Hardly anyone from outside of Victoria has even heard of Wilsons Prom, yet it’s one of the most-loved destinations in the state. A genuine insider favourite, the vast national park nearly three hours’ drive east of Melbourne had been on my weekend wishlist for four years! On the AFL Grand Final long weekend one year, David and I finally had a chance to visit. It completely lived up to the hype – the endless options for weekend getaways in Victoria never ceases to amaze me.

Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula in Gippsland, about 3 hours’ drive east of Melbourne. Most of the peninsula is protected as Wilsons Promontory National Park, and the surrounding waters are a marine national park. Wilsons Prom is enormous – it’s the largest coastal wilderness area in Victoria and it takes about half an hour just to drive from the entrance of the park to the campground in Tidal River. It’s good, proper wilderness.

Driving through Wilsons Prom feels like travelling back in time, and you half expect to spot a dinosaur amongst the trees rather than emus and wombats. Evidence of Indigenous Australian occupation of Wilsons Prom goes back 6,500 years, and the land is of very important significance to the Boon wurrung clan and Gunakaikurnai nation. There are more hikes and sights in Wilsons Prom than I could see in a weekend, but I was so happy with everything that we did see & do.

Mt Oberon Hike

The hike to the summit of Mt Oberon is one of the most rewarding hikes I have ever done. The 3.4km (2.1mi) trail is relatively easy – it’s a little steep, as you’d expect, but it winds up around the mountain slowly enough that it never feels like an impossible slog. The incline did make it feel a little longer than 3.4km, but we reached the summit in forty minutes, a little shorter than the estimated 1 hour trail time.

The trail is lined with bursts of bright yellow wattle, which makes the hike up more scenic than most. From the summit, you can see over Tidal River, out to the sea and rocky offshore islands. The trail starts at Telegraph Saddle Carpark, but on busy weekends (long weekends, and November-April), you need to drive to Tidal River Basin campground and catch the free shuttle to the carpark.

The view from the top is breathtaking, but I’d be lying if I only shared pictures of the scenic view – it was very crowded up there. It didn’t take away from the beauty, but you do have to be careful up there because there is nothing stopping you from tumbling over the edge if you get too close. One of my absolute pet hates is people risking their neck for a selfie, please be careful! 🙂

Squeaky Beach

We were planning to do the short hike from Tidal River Carpark to Squeaky Beach, but accidentally drove straight to the Squeaky Beach carpark instead. It didn’t make sense to hike away from the beautiful beach, so we let ourselves off the hook and just enjoyed the views.

Squeaky Beach is sprawling white sand beach, which is most famous for the supposed squeaking noise that is made in the sand when you walk across the beach. It’s a little over exaggerated – you have to stomp and slide to hear a squeak, but to me it sounded like many other white sand beaches I’ve been to in Queensland!

Squeaking aside, the beach is gorgeous and worth a visit regardless. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia!

Picnic Bay

Not far from Squeaky Beach, Picnic Bay is one of the most picturesque spots in the Prom. It’s a short walk along the trail from the carpark down to the beach, but the best views over the bay are from the trail, as it climbs towards neighbouring Whisky Bay.

I wish I’d done as the name suggests, and brought a picnic – it wasn’t warm enough to swim, but it would be a lovely spot to while away the afternoon.

Whisky Bay

Whisky Bay is a short walk from Picnic Bay, but it also has it’s own carpark you can drive to. I highly recommend the short walk though, the vantage point from the trail is breathtaking, and there’s a lookout at the top where you can see both Picnic Bay and Whisky Bay.

Sadly, it is too cold to swim in September (and I suspect, most of the year), but it was still a gorgeous spot to visit.

Wildlife in Wilsons Prom

Wilsons Prom is well known for it’s wildlife. You can spot Australian icons like koalas, kangaroos, emus, wombats and echidnas throughout the park and southern Gippsland.

We were lucky enough to spot all of the above, except koalas – probably because we weren’t looking (there are plenty of koalas in my native Queensland). We saw wombats ambling along the road inside the national park, as well as a few kangaroos. You have to be careful driving through the park, and the surrounding area, because wildlife can dart across the road without warning. Sadly, we did see lots of roadkill – I can understand how easy it would be to hit a  kangaroo, which have the tendency to bounce out in front of cars, but I have no idea how you can accidentally hit a  wombat, which are big and move at a snail’s pace.

Prom Wildlife Walk

A great place to spot emus is at the Prom Wildlife Walk, where you can pull of the road and park, and take a trail through the forest. We didn’t do the walk, but we spotted emus from the car at this spot, all three times we drove past. On the last day, we stopped here hoping to get a proper view of an emu, and at first it seemed there were none around, until we spotted one in the bushes as we were leaving. I was excited to see an emu in the wild, but I was also glad I was in the car when we did – emus have scared me a little bit ever since I heard one growl at me when I was at Australia Zoo!

