melbourne clothing optional beaches?
Oct 9th, 2004, 05:08 PM
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melbourne clothing optional beaches?
spending 2 days in melbourne in mid november. are beaches close enough for a trip? any that are clothing optional? how would we get there, need to rent a car? we're staying at the grand hyatt in the city.
Oct 9th, 2004, 08:42 PM
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Hello
A Google search brings up a website that lists clothing optional beaches in Australia.
http://anusf.anu.edu.au/~mld900/cloths_o.html
I am not familiar with the names of the beaches they list for Port Phillip Bay, which would be the ones that were closer to Melbourne (although I would suspect you would need a car even for them).
In my experience the beaches in Port Phillip Bay are not very exciting, as the water is rather calm. What I think of as the "real" ocean is beyond PPB.
I have found on my map some of the C.O. beaches they list west and east of Melbourne, but some of them are too far to reach during your timeframe. For example, Narrawong (further west than Warrnambool and Port Fairy, but east of Portland) is too far west. On the other hand, Mallacoota, at 520 km (320 miles) from Melbourne, is too far east.
The two accessible C.O. beaches that I've found on my map are Somers and Venus Bay.
Somers is on the east side of the Mornington Peninsula, looking out across Western Port towards Phillip Island.
I'm guessing it would take 1.5 hours to drive there.
I don't know what the beach itself is like.
Here's a map of the area:
http://www.visitor.com.au/bigmap.html
Another of the listed beaches that I've found on my map is Venus Bay. This is past Wonthaggi, on the way to Wilsons Promontory, SE of Melbourne. (Wilsons Prom, just as a point of interest, is the most southerly point on the Australian mainland.)
I'm guessing it would take you between 2 hours and 2.5 hours to reach Venus Bay. If VB is anything like the beaches in the vicinity of Wilsons Prom, it must be nice.
An outing to Wilsons Prom (about 3 hours' drive in one direction) is very pleasant.
The more famous coastal drive is the Great Ocean Road between Melbourne and Adelaide.
If one does it as a round trip from Melbourne, it's more ideal to do it as a 2 day trip, spending 1 day on the outbound drive and another day on the return drive.
However, if you're prepared to leave early, and get home late, you can do a nice circuit in a day. You can drive past Geelong, and then along the ocean from Torquay, westwards through Lorne, Apollo Bay, to Warrnambool. At Warrnambool, turn inland and drive back to Melbourne along the Princes Highway (#1 Hwy).
What you do depends on how you like to spend your time. The GOR is lovely, but Melbourne itself is pleasant, and it would be nice to spend a day in the city.
The Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne also are pretty. You can do a day tour that includes a ride on the Puffing Billy steam train, lunch at a Yarra Valley Winery, and a visit to Healesville Nature Sanctury where you can see native Australian animals.
Here's a website where you can get distances, driving times, driving directions and maps between one Australian destination and another:
http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp
Perhaps you should wait to see what the weather is like. Melbourne's late spring / early summer weather is variable. You may find it's warm while you're there, and you may find it cool. My husband was back there in November / early December 2003, and it was really cool.
If it's raining, downtown Melbourne has some neat indoor places, so you should not be short of things to do and see, regardless of what the weather is like.
By the way, you absolutely do not need a car in downtown Melbourne. Much of it is accessible on foot. Even if you do get tired and want some help, you can just hop on a tram (trolley car).
The City Circle Tram, which does a circuit more or less along the perimeter of downtown, AND provides a pre-recorded commentary of what you're seeing, is FREE.
Hope that helps.
A Google search brings up a website that lists clothing optional beaches in Australia.
http://anusf.anu.edu.au/~mld900/cloths_o.html
I am not familiar with the names of the beaches they list for Port Phillip Bay, which would be the ones that were closer to Melbourne (although I would suspect you would need a car even for them).
In my experience the beaches in Port Phillip Bay are not very exciting, as the water is rather calm. What I think of as the "real" ocean is beyond PPB.
