There’s no other experience like it in Victoria. Sculpted by the destructive force of nature’s fury, the Twelve Apostles rise majestically from the Southern Ocean.

In the Port Campbell National Park, the Twelve Apostles are some of the world’s most-recognised and photographed icons. They are remnants from the constantly eroding limestone plain of the mainland, formed 10 to 20 million years ago from accumulated layers of marine animal remains. There are only 10 apostles left since their naming, as two have since collapsed.

As the sun rises and sets, the Twelve Apostles change their look and mood — from dark and foreboding in shadow to brilliant sandy yellow under a full sun. When you visit — especially when the weather is wild and waves smash relentlessly against the 100m cliffs — you will quickly understand why this rugged shoreline is dubbed the Shipwreck Coast.

Famous for the Twelve Apostles and historic shipwrecks, Port Campbell National Park contains the most significant areas of vegetation and fauna native to south-western Victoria. The diverse range of coastal environments in Port Campbell National Park includes woodlands, dunes, wetlands, coastal cliffs, limestone stacks and arches.

Shell middens along the coast have provided evidence of ancient presence, diverse diet and lifestyle of the Kirrae–Wurong people. Sealers and whalers were the first European visitors to these shores.

Unlock the many secrets of the shipwrecks by visiting the shipwreck trail. The coastline is famous for many wrecks due to the ferocious conditions.

Incorporating the Twelve Apostles, London Bridge, the Blowhole and Loch Ard Gorge, the sculptured coastline has its origins 10-20 million years ago when billions of tiny skeletal fragments accumulated beneath the sea gradually creating limestone formations. The sea then retreated, leaving the soft limestone exposed to violent seas and strong winds — carving many remarkable features.

The Bay of Islands

The stacks that tower from the ocean in the Bay of Islands create a haunting natural landscape. While the Twelve Apostles are viewed from above, the limestone towers in the Bay of Islands seem to surround the spectator. Short walking tracks lead to a series of lookouts and down on to sandy beaches in sheltered coves. Just offshore, ancient limestone pillars seem to float in the ocean.

Gales often exceed 50km an hour and in winter they rage up to 90km an hour. The Great Australian Bight was eaten out by these winds and the massive waves they generate.

But what dramatic debris capricious Mother Nature leaves in her wake!

The Bay of Islands Coastal Park is a 33km long, narrow strip of coastal heathland that runs alongside a series of secluded coves. Several carparks lead to spectacular lookouts — some best at sunrise and others at sunset. And yet fewer tourists bother to explore this amazing landscape.

The Bay of Martyrs is the first carpark, at the outskirts of Peterborough, and is an ideal place to see the Bay of Islands at sunset. The islands and Massacre Point are backlit by the sun. Travel a short distance to the west to expose the grandeur of the park. From the Bay of Islands car park a series of short walks guide the visitor to viewing areas. View the rock stacks or take a walk to the beach at Boat Bay.

At Childers Cove, further to the west, a giant stack known as ‘The Needle’ sank into the sea one day and disappeared forever, just a few years ago. But the surviving stacks still create a magnificent terrain.

Discover the 5 bays of the area. At Massacre Point and Little Massacres Bay, to the west of the Bay of Martyrs, folklore has it that many of the local tribe were slaughtered by white settlers. Throughout the park today, stone fragments and fireplace middens recall the original inhabitants and the swamplands in which they hunted.

Surfing Warrnambool and the far west

It is an increasingly wild coast in the west, but there are significant beaches with good access at Port Fairy, Warrnambool and Portland. At the city of Warrnambool, around Lady Bay, are the beach breaks of Japs, The Flume and Levy’s Beach. At Port Fairy there is the gentle surf of East Beach, the big right-hand reef breaks of the Lighthouse and Green Island, the point break of The Passage and the reefs of Gabbos and Gooloos.

Portland is the last staging post in the west, but outstanding in the variety of the points, capes and bays around the town, offering everything from beginners’ beach breaks to the big right-handers of Blacknose, famous in a big south westerly with a heavy sea. Here the rides are so long that you have to walk back to a take off point rather than paddle out again.

Warrnambool Whales

Warrnambool is commonly accepted as ‘Victoria’s southern right whale Nursery’. Almost every year between June and September, female southern right whales return to the waters of Warrnambool’s Logan’s Beach to calve. The whales often swim within 100m of the shore and can be viewed from a specially constructed platform in the sand dunes or from the beach.

Southern Right whales have been visiting Warrnambool for hundreds of years. Once, they were hunted almost to the point of extinction, but since whaling was outlawed in 1935, their numbers have been increasing.

In summer, southern right whales live in the sub-Antarctic. In winter, they migrate to warmer waters around the southern areas of Australia. The females migrate to the ‘nursery’ areas close to the shore to bear their calves, while the males, yearlings and young adults remain further out to sea.

The females generally stay in the nursery for many weeks, allowing the calves to feed and gather strength for their journey back to the sub-Antarctic waters.