Be Bushfire Smart

• The drive from Yanakie to Tidal River is very scenic and full of interest. Drive slowly and carefully to avoid collisions with wildlife and enjoy the views.
• Enjoy the beautiful sandy beach along Tidal River at Norman Bay. This beach is safe for swimming and a delight for children and adults to explore.
• Walk to Squeaky Beach with its pure white quartz sand. The beach was once known as the "singing sands" because of the sound made when walking on it.
• Walk up Mt Oberon for one of Victoria's best panoramas, and to see how vegetation changes with aspect and altitude.
• Walk the Lilly Pilly Gully Nature Walk to see heathland, eucalypt forest and rainforest.

• Experience some of the park's secrets by taking an overnight hike to one of the 11 outstation campsites (accessible only on foot). Hikes range from beginner to intermediate standard, and one to five nights duration.
• Spend time in the Information Centre to find out about the many features and stories of the Prom. It has excellent audio-visual presentations as well as informative displays and maps and other publications for sale.
• Explore the northern part of the Prom - an officially designated wilderness. Millers Landing and Vereker Lookout are easy family walks in this area.
• Get to know some of the Prom's several hundred bird species, or go looking for koalas, wallabies or wombats.
• If you take snorkel or scuba gear, you can discover the underwater world surrounding the Prom - all of which is protected in a marine national park. If you're not able to go under water, explore intertidal life in the rockpools formed by granite boulders at many of the beaches.
• Take some time just to relax and enjoy the Prom's fantastic atmosphere.

Camping
Tidal River has some 484 camping and caravan sites, beautifully situated near the beach and river. 20 powered sites are available and pre-booking is essential as they are very popular. Generators and campfires are not permitted so please take a gas or fuel stove. As campsites are in great demand; bookings are required for all summer holiday periods. For more detailed information regarding camping including fees and rates, please refer to the park notes section at the bottom of this page.

Outside of the summer ballot, Easter and long weekends: Tidal River campsites can be pre-booked up to 12 months in advance by calling 13 1963. Sites are unallocated and you may choose your site on arrival on a first come, first served basis.

Long weekends & Easter camping - campsites are obtained by application from this website on an advertised date. Minimum stays apply.

Summer Ballot - Each year a ballot is held for booking Tidal River camping and accommodation (except Wilderness Retreats) for the 5 weeks from the week before Christmas until late January. Ballot applications can made online throughout the month of June. To keep the ballot fair to all entrants, applications which stand at the close of the ballot are considered final and a cancellation fee applies to any withdrawal of a successful application after the draw has taken place. Full terms and conditions are made available online when the ballot is open.

Accommodation
Tidal River also offers self-contained cabins (6 people), units (4 people), group lodges (12, 24 or 30 bed), huts (4 or 6 bed) and Wilderness Retreats. Wilderness Retreats are contemporary safari-style tents located in a tranquil area of the campground. Please note all accommodation is very popular and must be booked well in advance .Booking is essential and minimum stays apply throughout the year.

Overnight Hiking
Various hiking routes are available, read the park note at the bottom of this page for details. Bookings are highly recommended, call 13 1963.

Lighthouse accommodation: Booking are essential, call 13 1963.

Tidal River Facilities

Tidal River has a general store, post office, camping gas supplies and a take-away food shop. Meals are available on some nights. Open-air cinema and doctor services are available during summer. Fuel can be purchased from the Tidal River General Store.

Opening hours:

Store/Take-away 9.00am - 5.00pm Sun-Fri and 9.00am-5.30pm Sat
Café: 9.00am - 4.00pm Sat-Sun, Closed Mon -Fri.
The dine-in menu with an all day breakfast option is available from the takeaway on weekdays. (The café is available all year for private functions or groups)

Contact Details

To book camping or accommodation, please contact the Parks Victoria Information Centre:
Phone: 13 1963 (within Australia) or +61 3 8627 4700 (international).
Postal Address: Wilsons Promontory Park Office Tidal River VIC AUSTRALIA 3960

Annual Parks Passes

Annual Parks Passes and Multi Day Parks Passes are available for Wilsons Promontory National Park. These can save entry fee costs for regular users, local residents and interstate visitors. Further information is available here.

