The Big Drift brings a slice of Dubai to Wilsons Prom!
Wilsons Promontory National Park. An exemplary example of “God’s Country”. Yet many Melburnians who head south east each year down to the Prom might not be familiar with the Big Drift Walk.
Only 2 hours from Melbourne, you can Escape the crowds who flock to the Prom with a walk out to the Big Drift, a series of ever-changing inland sand dunes. And as you’ll learn below, this is just as great, if not even better when the weather is poor so should not be frowned upon for a wintery visit.
With a terrain reminiscent of the dunes in the Middle East, this other-worldly landscape reveals a very different side to Wilsons Prom and is only a short walk from Stockyards Camp, just by the park entrance. It’s a moderate 2km walk or a 4km return trip all up.
This is the kind of place where it’s very likely that the only footprints in the sand will be your own (unless of course all of you reading this decide to miraculously venture down at the same time).
Best enjoyed at sunrise or sunset, when the dunes turn rose gold, take in the views over the Vereker Range in the east and the sea to the west.
Whilst most of you might head down in summer, the inside word from Wilsons Prom ranger Jack Hutchison is that this place comes alive after it rains. “Little pools form in the dunes, some big enough to swim in,” he says.
The walk out to the Big Drift is short, so if you’re in the Prom for a day, it’s definitely worth tackling another short walk in the northern Prom. But you’ll likely be content to sit down and soak up the views hopefully with someone special by your side. Just remember that unfortunately no dogs are allowed so you’ll have to keep any furry friends at home!
Photo Credit: Parks Victoria
