Tucked away, just near the start of the Great Ocean Road on Victoria’s Surf Coast is one of the regions most stunning beaches. Point Addis Beach sits below huge Sandstone cliffs with reefs and eroded stone habitats teeming with life in the protected waters of the marine national park that surrounds the Point Addis headland.
Point Addis Marine National Park
The coastline stretching to the east and west of Point Addis lookout and boardwalk, for around 10 kilometres is the Point Addis Marine National Park.
The Point Addis Marine Park is pretty small on Australian standards but has some of the most beautiful underwater environments on the entire Victoria coastline. The large off-shore reefs, sandbars and sandstone that’s been eroding for thousands of years attract loads of sea life while creating some of the best waves in the country.
Snorkeling in the right spot at the right time will allow you to see a whole bunch of wildlife, including schools of fish, Stingrays, Banjo Sharks, Sea Sponges and some other varieties of sea creatures. From the shore, it’s not uncommon to sea dolphins close to the coast and in the right time of the year, you might spot some whales migrating and swimming past. With or without the wild life, the rugged underwater coastline that’s packed with jagged Sandstone and reefs are incredible to explore by themselves. For beginner to snorkeling and exploring underwater, there are plenty of shallow and protected spots for you to get started on while the more adventurous still have lots to keep them busy.
Surfing at Point Addis
Point Addis Beach isn’t just one of the most stunning to look at on the entire Surf Coast, but it has regular small-medium size waves rolling in that attracts a lot of surfers. The big swell usually comes from the west, due to the beach facing a south-east direction, it’s normally protect from the large swell and the waves don’t get too big.
Surfing at Point Addis is well suited to those that have begun learning to surf and want to try some bigger but still gentle waves, although you will still find plenty of surfers that have been doing it for years. Much more experienced surfers tend to head a few kilometres to the east of Point Addis Beach to the world famous Bells Beach & Southside, which are still inside but just on the eastern edge of the Point Addis Marine Park.
First timers might find Torquay Surf Beach or Anglesea more suitable.
Getting to the Point Addis by car or foot
Driving there
When you’re heading along the Great Ocean Road from Torquay, just after Bells Beach you’ll see signs telling you to turn left to Point Addis. Make the turn and follow the road for a few minutes and you’ll end up at the Point Addis Beach car park with the lookout/boardwalk car park another couple of hundred metres further down the road, up on the headland.
Coming from Melbourne or Geelong, it’ll be quicker to skip Torquay and head towards Anglesea. Only minutes after reaching the Great Ocean Road, you’ll see the Point Addis turn off.
Heading to Point Addis direct or via Torquay, if you reach the town of Anglesea, you’ve gone just a little bit too far.
Hiking to Point Addis along the Surf Coast Walk
If you’ve got the time, it’s well worth walking to Point Addis along the coast from one of the nearby towns or beaches.
The Surf Coast Walk is incredible and Point Addis is right in the middle of it. The walk goes from the east of Torquay to Fairhaven Beach, which is on the west side of Aireys Inlet. There are dozen of places where you can park your car and chose how far you want to walk. If you’ve got the luxury of having two cars or friends that are keen to come along, try parking at two different places and walking from one to the other.
