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National Park on the southernmost tip of mainland Australia. The remote coastal bushland trails are great for birding.
The coastal bushlands and craggy mountains of Wilsons Promontory National Park are home to an abundance of birds. In the grasslands and grassy woodlands you might spot the sapphire wing plumage of the Blue-winged Parrot. In the coastal heathlands you can find the shy Ground Parrot and in the mountain Gang Gang Cockatoos. Wilsons Promontory National Park is also home to a variety of bush birds including the Olive Whistler, Beautiful Firetail, Southern Emuwren, Crescent Honeyeater, Forest Raven, Bassian Thrush, Flame Robin, Ground Parrot and sea birds like waders, ducks and terns, Hooded Plover and Pied Oystercatcher.
Tidal River is the main location for camping and accommodation at Wilsons Promontory. The wildlife isn't as amazing as that of the surrounding area, but many of the birds in this area and around the campsite have become quite tame. You can make a nice walk along the river and up to Pillar Point. Among the birds you can encounter are Grey Shrike-thrush, Crimson Rosella, Brown Thornbill, White-browed Scrubwren, Superb Fairy-wren, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Silvergull, Welcome swallow, Eastern Yellow Robin, Grey Fantail, Red Wattlebird, Galah, Pied Currawong, Forest Raven, Beautiful Firetail and Olive Whistler.
Wilsons Promontory National Park is approximately three hours drive from Melbourne. Follow the Monash Freeway (M1) to join the South Gippsland Freeway (M420/A440) to Meeniyan. Take the Meeniyan- Promontory Road (C444) to the Wilsons Promontory Entrance. Tidal River Visitor Centre is 30 km south of the park entrance. Click on the P in the map for directions or coordinates. Wilsons Promontory National Park is free for day-use visitors. There is no fuel at Tidal River. The closest fuel outlet is at Yanakie. Note that it can get extremely busy in Wilsons Promontory over summer and there is a limit to the number of vehicles that can be in the national park. On busy summer days it can be challenging to park, so consider visiting the area on a weekday during summer.
Tidal River is the main location for camping and accommodation options at Wilsons Promontory. The Tidal River Visitor Centre is open daily, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. From the Tidal River Visitor Centre Carpark you can make a beautiful 6 km circular route over the Tidal Overlook Track to Pillar Point. This walk is indicated on the map below. First you follow the Loo Errin Track down to cross the river and then head all the way out to Tidal Overlook and Pillar Point, where you'll catch awesome views out over the water and back over to Norman Beach. This is a challenging but truly beautiful hike. Along this trail you'll find a few boulders to scramble over and a few steep sections but this is all worth it for the fantastic views.
Photo Tidal River by Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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