Woolamai Beach - Phillip Island

Woolamai Beach
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Woolamai Beach Overview

Description: Premier surf beach on scenic Phillip Island. Beach is prone to rips and heavy surf.

Bass Strait	Facilities	Activities Rating
Access : 3 - Car or Hike	Toilets : Yes	Sunbathing: 75%
Risk Level : 3 - Can Be Dangerous	Picnic Area : No	Swimming : 66%
Patrolled : Yes	Tidal Pool : No	Surfing : 89%
Swell : Yes	Pier : No	Fishing : 78%
Food : No	Accomodation: No	Snorkelling: No
Recommended: Beach is exposed, so bring shade and plenty of sunscreen. World class surf beach, but not for the unexperienced. Excellent walk around the Cape.

Location

Woolamai Beach is on the South-East corner of Phillip Island, which is around 100km South of Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia. Climatic zone is Cool temperate. It is a semi-rural beach, there is a suburban street nearby, but no shops within walking distance. The foreshore consists of sand dunes. Access is mostly by car. You could walk from nearby residences or beaches, but driving would be the most practical way to visit.
There are two main car parks and access points to Woolamai, the western (first) access point is also known as Anzacs Beach.

Description

Woolamai Beach makes up the South East section of Phillip Island. It is the longest beach on the island at around 2.5 km. The middle of the beach faces South-West. It is exposed directly to Bass Strait and positioned well to pick up any available swell.
It is a long sandy beach, the sand is a nice golden colour and usually clean. There is a small rock shelf near the Southern end of the beach.
Woolamai Beach is an ocean surf beach, affected by wind, swell, and tides. There are often rips present along the beach, identified by sections of still water amongst the crashing waves.

Population

Woolamai Beach is popular with surfers, fisherman and sunbathers. It can get busy on summer weekends when the surf is good, but there is a lot of beach available if you are prepared to walk away from the main access points. Woolamai is usually the first stop for surfers making the 90 minute drive from Melbourne. Many will stop to check out the surf from the wooden lookout before deciding to go in or move on to other beaches.

Features and Facilities

There is a small carpark at the Southern access point to Woolamai and a main carpark near the Surf Lifesaving Club. The smaller car park can fill up quickly on busy days, with cars overflowing onto Woolamai Beach Road.
A basic toilet is present at the South access but nothing else. The access point at the surf club has better facilities including toilets and showers? Kiosk?

Sunbathing and Swimming

Sunbathing is common near the two main access points. The beach may get busy during peak summer weekends, but it rarely gets crowded.
Swimming is popular, but conditions can be hazardous due to the exposed nature of the beach. Dumping waves, some directly onto shore, and especially rips, can be present on this beach.
The two access points may be patrolled during peak times. You should swim between the flags on this beach, especially if you are an inexperienced swimmer. There are plenty more protected beaches on Phillip Island to choose from.

Fishing

There is good surf fishing from this beach. Best time is usually towards dusk with Bream, Tailor and flathead commonly caught.

Walking/Jogging

An interesting and scenic walk is detailed on the map above. Starting from the Northern carpark, walk along the beach until near the point where the sand dunes turn to green shrubs and attempt to climb up onto the small track/road 10 metres into the foreshore. If it is not possible you may have to backtrack along the beach until a more suitable access point is found. This is the easiest point to join the trail.. further on the foreshore develops into much steeper cliffs that may be difficult or dangerous to climb.
Once on the track, follow it along the shore for around a kilometre, past the scenic Pinnacles and then a further kilometre or so to the South East tip of Phillip Island. Shortly after the track will move away from the coast and cut across the headland for 1.5km until joining up with the coast on the lee side of the island.

The beaches along this part of the island are affected by tidal flow as water rushes to fill/escape Westernport Bay through the narrow San Remo channel (where the bridge is). Depending on the tide, currents can be strong off the beaches, the more so the further you get from shore.

Walk along the coast for around a kilometre, then cut across along a small trail back to the main carpark. This trail can be hard to find and is easily missed. If this is the case simply walk along the beach for another 700 metres or so until you run into civislation at Cottlesoe avenue and work your way back onto the main road to the carpark.

Total length of walk is around 6-7kms.

Beach View Restaurants

No restaurants overlooking the beach. The nearest food is up near the turnoff to Woolamai.

History

Name - George Bass named this place after the aboriginal word for snapper, Wollamai. He passed the Cape in a whaleboat in 1798 and thought the shape of the Cape resembled a snappers head.

Created by 121.91.27.216. Last Modification: Monday 30 of January, 2012 22:40:32 EST by admin.

Category: 1.East Coast

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Disclaimer
Information contained on this site is compiled from many different sources and may contain inaccuracies.
This site is designed as a guide only, and should not be used as the sole basis for trip or activity planning.
Risk level is a compariative guide only and should not replace local knowledge or your own judgement based on your experience and current conditions.
The ocean is a dynamic environment and no guide on the internet should be used as a replacement for experience or correct training.
Most activities involving the ocean carry some risk. It is your responsibility to assess this risk based on current conditions, your experience and knowledge you obtain from a number of different sources.
Do not partake in activities beyond your experience level without proper training and supervision.
Local SLSC Lifeguards are an excellent source of local information with regards to current ocean conditions. Where possible, always swim between the flags, especially if you are not a strong swimmer. Collapsing sandbanks and sudden rips are a major cause of rescues at Australian Beaches.
Never swim in the ocean at night or while under the influence of alcohol. Avoid the water at dusk at beaches that have had recent shark attacks reported. Activity ratings are an attempt to reflect a combination of popularity, quality, consistency and reputation of rated activity. An activity with a higher rating from beach to beach may be more popular, or consistent, not necessarily better. A higher rating reflects a better chance of enjoying (or witnessing many others enjoying) activity, but due to exposed nature of beach does not guarantee activity will be available on any particular day. All distances are approximate. Nearest town or suburb will share name of beach unless otherwise stated. Distance to nearest town is based on distance from middle of beach to main shops and restaurant area.

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