Cape Bridgewater is a location like no other.

A must visit locale to add to your trip planner.

So many culturally significant and historic sites can be found along this vast stretch of Australia’s coastline, setting the Cape atop the list.

 

 

More than likely, you have never heard of the place or could even place it on a map.

But that is about to change.

This is a true DESTINATION!

PRESENTED BY THE CAPE COLLECTION

Cape Bridgewater is one of those special places that really can’t be found anywhere else.

One of those places that you wonder why anyone lives there, a secret spot by virtue of its isolation.

The region is classed by the government as the second most important coastline in Victoria, after the 'Twelve Apostles', along the Great Ocean Road.

Not a challenge for the weak hearted, An incredible coastal walk fringes the national park, taking in some truly unique seas side locations, such as Australia’s largest and only mainland seal colonies.

Presented by The Cape Collection 

 

THE CAPE COLLECTION - ROUND BEACH BLANKET

DISCOVERY BAY COASTAL PARK

Gateway to the Southern Ocean

Exposed to storms and south westerly swells, Discovery Bay Marine National Park makes an important contribution to Victoria’s network of marine parks and sanctuaries.

More than 2770 hectares in size, the Discovery Bay Marine National Park safeguards a unique and diverse range of marine plants, animals and habitats for future generations.

To the west huge sand dunes stretch to the horizon.

The largest basalt reefs in western Victoria are found here  blanketed by expansive kelp forests and sea grass beds which support a diverse range of fish, crustrceans and invertibrates such as rock lobsters and abalone.

Sea-mosses, sea-fans and sponges cling to the Reefs in deeper waters forming an expansive sponge garden.

A FOREST THAT ISN'T

The coast line along Victoria is certainly more rugged than the east coast.

Reflective of the incessant arctic gale howling onshore from Bass Strait

A warm, bright, yet dull vibrancy to the pastel colour palette of the ancient desert landscape on the edge of the ocean.

 

A surreal scene presenting like a forest of tree trunks fossilized in rock.

An alien landscape, as if you were on Tatooine within the Star Wars Universe.

Delicate cone spires rise from the rock, fragile formations that have miraculously withstood and been shaped by the sands of time.

Eerie, coral cocoon like constructions, like breeding pods of Alien Hatchlings, to match the martian landscape,

What exceptional conditions caused these unique formations here but nowhere else

The name alone, petrified forest, is enticing, originating from an early theory that advancing sand engulfed an ancient forest of coastal trees, petrifying them in place for all time.

Although an appealing idea, the truth is equally fascinating.

A collection of hollow tubes of limestone called ‘karst solution pipes’, eroded by millions of years of rainfall,

Science tells us they are made from sand cemented by a mineral solition and now exposed to erosion.

 

 

 

Wind Farm

I’m all for green energy, and am not sure how to feel about the giant wind turbines that line the backdrop of this ancient location.

Completed in 2008, the Cape Bridgewater Wind farm abates an estimated 195,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

29 wind turbines power 35,000 households each year, with an average electricity generation of 200GW’s per year.

Humanity’s past, present and future is starkly illustrated here.