Highlights

A few minutes' down the Great Ocean Road from the world-famous Twelve Apostles, discover another mighty rock stack and a stunning sandy beach enclosed by sheer yellow coloured limestone cliffs. The nearby Mutton Bird Island hosts a daily wildlife spectacular, while Loch Ard Gorge was the scene of the Shipwreck Coast's most famous shipping disaster.

Loch Ard Gorge is the site of the most famous shipwreck on the aptly named Shipwreck Coast. The Loch Ard ran aground crashing into Mutton Bird Island in 1878. The only two survivors Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael managed to drag themselves to the safety of the beach inside Loch Ard Gorge. For a moment, these two tragic teenagers were the talk of the English-speaking world, which very much hoped they would marry (they did not). Walk along this sandy beach, dramatically closed in by towering sandstone cliffs. Explore several other short walks in this area including the cemetery where Tom and Eva’s less fortunate shipmates are buried.

A short walk from Loch Ard Gorge, Mutton Bird Island used to be called ‘The Sow’ back in the days when the Twelve Apostles were known as ‘The Sow and Piglets’. Every spring and summer the island is home to a noisy colony of Short-tailed Shearwaters (aka muttonbirds). Every day at dusk between October and April, these birds flock home to their burrows in their thousands, to feed hungry chicks. Experience this incredible natural event before heading to Port Campbell for dinner and an overnight stay.

There are several easy walking tracks and three of them have storyboards revealing the area's wildlife, history and geology:

Geology Walk - Discover the secrets of the forces that shape the coastline on this easy self‐guided walk.

Shipwreck Walk - Follow the tragic story of the Loch Ard shipwreck site to the cemetery. This amazing story of courage and survival is also featured in Warrnambool’s Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village.

Living on the Edge - Discover the lives of plucky Short-tailed Shearwaters on the edge of the sheer cliffs. This easy walk encompasses the Mutton Bird Island viewing platform, Thunder Cave and Broken Head.

Download the Port Campbell National Park visitor guide for more information about the park and the plethora of experiences to be had within its borders via the Parks Victoria website.

Content credit: Parks Victoria

Activities

• Sight-seeing
• Photography
• Hiking

Facilities

• Walking tracks
• Lookouts
• Car park
• Information signage