We were disappointed not to spot any echidnas in the park, despite keeping our eyes peeled the whole time. On our way home, we stopped at Waratah Hills Vineyard. As we were driving up their driveway, an echidna waddled out in front of us – much to my delight. I jumped out of the car (straight into a big, deep muddy puddle), and got a bit closer. Echidnas are probably my favourite Australian animal, I think they’re so cute! Obviously, I kept a respectful distance and did not try and touch him.

Echidnas are very shy, and as soon as he had cross the road he bundled up into a ball and played dead. It was only when we turned the engine off on the car that he unfurled and cautiously started waddling to the next tree he could hide behind. When we were chatting to the daughter of the winemaker later, she said it was rare to spot him, as he’s their one resident echidna!

Wineries near Wilsons Prom

If you’re a wine-lover like me, you’ll love how easy it is to find wineries to visit when you’re travelling in Victoria. Not only is there almost always a wine region nearby, but most of the time they’re in gorgeous settings and are often independently owned.

I’d never heard of South Gippsland’s wine region, which is dominated by small, family-owned wineries. I learned that the region is regarded as one of the best producers of pinot noir in Australia and has made a name for itself for fine, elegant styles of Chardonnay. There are around fifteen wineries & cellar doors in the area, but we chose two to stop at. At both wineries, our tastings were hosted by a family member, who was welcoming, informative and never pushy or pretentious.

Waratah Hills Vineyard

On our way home from Wilsons Prom, we stopped at Waratah Hills Vineyard, where we saw the aforementioned echidna. Waratah Hills’ setting is just about as idyllic as they come, despite the moody weather. Surrounded by verdant, rolling hills, it reminded me a lot of the English countryside – such a stark contrast from the rugged terrain in Wilsons Prom down the road! In front of the cellar door, there are deck chairs and a picnic table, and if it was a warmer day I would definitely have sat outside with a glass of wine after the tasting. We did a free wine tasting, and tried a chardonnay, a rose and three pinot noirs, all of which were delicious.

Adjacent to the tasting room was a small dining room, with floor-to-ceiling windows and views over the vineyard and surrounding countryside. We stayed for lunch, which was a charcuterie board, caprese salad & quiche tart, and enjoyed it over a glass of wine. We left with a bottle of the rose, but I was very close to buying their chardonnay as well!

A winery & the way home

Half an hour’s drive closer to Melbourne, we stopped at Lucinda Estate which is another family-owned winery and cellar door, operated by husband & wife team Andrew & Lucy. Since we’d just eaten, we instead stopped for a coffee and enjoyed the view over the vineyard before the final leg of the journey home.

Lucinda Estate has since closed, but Chloe from Inverloch Winery Tours reached out to suggest other great options in the area: Gurneys Cidery which has stunning views of Wilsons Prom, and Fleet Wines. Chloe also recommends stopping in Meenyian along the way, for a stop at the bakery, Sailors Grave brewing outpost and pizzas at Trulli Outdoors. Thank you Chloe!

Wilsons Prom accommodation

Wilsons Promontory National Park has a campground, but spots fill up quickly. We stayed in an AirBnB about 30 minutes drive from the park in Walkerville. If you wanted to stay closer, look for accommodation in Yanakie which is a few minutes drive from the park entrance. Our AirBnB was a charming beach house with a mid-century modern flair, called the Sleepy Louise. I loved the decor and the attention to detail in the styling of the Sleepy Louise, and how quiet, cozy and peaceful it was. We didn’t meet our host, Kate, but she was easy to contact and provided all the info we needed before our stay.

As with most AirBnBs in the area, you’ll need to bring your own linens, and you’ll need to take your rubbish out with you as there is no garbage collection. The local tip is five minutes’ drive up the road, but when we checked out on Sunday morning and went to the tip, we found that it was closed til 1pm on Sundays. We had to take our rubbish back to Melbourne with us, but fortunately we didn’t have anything too gross in our garbage (one of the perks of eating mostly vegetarian!). Something to keep in mind if you visit 🙂

Walkerville is not so much a town as a couple of rows of houses, so we needed the car all weekend: for buying groceries in Tarwin Lower, to exploring the National Park, to going to Fish Creek Hotel to watch the AFL Grand Final and for visiting wineries on the way home. There was a lot of rain at night, so I was glad to be curled up on the couch rather than battling the elements in a tent!

I highly recommend staying at the Sleepy Louise if you’re visiting the Prom – if you’re new to AirBnB, you can use this link to get $55 credit towards your first stay!

Have you visited Wilsons Prom? Had you heard of it before, and is it somewhere you’d like to visit? Let me know in the comments 🙂 Also please let me know if you have any other great national park recommendations in Australia or the USA!