Tenby Point

Western Port Bay, Victoria

Tenby Point is a small town not far off the Bass Highway on the way to Phillip Island from Melbourne. Actually "small town" might be stretching it a bit, it's basically a road with houses on either side. A few minutes after passing through Grantville, turn off the highway towards Corinella. There is a small parking place at the end of Bayview Avenue. From there you will find a path that leads down to the beach.

The Tenby Point beach is mostly a mangrove swamp. The tides can be quite extreme. A very high tide here can mean that the waterline is right up to the vegetation, making it almost impossible to walk anywhere. A low tide will leave the mangrove tree roots exposed in the mud.

If you turn left at the end of the ramp, walk along the beach a few hundred metres past several clusters of mangrove and you will arrive at an old small jetty. There are only a few timber posts left standing. Depending on the time of year this can be a good spot for a sunset.

Most people do turn right at the beach though. It's just a short walk to "Old Woody" a lone tree and the subject of many compositions. A word of warning... Don't attempt to walk on the mud flats to get close to the tree. You will sink, deep in the mud, don't ask me how I know this.

Keep walking along the beach and you will eventually arrive at the old jetty, a very popular photography subject. There are a number of interesting vantage points to get good angles of the remaining timber posts.

One very important tip: take some tropical strength insect repellent. The place has loads of mosquitos and march flies, and they bite... hard.