest time of the year.
Although it should have been expected as the Warrnambool City
Council are involved in the development.
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The Warrnambool Yacht Club building as it
was a few weeks ago - The facilities date back many decades
and the new development will add considerably to the amenities
at the Warrnambool foreshore
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Accommodation Update
Febuary / March 2010
This is usually the South West's
best weather and with the kids back in school you will get
better prices.
Warrnambool - good availability
- for most of Feb and March but bookings are very tight
for the Labour Day weekend. There are quite a few events
in Warrnambool plus the overflow from the Port Fairy Folk
Festival
Port Fairy
Good vacancies for most of Feb and March - with the exception
of the Port Fairy Folk Festival ( Labour Day weekend) which
all of Port Fairy is booked out.
Port Campbell
Plenty of vacancies available in all accommodation categories
from caravan parks to motel and apartments.
Grampians
A good range of accommodation is still available in the
Halls Gap, Dunkeld and surrounding towns for Feb and March
but the Grampians is a popular destination for the March
labour day weekend so book early.
Apollo Bay
Plenty of accommodation available in Apollo Bay and surrounding
towns for Feb and March, again the Labour Day weekend will
be quite busy .
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Warrnambool Information
Page
If you are planning to come to Warrnambool for a beachside
holiday this season or to attend one of the many summer sporting
events being held in Warrnambool then The Warrnambool Information
page contains some basic information on planning your summer
holiday to Warrnambool
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Interesting &
out of the way places to visit
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Local
Pub Guide
The local country pub has been the
heart and soul of Australian rural communities for nearly
two centuries, but now they are closing in unprecedented
numbers. If you would like to know more about the Pubs of
the Western district and some of the history
then visit our Pub guide .
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Restaurant
Guide
Eating
in unknown restaurants is one of life's little adventures
but an adventure most people would like to avoid. So if
you are looking for the best places to throw on the nose
bag then you should take a quick look at our
restaurant guide
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