Secluded Sandy Gully
As far as pristine beaches go on the Surf Coast, Sandy Gully Beach is much more quiet than the surrounding beaches that are visable from the Great Ocean Road and attract huge crowds when ever the weather’s decent.
Sandy Gully is on the coastline of Aireys Inlet, about a one third of the way from Split Point Lighthouse to Urquhart Bluff, you can walk there from the shops in town.
The Sandy Gully Car Park is at the end of a dirt road on the edge of town, it feels like a backstreet of a country town, which it more-ore-less is. After a short walk for less than 100 metres, you’ll then arrive at the beach that’s in between two headlands with a view of the Split Point Lighthouse in the background.
It’s a nice beach to stop in at for some sun baking or a picnic, but not the safest place for a swim.
Swimming and Surfing at Sandy Gully
Parts of the Surf Coast that face south or west will usually get the best and biggest swell as that’s the direction that the current usually comes from. Due to Sandy Gully Beach facing the south-east and being partly protected by Split Point/Eagles Rock Point, the swell isn’t usually in favour of this beach. On the other hand, in the right conditions some small waves will break on the north-east part of the beach.
There’s a lot of ocean debris sitting just off the shore at Sandy Gully Beach and some dangerous currents, so it’s best to enjoy this beach while keeping dry.
Just north of here is Sunnymeade Beach where there can sometimes be nice 0.5-1 metre waves, although that’s not everyday and it requires a 400 metre walk from the closest car park. Otherwise, it’s a really nice place to explore and quite good for fishing or just observing the fish while snorkeling.
Inexperienced swimmers or families with young kids can head to Point Roadknight or Torquay Front Beach where there’s almost no waves and calm conditions most of the time.
Beginners surfers can try their luck at either Torquay Surf Beach, Anglesea or Lorne or Apollo Bay. Each of these places have somewhere to rent a surfboard, wetsuit, take lessons and they’re all at beaches ideal for beginners with gentle-ish small waves.
Experienced surfers, head just a few minutes drive north-east to Urquhart Bluff or south-west to Fairhaven Beach.
Getting to the Hollow Mountain car park
When you’re heading along the Great Ocean Road from Torquay/Anglesea, once you’ve entered Aireys Inlet, turn left just after the Community Centre at Alice Road. Drive to the end of the road, turn left and the Sandy Gully carpark is about 200 metres down the road at the very end.
From the car park, it’s a short steep walk down to the beach. You can park the car here or over near the lighthouse and walk between the two places on a trial above the cliffs via part of the Surf Coast Walk that goes through here from Torquay on it’s way to Fairhaven Beach.
