Magiclands and Cowrie Patch Beach

Cape Woolamai Phillip Island, Victoria

Phillip Island has any number of wonderful locations for the landscape photographer, several of which can be accessed from Cape Woolamai surf beach.

Drive to the end of Woolamai Beach Road and park. There is plenty of parking, toilet facilities, and even a kiosk for snacks. A short ramp at the bottom of the car park will get you to the surf beach. Turn left at the bottom of the ramp and start walking along the beach.

After walking along the beach for several hundred metres you will see a staircase on your left. The stairs lead to a walking track that loops around Cape Woolamai. It will take you past the Pinnacles, the lighthouse beacon, an old granite quarry, and on to Cleeland Bight Beach and Norman Hill before ending back at the car park. The loop is around 8km and well worth the walk.

For this trip we will walk past the staircase. Magic Lands is only another 50m or so past the stairs. Best visited at low tide, Magiclands is an area with a number of granite rock formations covered in bright green sea moss. If you like photographing sunsets you will love this location. I would recommend using a CPL filter to take some of the glare off the water and a GND filter to even the exposure between the sky and sea.

Keep walking through Magiclands for another couple of minutes to reach Cowrie Patch Beach. The path is quite rocky and can be slippery. You will soon come to a sharp left turn, you should be able to see a narrow gap in the rocks ahead of you. Climb through the gap and over the rocks to reach the beach.

Note: Access to Cowrie Patch beach is cut off at high tide. Make sure to time your visit during low tide or you will need to climb the cliff to get out.

The sand here is course granite sand, quite different to the surf beach. The main features are the pinkish granite rock formations. In particular, Sentinel Rock, a tall granite spire at the beach entrance.

If you are coming here for sunset or blue hour, make sure to bring a good torch or headlamp for the walk back. It's an easy walk along the beach but on very dark nights it can be tricky to find the exit ramp.