Coastal Cliffs of Phillip Island: Audio Tour of Cape Woolamai

Duration2h 30m - 3h

Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before

Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away

TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted

LanguagesEnglish

Private tourOnly your group will participate

Overview

Cape Woolamai was shaped by millions of years of violent ocean swells and fierce Antarctic winds. On this coastal self-guided audio tour, you’ll discover how this dramatic granite headland became the setting for one of Australia’s most successful conservation programs. You’ll also explore sea caves carved by hydraulic action, pink granite cliffs that supplied stone for Melbourne’s Parliament House, and the nesting grounds of seabirds that migrate 15,000 kilometres from Alaska each year. The tour starts at Woolamai Surf Beach, a designated National Surfing Reserve known for its powerful waves and dangerous rip currents. Along the way, you’ll hear about how George Bass landed his open whaleboat in 1798, naming this fish-shaped headland after the Eora word for snapper, and explore the ruins of the granite quarry that once supplied stone for Melbourne’s iconic buildings. The tour ends back at the Woolamai Surf Beach car park where you began your journey.

What's included

Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
App for Android and iOS
Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start

Smartphone and headphones
Transportation
Food and drink
Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour

What to expect

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Walk through one of Victoria's most significant protected landscapes, where coastal heathland, granite headlands, and ocean beaches meet in a single reserve. This is the beating heart of one of Australia's most remarkable conservation stories, where penguins, bandicoots, and migratory seabirds have been brought back from the brink.
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Enjoy sweeping views over the Southern Ocean from this clifftop platform, where powerful swells roll in uninterrupted from Antarctica. On a clear day the scale of the headland becomes fully visible, with pink granite cliffs dropping sharply to the churning water below.
Cape Woolamai Walk
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Explore a network of clifftop tracks winding through coastal heathland, past shearwater burrows and wind-sculpted scrub. The trails follow the natural contours of the headland, revealing new coastal vistas at every turn.
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Stand at the start of your journey on this powerful surf beach, designated as a National Surfing Reserve for its world-class waves. Strong rip currents run along its shores, a reminder that this coastline has always been as dangerous as it is beautiful.
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Climb a series of timber stairs that wind upward through one of the largest shearwater nesting colonies on the headland. During breeding season, thousands of burrows line the slopes on either side, each one home to a bird that has flown 15,000 kilometres from Alaska to return here.
Pinnacles Lookout
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Marvel at towering columns of pink granite rising from the cliff edge, carved by 360 million years of weathering and relentless Southern Ocean swells. These sculpted rock formations are among the most striking natural landmarks on the entire Victorian coastline.
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Reach the highest point on Phillip Island at 112 metres above sea level, where a navigation beacon marks the tip of the headland. From here the full fish shape of the island that gave Cape Woolamai its name becomes clear against the surrounding ocean.
Cape Woolamai Old Granite Quarry
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Discover the industrial ruins of a 19th-century quarry where workers once used plug-and-feather techniques to split massive stone blocks by hand. The pink granite cut from these cliffs was shipped to Melbourne, where it was used in the construction of the city's Parliament House.

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

This tour starts at Woolamai Surf Beach. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

End point

This tour starts at Woolamai Surf Beach. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

Additional information

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.