Wreck Beach

This is a cliff-backed Southern Ocean beach near Moonlight Head, known for two shipwreck anchors along its rocky shore. Keep it for a wilder, history-rich coastal stop; the long, steep climb back to the car park is the catch.

Turn at the Moonlight Head sign off the Great Ocean Road, about 34 km east of Port Campbell, then follow roughly 4.5 km of gravel road to the car park. There are 366 steps to the sand, and the return climb is the hard part. This is a poor fit if stairs or uneven ground are difficult for you.

Plan the descent for low tide and calmer seas if you want to reach the anchors. At high tide, the beach below the cliffs can become dangerous or impassable, and large swell makes the exposed shore risky. This isn't a swimming beach: open water and submerged reefs are part of the hazard.

The Marie Gabrielle anchor is about 400 m west along the beach; the Fiji anchor is roughly 650 m farther on. The French barque Marie Gabrielle wrecked here in 1869, and its crew reached shore by boat. The Fiji ran aground at Moonlight Head in 1891. Its hull lies offshore in a sandy gully; the anchor on the reef is a marker placed there in 1961, not the wreck itself.

The rusted Fiji anchor makes a strong foreground against the cliffs, reef and open water. Low tide can expose rock pools and more of the reef, though the exact shoreline changes with sand and sea conditions.