There is a perception that the beaches down south are not as beautiful as their Southern cousins. Victoria, some scoff, is the Garden State, not the State of Beaches and good swells. We don't think they've been to Ninety Mile Beach.
Victoria's almost 2000km of coastline provides multiple expanses of beach, where locals and visitors flock to enjoy a swim, dive, windsurf, rollerblade, fly a kite, play cricket, volleyball, throw a Frisbee, toss a ball around, build a sandcastle have a picnic or a barbecue.
Amidst the more than 20 marine parks and sanctuaries protecting the waters up to 5.5km offshore there hides Ninety Mile Beach. It runs from Sale to the east of Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria and is a stunning expanse of beach perfect for some lazy paddling or beach fishing. The beach sits at the edge of the Gippsland Lakes, the largest inland water system in the Southern Hemisphere.
Ninety Mile Beach is popular with locals and visitors who enjoy holidaying in one of the most unspoilt beaches in Victoria enclosed by a natural bush environment. The beach is made up of long sandy dunes, which separate the various lakes and lagoons from the ocean. There is also boat access to the Gippsland Lakes at Seacombe and Loch Sport.
The beach can be reached from the South Gippsland Highway via the towns of Woodside Beach, Seaspray, Golden Beach or Loch Sport and Lakes Entrance. Both Woodside and Seaspray have lifesaving beach patrols during the summer season.
Living up to its apt name Ninety Mile Beach's vast expanse of sand and surf harbours a vast array of marine life. In 10 square metres, it's calculated that up to 860 species live in the sand and in one square metre a staggering 187 species. Those seeking to see what's under the water will get an eyeful.
Offshore, the sandy plains are only occasionally broken by low ribbons of reef which formed as shorelines or sand dunes during ice-ages when the sea-level was lower than today.
Australia's biggest surf fishing competition is held at Ninety Mile Beach annually during late January. The Ninety Mile Beach Surf Fishing Competition has been running for about 46 years now and has categories for men, women and children and includes trophies for the heaviest fish caught.
There is a special Ninety Mile Beach Wildlife Trail for visitors which takes in the accessible freshwater wetland areas of Sale and stops in at the Gippsland Lakes before hitting Ninety Mile Beach itself. Keen animal lovers will catch kangaroos, emus and echidnas in and around the beach area. As you pass through the various points on the Trail, you may also visit historic towns and villages, sample the local produce, and check out the local arts and crafts.
Shutterbugs will find plenty to photograph, as they take the long walk along one of Victoria's most idyllic beaches. Whales and dolphins can often be spotted during the migration season, and due to the fact that the beach lies at the edge of a long slender sand dune with no rocky outcrops or headlands, the view from one end of the beach to the other and out to sea is uninterrupted. It promises all the sand and sea you can handle.
Keen anglers will find Australia is the perfect place to drop a line, using Ninemsn’s activity pages you can book all kinds of fishing and boating tours.
