Tongue Point Walk – Wilson’s Promontory
The Tongue Point Walk is in Wilson’s Promontory National Park, 230kms SE of Melbourne. This walk is one of my current favourites and should be on your list of walks to do. Since lockdowns and travel restrictions have made travelling difficult, exploring our backyard has become our only option of travel. Wilsons Prom is only 1 hour away from our home and we are spoilt for choice on walks and activities in this area. We stayed at Yanakie Caravan Park for this short stay and enjoyed a few quiet days getting to know this part of the earth better.
The Tongue Point walk is located about 10 mins drive from the entrance to the national park. There are 2 starting points for this walk, one at the saddle carpark and one at the river side carpark. For the purpose of this blog, we started at the Darby river side carpark and the walk is approx 8.85kms up and back. The first part of the walk is not for the faint-hearted with a very steep initial ascent up the hill and over the saddle. It is quite relentless but is a nice wide track and easy enough to walk with some fitness level. The track is quite sheltered in this area with some views of the river and swamp across the road. It is not until the track flattens out that you start to get glimpses of the coastline and Tongue point.
The vegetation changes as you climb over the saddle with low lying coastal shrubs covering the rocky coast. From this point, there is little shade so if the weather is warm you will need sun protection. The day we walked the sun was out but in typical spring style, it was windy. The track winds across the top of the ridge with views of the beach below and Tongue point out the front. There is a small walk down to Fairy Cove, a sheltered beach, that is worth doing apparently – we were pretty tired on the way back and decided to keep going – I read later that it was pretty special. So if you have the energy head down for a look.
The track gets quite narrow in spots and there are several hills to climb and rocks to step around. Remember to keep looking up and around as the glimpses of the water and coast are breathtaking. When you reach the end of the point there is a semi-detached small rocky piece of land that is not accessible, unfortunately. The end of the track is worth some photos and just sitting and relaxing. The landscape is rugged and raw and spectacular. Rock formations being smoothed over 1000s of years of the ocean smashing against them.
As you head back the same way you came, you get different views heading in the other direction. The views around the coast go for miles and you can spot little beaches between the cliffs. You have to head back up the hill from Tongue point but it is not as steep as the first climb from the carpark. The initial steep ascent looks a lot easier from the top heading back down that is for sure – especially with tired legs.
This walk was beautiful and one I will do again when I head back down the prom. Check the weather before you head out as this area is pretty exposed and can get pretty rough and wild. It was windy the day we walked and the point was hard to sit for too long as it was so cold. I would have liked to have spent some time here soaking in the environment but a few quick pictures and a drink was all the time we spent.
Have you done other walked at the Prom? Which one is your favourite? Which one should I do next?
