Hiking on the trail: Wilson’s Promontory

I recently had the opportunity to go back to Wilson’s Prom, affectionately known as The Prom. The last time I visited the Prom was many years ago when I was a teenager on a family holiday.

The Prom is one of Victoria’s most-loved destinations. Wilson’s Prom is situated at the southernmost tip of mainland Australia; it offers mesmerising scenery of vast granite mountains, forests, endless beaches and coastlines.

After a catch up with a couple of mates and my sister we decided we would undertake East Prom Coastal overnight hike.

An early start on a chilling Autumn Saturday morning and it was drizzling rain on our drive to Wilsons Promontory but it started to clear as we arrived at Tidal River.

Once we arrived at Tidal River we caught the courtesy bus to Telegraph Saddle Car Park where we commenced our hike mid-morning. The first part is a steady climb to Windy Saddle where we saw the restoration of some sections which had been washed away from previous flash flooding in 2011 and then we headed downhill through a scenic landscape and across the boardwalk over Sealers Swamp and arriving at Sealers Cove. It is important to check the tide times so you avoid a deep water crossing here, fortunately we arrived just after low tide so was an easy crossing! We stopped here at Sealers Cove for a short lunch break.

Sealers Cove

Sealers Cove

View back towards Sealers Cove

View back towards Sealers Cove

Then heading up along the ridge and enjoyed many stunning views as we continued our walk to Refuge Cove.

Refuse Cove, Wilsons Promontory

Refuse Cove, Wilsons Promontory

The next section was the most challenging of our hike where we encountered a steep rocky 2km+ climb to Kersops Peak, but we are rewarded with spectacular views. Our pace slowed in the last 4kms as we travelled along the coastline to our camp at Little Waterloo Bay. It was a long but very rewarding day of hiking 23.6km for the day.

Beach near Little Waterloo Bay Wilsons Promontory

Beach near Little Waterloo Bay Wilsons Promontory

The next morning we walked along the beach and then headed inland across the sand dunes back to the Telegraph Track before heading back to Telegraph Saddle Car Park. The circuit is 35.5km in total.

There are so many day and overnight hiking possibilities at Wilsons Promontory, and I would highly recommend it as it is one of the most spectacular places to enjoy nature’s beauty in Australia.

Lagoon at Wilsons Promontory

Lagoon at Wilsons Promontory

For more information about hiking at The Prom click here