Have you ever wanted to take the family on a winter camping adventure?
Now is your time to do it!
Bring your cosy caravan or be brave and pitch a tent and enjoy winter in all its wonderful glory at Southcombe Caravan Park, Port Fairy. Expereince our nature reserves and beaches in a way you’ll never see in the summertime.
Port Fairy in winter is full of family adventure, mystery and magic.
It’s fresh and exhilarating, going on early night walks spotting nocturnal animals and gazing at the stars with the crisp salty air livening up the evening or watching sunsets cocooned in your sleeping bags on fold-out chairs.
During the day, the winter sun warms up our spectacular landscape for your wildlife and nature adventures.
Your kids might even forget what an iPad is!
Explore one of the many coastal beaches Port Fairy has to offer, there’s 5.8 km of pristine beach to choose from. The soft golden sands extend in a curving arc from Reef Point to the North Mole or the harbour entrance wall.
There’s even more ocean shoreline west of Griffiths Island. On the south side of Port Fairy is Pea Soup and South Beach, which is bordered by basalt rocks, and at low tide shallow lagoons form between the beaches and the reefs, perfect for adventures. The kids just might find some treasure.
Winter or summer, what is a trip to the coast without a scenic walk and beach cricket with the family?
For a magical and leisurely family beach walk, try East Beach. The fine, white sand is ideal for strolling on and the vast stretch of beach has fantastic views of the homes nestled in the dunes on one side and the ocean on the other. Bring your cricket bat and ball for a spot of beach cricket to warm up the family outing.
Sightseeing is a must to explore the magical native wildlife of Port Fairy.
If you don’t find treasure there are other wonders to seek out. Sightseeing along the coast is a great way to explore the native wildlife, impressive dunes, ancient shipwrecks, and an enchanting lighthouse.
The Griffith Island lighthouse is an oasis for native wildlife and if you look closely you might see the small mob of swamp wallabies that live there. Griffith Island is also one of Australia’s best places to view the breeding colonies of short-tailed shearwaters or mutton birds. Stick to the path or you might sink your foot in a mutton-bird burrow, their adorable fluffy chicks are a treasure to protect.
Ride the winter waves for the ultimate adrenaline rush.
One magical adventure a beach-loving family can’t miss is winter surfing. Bring your wetsuits and brave the chilly waters for an adventure surf to remember. East Beach has numerous breaks, and a wide, shallow surf zone.
A favourite surfing spot is Oigles, south of the surf club, it has a big swell that breaks over an old mystical shipwreck. Check the surf report to see where the best swells are. July is the best time of year for waves that are also generally suitable for beginners and groms.
Nature and wildlife experiences await you.
Don’t miss seeing a magical island home rich with Aboriginal history, rugged volcanic rock and native wildlife.
Nature and wildlife experiences are abundant in Port Fairy. Just a short drive west of Port Fairy is The Crags and Deen Maar (Lady Julia Percy) Island.
The clifftop reserve provides the ideal vantage point to the wild and mysterious looking coastline dotted by calcified tree roots, jagged outcrops, weathered limestone outcrops and stunning panoramic views, including Australia’s only undersea volcano, Deen Maar Island. Its flat top is all you can see of the volcano.
Deen Maar Island was formed around seven million years ago and the local Aboriginal tribe, the Gunditjmara, believe that the spirits of the dead went to the island and from there up to the clouds.
It is also home to Australia’s largest population of fur seals living on the volcanic rock as well as adorable creatures like the little penguin, diving petrel, white-fronted chats, fairy prion and Australian pipit who share this enchanting island home.
Step back in time.
Kids of any age will find Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve a fascinating and mysterious journey through time.
This dormant volcano was formed some 30,000 years ago and you can still see the different layers of rock and ash from its previous eruptions. There is even evidence of local Aboriginal clans witnessing the very last eruptions of Tower Hill through their retelling of the story in oral traditions.
The landscape itself has an exceptional history with the land left barren by early European settlers to be then declared Victoria’s first national park in 1892. It wasn’t until the 1960s that a major effort to revegetate the area began, making Tower Hill the lush natural landscape it is today and the home to many species of native animals.
Did you know our winter is a whale’s summer?
From May to September these magnificent ocean creatures leave the Antarctic for their annual babymoon. Whales journey to our southern ocean to breed, birth and raise their calves along Victoria’s whale corridor. When the sun is shining you can spot southern right, humpback, blue and the occasional orca breach to sun themselves. Rug up and bring a thermos of warm hot chocolate as whale spotting is addictive and you won’t want to leave.
After all your magical adventures, return to your cosy campsite to relax and breathe in the coastal air knowing your family has had a top-notch camping adventure in winter!
