Cape Bridgewater - Seal Colony Walk
Cape Bridgewater Seal Walk trail south from the Bridgewater Bay Kiosk offers striking views across Cape Bridgewater, once a volcanic island that is now joined to the mainland by calcified sand dunes. The viewing platform at the end of the trail looks out over rock platforms and on to a colony of about 650 Australian and New Zealand fur seals. This is the only mainland breeding site for Australian and New Zealand fur seals.
Summary of Seal walk:
Length: 5 kilometres
Walk: 2 hours return
Track: Good
Grade: Quite steep on the outward part
Start: Bridgewater Bay Kiosk
Finish: Bridgewater Bay Kiosk
Nearby: Portland
Permits/bookings: None required.
Review:
A strong recommendation is to drop into the Bridgewater Bay Cafe for a meal and drink before heading off. They had huge, tasty burgers, great wraps and good coffee.
This is a lovely walk along the top of the cliffs but it can take more than two hours with kids. There are some spots early in the walk where you can access the beach and explore the rock pools. The walk is fairly steep going to the seals but is mainly downhill returning. At the highest point you are 135m above the ocean, which is the highest cliff in Victoria. There are some very steep, high cliffs beside the walking track and some care needs to be taken if you have children.
You can view the seals from a number of viewpoints at the top of the cliff and binoculars would be very handy to get a close-up view of the seals. Two fur seal colonies live on the rock faces at the waters edge and in the caves under the cliffs. The number of seals you can see will vary from hundreds in spring to a few. If there aren't many around, look carefully in the water. Some visitors have commented that they didn't see any seals. In any case, the walk and scenery are magnificent although seeing seals at the end of the walk is the cherry on the cake.
All the facilities have been provided by Great South West Walk volunteers who have done a great job constructing a lookout point to see the seals, maintaining the track and providing signage.
Photos:
Location
Bridgewater Rd, Cape Bridgewater 3305 Map
Web Links
→ Cape Bridgewater Geological Features (PDF)
→ Bridgewater Bay Cafe