Tidal River Open Space Project (TROSP)

The Tidal River Open Space Project (TROSP) is a community based initiative in partnership with Parks Victoria. The purpose of the project is to design and construct an integrated open space at Wilsons Promontory National Park on the site of the current playground in Tidal River.

Project details

Introductory flyer

Tidal River Open Space Project (TROSP) plan images (580 kb)

For further information about the project email: dana@blminfo.com.au

Today, local Aboriginal communities are active in establishing cultural and spiritual links with the park and in undertaking park management activities.

George Bass and Matthew Flinders were probably the first Europeans to see the Prom, on their 1798 voyage from Sydney, and Bass is thought to have named it after a London friend of Flinders'. They recognised its commercial value, as the name Sealers Cove shows; commercial exploitation of seals, whales and timber, and for cattle grazing, went on for nearly a hundred years.

The Prom's position means that it is important for navigation in the turbulent waters of Bass Strait, and a lighthouse was built on South East Point in 1859.

Following campaigns by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, and lobbying by the Royal Society of Victoria, the Victorian government temporarily reserved most of the Promontory as a national park in 1898. Permanent reservation followed in 1908, although the Yanakie area north of the Darby River was not added until the 1960s. A chalet for visitors was built at Darby River, but for many years a trip to the Prom was quite an adventure, involving a boat trip across Corner Inlet and a horse ride, or a car drive along the beach, with the risk of being swamped by waves! The main entrance road was not completed until the 1930s.

During World War II the Prom was used for commando training and was closed to the public. Army buildings at Tidal River formed the nucleus of a post-war holiday village that gradually developed as more people came to the Prom. The entrance road was sealed in 1970-71 with visitor numbers increasing steadily.

Aboriginal Traditional Owners
Parks Victoria acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, the Boon Wurrung, Bunurong and Gunai - Kurnai identify the Wilsons Promontory National Park as their Traditional Country.
Further information is available from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria AAV and Native Title Services Victoria .

Over 30 species of native mammals, not including marine mammals, have been recorded in the park. These include populations of the Long-nosed Potoroo, Swamp Antechinus, White-footed Dunnart, Broad-toothed Rat, Feather-tailed Glider and Eastern Pygmy-possum, as well as the more familiar kangaroos, koalas and wombats.

One of the most significant habitats of the New Holland Mouse also occurs within the park, and a number of species of whale have been sighted in the waters off its coastline. The Yanakie grasslands are popular for viewing Eastern Grey Kangaroos, wombats and emus.

Significant species of migratory wading birds feed on the tidal mudflats of Corner Inlet within and adjoining the park. The offshore islands provide roosting and breeding sites for sea birds, including an enormous number of Short-tailed Shearwaters. Populations of the endangered Damselfly Hemiphlebia mirabilis, a "living fossil", are found around freshwater swamps and lagoons in the park.

Wilsons Promontory also has a number of introduced animals, including foxes, cats, rabbits, starlings and blackbirds.

The park has diverse vegetation communities including warm temperate and cool temperate rainforest, tall open forests, woodlands, heathlands, and swamp and coastal communities.

The park has stands of White Mangrove, the most southerly stands of mangroves in the world. The heathlands, influenced by the frequency and intensity of fire, are rich in species and provide habitats for a variety of fauna, including many threatened species.

The coastal dunes are a near perfect example of coastal succession ranging from bare dunes to protected woodlands.

Like other parks and natural areas throughout Victoria, Wilsons Promontory National Park also has a substantial number of environmental weeds. The park's Environmental Management Plan details how these are to be managed.

