Warrnambool is Victoria's largest coastal City outside Port Phillip Bay, and a major destination for people travelling along tourist routes including the Great Ocean Road, Princes Highway and the Melbourne-Warrnambool railway.
Flagstaff Hill is a state heritage listed site overlooking the beautiful Lady Bay. Both a living historical village that displays the life of a 19th century port and town, and holder of Victoria's largest maritime shipwreck collection, it occupies a beautiful site, tumbling down the bluff towards Lady Bay.
You can explore the village area that has over 40 buildings and vessels spread over 10 hectares. Flagstaff Hill is a place to remember and experience the stories of these early battlers who laid the foundations for life as we know it today.
The Lake Pertobe Adventure Playground is paradise for kids with giant slides, flying foxes, a maze and boat rides. There are lovely walking tracks around the lakes, and the park features delightful picnic areas and sheltered BBQ facilities.
The Lake Pertobe precinct is also home to other sporting facilities including tennis courts, mini golf, an athletics track and a skateboard park.
Logans Beach is most famous as the breading ground for the Southern Right Whale. Each year roughly between late May and early October, the whales return to their nursery at Logan's Beach where they can be viewed from a specially constructed platform in the sand dunes or from the beach. The platform is free to access and is open at all times. In clear view of the shore, the females nurse their cubs while the males and yearlings remain further out to sea.
Childers Cove and the nearby Murnanes Bay and Sandy Cove could be the Great Ocean Road’s best hidden gems. The twin inlets feature towering limestone cliffs on three sides and the mighty southern ocean ahead of you.
What truly makes Childers Cove special is that while the 12 Apostles attract millions of visitors each year, this is a place which is just as spectacular that in all likelihood, you will have to yourself.
The Meet the Maremma Tour is a fun, educational and interactive experience - a Warrnambool summer must for all ages! You will learn about little penguins, the importance of conserving them and how this world first conservation project uses Maremma dogs to protect the Middle Island birds from foxes. You'll even get a chance to pose for a photo in front of Middle Island with one of these special dogs.
Tower Hill, just to the west of Warrnambool, is one of the most fascinating geological formations in Victoria. It has an important place in local Aboriginal history and it teems with wildlife.
Tower Hill is an enormous volcanic crater rimmed by beds of volcanic ash. The swampy floor of the crater is punctuated by conical hills which, after good rains, virtually become islands surrounded by a shallow lake. The inside of the crater, and the island-hills are now a wildlife reserve and there are substantial populations of native birds and wildlife. It's easy to see koalas, kangaroos, emus and much more.
The Warrnambool to Port Fairy Rail Trail is a continuous 37.32km walking/cycling pathway which meanders through a highly scenic, diverse and relaxed part of south-west Victoria. Encompassing historical, agricultural, Indigenous and nature-based themes, it is a 'must do’ for anyone visiting the region.
Making its way through rural landscapes and farming communities, the user will travel through dairy and beef farming country as well as remnant forest, skirt the north side of a 25,000 year old volcano (Tower Hill) and traverse wetlands and coastal sand dunes.
The Warrnambool Breakwater consists of two parts: the concrete breakwater extending out into the bay, and the timber viaduct which once joined it to the shore, which now runs along the east side of the Merri River and is surrounded by land to the east. The breakwater is 30ft wide with a 15ft wide parapet with a walkway along the top.
The breakwater is a great place to take the kids fishing, offering a sheltered place to relax. Fishing can be done on the bay side with smaller rods or over the breakwater facing the ocean with surf rods chasing the bigger fish. Boat launching is also available at the breakwater.
These elegant, sheltered gardens feature wide curving paths, old and rare plants, a band rotunda and a lily pond which is home to ducks and turtles. Warrnambool’s Botanic Gardens were designed by celebrated landscape gardener William Guilfoyle in 1879, shortly after he completed the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens.
Spanning 8.1ha, the gardens’ large open lawn areas and picturesque vistas are the perfect backdrop for weddings, community events and family picnics.
Warrnambool is home to one of the country's most indulgent wellness attractions. Deep Blue Hot Springs is where bathers meander amongst the rock pools and cave formations as they take to the alluring natural healing waters set across 20 different, purpose built, open air geothermal pools. Among the geothermal bathing pools is a host of other quality wellness experiences including reflexology, steam, mud & colour therapy caves, private bathing pools, relaxation massage and salt therapy rooms.
