Last Visited: 17/03/2012
Length (km): approx. 2 km
Time (hrs/min): 1 hour
Grade: Easy
Return / Circuit / One-Way / Partial Circuit: Partial Circuit.
Region: South-East Victoria
Park: Cape Liptrap Coastal Park
Closest Town: Walkerville
Car Access: The walk is accessed from the south end of Loop Road in Walkerville South (marked as Bayside Drive/Walkerville Road on Google Maps).
As I mentioned in my post about Anderson Inlet walk, I spent the weekend exploring the area around Venus Bay with my lady. This walk was a highlight of our trip.
Lime was mined at Waratah Bay for many years during the late 1800’s. The environmental destruction it caused is unfortunate, but the site still makes for an interesting tourist attraction. We started by walking up the hill, past the top of the kilns.There are some very nice views from this part of the track, particularly south to Bird Rock and Arch Rock.
The track continues through attractive forest, including Drooping She-Oak and Messmate. At one point, a short detour can be taken to an historic cemetery, but we decided against it. After crossing a creek, we left the trail at a spot where there is evidence that the limestone has been mined. This is a beautiful spot to spend some time, as there is a maze of beautiful rock outcrops on the beach, and many rock-pools to explore. We then decided to head south along the beach, stopping to properly explore what’s left of the kilns.
Lime kiln ruins at Waratah Bay.
Photographers are spoilt for choice on this walk.
I wanted to get a closer look at Bird Rock and Arch Rock, so we continued on to the south end of Waratah Bay. There are lots of interesting rock formations and caves to explore here, so we took our time and enjoyed these before retracing our steps to the car.
The beach at Waratah Bay has heaps of rock formations and caves to explore.
We payed our own way during our trip to Venus Bay (and surrounding areas). Even had this not been the case, I would only ever provide honest reviews and recommendations on Bushwalking Blog.
Accommodation Ideas:
- Venus Bay Eco Retreat is a gorgeous bush property, which is managed with wildlife conservation as first priority. Correa Cabin is the only accommodation onsite (aside from the owner’s house) and is designed to be completely eco-friendly. It’s a great way to holiday luxuriously, with as small an ecological footprint as possible. Mae, who runs the Retreat, works on bush regeneration programs throughout the year, but most interestingly supports Birds Australia in there monitoring and protection of the nearby threatened Hooded Plover nesting sites. Visitors are welcome to participate in these volunteer activities if they wish.
- You might also choose to stay at Venus Bay Caravan Park, or at any of the multitude of holiday rental properties around Venus Bay, but I haven’t stayed at any of these and therefore cannot comment.
Related Walks:
- Anderson Inlet Walk is another nearby walk, which we completed during our stay.
Have you visited the lime kilns at Waratah Bay? If you have any stories, updates or corrections, please let us know by commenting below.
Was the track fixed, then? It was out at one point due to a landslip or something when we walked there in Nov 11. We had to go to the lookout, climb the fence and jump down the rocks – not too hard even though we’re fiftysomething!
It’s a shame you didn’t do the detour to the cemetery as it’s a very tranquil but thought provoking little place – people dying young, mums and bubs dying within a very short period, join the dots on that – Makes me very grateful for the relative safety of modern childbirth & medicine.
Hi Helen,
Yep the track was fixed. It had been closed on my previous visit, too. I might have to go back and visit the cemetery now. Sounds interesting.
Thanks for commenting!
Neil
Wow! Amazing shots!
Thanks! 🙂
Looks like a great addition to a trip to Wilsons Promotory.
Indeed! It would be a perfect stop on the way down or back. Worth checking out.