Geological and Landform Features

Wilsons Promontory has a variety of geological and landform features of national geological and geomorphological significance. There are nine individual sites within the park of State or regional significance, including Darby, Squeaky and Five Mile Beaches, Great Glennie and Cleft Islands, and Chinaman Creek Delta. Norman Bay at Tidal River is an excellent and accessible place to study the different kinds and formations of granite that make up the Prom.

The promontory represents the northern end of a large granite mass extending to north-east Tasmania. Erosion of the granitic massif has produced the spectacularly rugged landscape we see today. The Yanakie isthmus connecting the granitic promontory to the mainland consists of marine and non-marine sediments and dune deposits.

Coastal features include expansive intertidal mudflats, sandy beaches and sheltered coves interrupted by prominent headlands and plunging granite cliffs in the south, backed by coastal dunes and swamps.

In the intertidal zone adjoining Corner Inlet, large areas of highly productive tidal mudflat are exposed at low tide. Corner Inlet contains internationally important habitat for migratory wading birds.

The potential for erosion of the soils of Wilsons Promontory is high. This must be considered in day-to-day management and planning of future developments.

• Dogs and other pets, and firearms, are not permitted.
• Please keep to tracks.
• Observe fire restrictions. Take a gas or fuel stove.
• Carry out all rubbish.
• Do not disturb or remove any plants or animals.
• Drive carefully on the main entrance road. It's a good place to see animals, but many are killed by speeding cars.
• Please do not feed the rosellas or other wildlife in the park. It upsets the natural ecological balance, and can cause injury or disease to visitors.

The 200 km drive from Melbourne via the South Gippsland Highway, turning south at Meeniyan and Fish Creek, or Foster, takes about 3 hours. Tidal River (Vic Roads Touring Guide: 102-C7), where the main visitor facilities are, is 30 km inside the park boundary.

Wilsons Promontory Bus Services

• Departs Foster to Tidal River via Fish Creek Firday night
• Returning Tidal River to Foster via Fish Creek Sunday afternoon
• Additional return service from Tidal River when a public holiday falls on a Monday
• All services connect with Vline coach services at Fish Creek

For further information visit www.viclink.com.au or call 131 638

Tidal River: Visitor Centre and Accommodation

The Visitor Centre at Tidal River offers good informative displays about the park, and is generally an accessible building. Car parking is good, and includes designated accessible spaces. The most accessible accommodation options are George Robinson (small group lodge), Baldwin Spencer (large group lodge), Wirilda Cabins, She-Oak Cabins and Dannevig motor huts.

Tidal River: Camping and Picnic Areas

The camping area is large, and has designated accessible facilities at the West Block. The area is mostly flat. Loo-Errn Track is the most accessible of the tracks leading from this site, and has been designed to enhance access for all abilities to some of the park's natural features.

Lilly Pilly Gully

A walking track with a boardwalk about half way along the track that offers a high level of accessibility to visitors with a disability. A recent upgrade has increased the overall accessibility of the track, and includes an accessible toilet at the car park. The track links back to Tidal River via a footbridge.

Squeaky Beach

Squeaky Beach is one of the more accessible beaches of the Prom, although the access path has some obstacles such as sand and moderate slopes. There is a recently installed composting toilet with an access ramp between the car park and the beach. fence.

Telegraph Saddle

The lookout at Telegraph Saddle is reasonably accessible, with only a slight step onto the timber platform, but it lacks a continuous approach path. Walking tracks from this site are narrow and rocky, and traverse varied, often steep, terrain. They are generally inaccessible to people with a disability. No drinking water is available.

Darby River and Millers Landing

The bank of the Darby River is near the car park. The walking track to the beach has some sections of rough or steep terrain, making access difficult. The track from the Millers Landing Carpark to Millers Landing is being upgraded to meet access standards. When complete, the Millers Landing walk will be an excellent accessible feature at the Prom.

The park has an Education Centre located at Tidal River. Visit the Parks Education Website for program outlines and resource material for students and teachers.

• Corner Inlet Marine and Coastal Park
• Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park
• Shallow Inlet Marine and Coastal Park
• Wilsons Promontory Marine Park and Marine Reserve