After enjoying the East Prom Coastal hike last year, thought it would be great to head back and explore another section of the beautiful Wilson Promontory National Park.

We decided to choose the Lighthouse circuit via Waterloo bay as an overnight hike. The suggested direction is to hike in a anti clockwise direction for a more moderate gradient, but we chose to go in a clockwise direction due to plan complete a longer first day hiking to arrive at campsite at Roaring Meg.

We were up early and arrived at Tidal River at about 9am. The day was going to be a hot one with temperatures projected to hit the low to mid 30 degrees Celsius, slightly cooler along the coastline.

We caught the free shuttle bus up to Telegraph saddle car park and headed off down the hill towards Telegraph junction, we started a very solid pace completing first 6km to Telegraph junction in just over 75mins. We took a short morning tea break and then headed towards Waterloo Bay.

It was a perfect day with barely a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze as we arrived at Waterloo Bay. We all collectively gasped in amazement as we saw how blue the crystal clear water was at Waterloo bay.

Waterloo Bay, Wilson Promontory, Victoria

The water was so enticing to go for a swim but with an 15km+ to go with decided not to. We continued our walk along the beach and then taking the trail up along the ridge line towards the lighthouse. However about kilometre or so into the climb i literally hit the wall, not sure if was the heat, not enough food or water but we decided to stop to have lunch break on the trail. The short break definitely re-energised me as we traversed the coastline and we finally got a view of the famous lighthouse.

View towards Light house, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria

We took a few photos and then hiked along the trail until we reach the point where the path split towards the Lighthouse and our camping spot for the night. It is about a kilometre with a very steep climb up to the lighthouse so we decided to leave our hike packs hidden off the trail and continue to the lighthouse. The lighthouse and the views were stunning, the cottages are now used for overnight accommodation and in a former life a school existed at the lighthouse.

Lighthouse, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria

We arrived back at our hike packs to find them strewn across the ground, with our food bags thrown on the ground. We were unsure if someone had gone through our bags, but nothing appeared to be missing.

We continued along the coastline for a short distance then headed inland towards our camp site at Roaring Meg. We arrived about 6.45pm and set up camp beside the local creek. There were a few other hikers camping nearby. We enjoyed a feast of rice and vegetables, it all tasted great after long day hiking. We all crashed into bed pretty early that night!

Roaring Meg campsite, Wilsons Promontory

The next morning we didn’t rise super early, but enjoyed a quick breakfast with coffee and packed up our camp and were on our way. We headed up past the 2nd camping area at Roaring Meg and then along the walking track which meandered through the trees. There some short ascents and descents in this section as we joined the Telegraph track and the track opened up with views across the Prom. It was great to see some of the old Telegraph poles. Just trying to imagine how difficult it would have been to install the poles hundred plus years ago. The track opens up from being single track to a wider fire trail and we hike past Half way Hut campsite which positioned right beside the track.

We enjoyed a morning tea stop at Telegraph junction and funnily enough we saw the same group of hikers at this same spot as we did at morning tea yesterday.

We continue on the last 6 or so kilometres back to Telegraph Saddle car park, remembering the last k’s are a good ascent up the fire trail road, which i think we were all much better prepared for this time around. We were very happy to arrive at the car park an wait for the bus back into Tidal River.

When we arrived back at Tidal River we decided to report the incident with our backpacks and strewn food across the trail. The park rangers said it was most likely birds and has occurred quite a few times previously. That pretty amazing that’s the case as they managed to open the zippers and clips on our bags to get access to food.

Overall, another great weekend of hiking approx. 40km around Wilson Prom, such a beautiful place to visit.

Hiking on the trail - The Grampians

I recently had the opportunity to go back to Wilson’s Prom, affectionately known as The Prom. The last time I visited the Prom was many years ago when I was a teenager on a family holiday.

The Prom is one of Victoria’s most-loved destinations. Wilson’s Prom is situated at the southernmost tip of mainland Australia; it offers mesmerising scenery of vast granite mountains, forests, endless beaches and coastlines.

After a catch up with a couple of mates and my sister we decided we would undertake East Prom Coastal overnight hike.

An early start on a chilling Autumn Saturday morning and it was drizzling rain on our drive to Wilsons Promontory but it started to clear as we arrived at Tidal River.

Once we arrived at Tidal River we caught the courtesy bus to Telegraph Saddle Car Park where we commenced our hike mid-morning. The first part is a steady climb to Windy Saddle where we saw the restoration of some sections which had been washed away from previous flash flooding in 2011 and then we headed downhill through a scenic landscape and across the boardwalk over Sealers Swamp and arriving at Sealers Cove. It is important to check the tide times so you avoid a deep water crossing here, fortunately we arrived just after low tide so was an easy crossing! We stopped here at Sealers Cove for a short lunch break.

Then heading up along the ridge and enjoyed many stunning views as we continued our walk to Refuge Cove.

The next section was the most challenging of our hike where we encountered a steep rocky 2km+ climb to Kersops Peak, but we are rewarded with spectacular views. Our pace slowed in the last 4kms as we travelled along the coastline to our camp at Little Waterloo Bay. It was a long but very rewarding day of hiking 23.6km for the day.

Beach near Little Waterloo Bay Wilsons Promontory

The next morning we walked along the beach and then headed inland across the sand dunes back to the Telegraph Track before heading back to Telegraph Saddle Car Park. The circuit is 35.5km in total.

There are so many day and overnight hiking possibilities at Wilsons Promontory, and I would highly recommend it as it is one of the most spectacular places to enjoy nature’s beauty in Australia.

For more information about hiking at The Prom click here

Hiking on the trail: Wilsons Promontory lighthouse circuit via waterloo bay

Hiking on the trail: Wilson’s Promontory