I have found on my map some of the C.O. beaches they list west and east of Melbourne, but some of them are too far to reach during your timeframe. For example, Narrawong (further west than Warrnambool and Port Fairy, but east of Portland) is too far west. On the other hand, Mallacoota, at 520 km (320 miles) from Melbourne, is too far east.
The two accessible C.O. beaches that I've found on my map are Somers and Venus Bay.
Somers is on the east side of the Mornington Peninsula, looking out across Western Port towards Phillip Island.
I'm guessing it would take 1.5 hours to drive there.
I don't know what the beach itself is like.
Here's a map of the area:
http://www.visitor.com.au/bigmap.html
Another of the listed beaches that I've found on my map is Venus Bay. This is past Wonthaggi, on the way to Wilsons Promontory, SE of Melbourne. (Wilsons Prom, just as a point of interest, is the most southerly point on the Australian mainland.)
I'm guessing it would take you between 2 hours and 2.5 hours to reach Venus Bay. If VB is anything like the beaches in the vicinity of Wilsons Prom, it must be nice.
An outing to Wilsons Prom (about 3 hours' drive in one direction) is very pleasant.
The more famous coastal drive is the Great Ocean Road between Melbourne and Adelaide.
If one does it as a round trip from Melbourne, it's more ideal to do it as a 2 day trip, spending 1 day on the outbound drive and another day on the return drive.
However, if you're prepared to leave early, and get home late, you can do a nice circuit in a day. You can drive past Geelong, and then along the ocean from Torquay, westwards through Lorne, Apollo Bay, to Warrnambool. At Warrnambool, turn inland and drive back to Melbourne along the Princes Highway (#1 Hwy).
What you do depends on how you like to spend your time. The GOR is lovely, but Melbourne itself is pleasant, and it would be nice to spend a day in the city.
The Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne also are pretty. You can do a day tour that includes a ride on the Puffing Billy steam train, lunch at a Yarra Valley Winery, and a visit to Healesville Nature Sanctury where you can see native Australian animals.
Here's a website where you can get distances, driving times, driving directions and maps between one Australian destination and another:
http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp
Perhaps you should wait to see what the weather is like. Melbourne's late spring / early summer weather is variable. You may find it's warm while you're there, and you may find it cool. My husband was back there in November / early December 2003, and it was really cool.
If it's raining, downtown Melbourne has some neat indoor places, so you should not be short of things to do and see, regardless of what the weather is like.
By the way, you absolutely do not need a car in downtown Melbourne. Much of it is accessible on foot. Even if you do get tired and want some help, you can just hop on a tram (trolley car).
The City Circle Tram, which does a circuit more or less along the perimeter of downtown, AND provides a pre-recorded commentary of what you're seeing, is FREE.
Hope that helps.
Oct 10th, 2004, 07:04 PM
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You're most welcome, Ghymer. But no, I'm not a travel agent! I used to live in Melbourne a few years ago, and am fond of it. I love it when I hear that someone is planning to visit Melbourne. I hope you'll enjoy your trip. No, hope isn't the right word. I'm sure you will. 
Oct 12th, 2004, 04:38 AM
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ghymer,
This is the situation regarding clothes optional (legal nude) beaches near Melbourne. There are only 4 legally CO beaches in the state of Victoria (that is 4 more thatn in QLD!)
The closest ones to Melbourne would probably be Sunnyside North near Mornington on the Eastern side of Port Phillip Bay. There is also Campbells Cove on the western side of Port Phillip Bay but I wouldn't recommend it as it is quite muddy! Further afield, near Tourquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road, you will find the other two CO beaches. They are Southside and Pt. Impossible. These are both wonderful surf beaches. Whichever beach you choose you will need to hire a car to get to it and it is a fair journey as well!
This is the situation regarding clothes optional (legal nude) beaches near Melbourne. There are only 4 legally CO beaches in the state of Victoria (that is 4 more thatn in QLD!)
The closest ones to Melbourne would probably be Sunnyside North near Mornington on the Eastern side of Port Phillip Bay. There is also Campbells Cove on the western side of Port Phillip Bay but I wouldn't recommend it as it is quite muddy! Further afield, near Tourquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road, you will find the other two CO beaches. They are Southside and Pt. Impossible. These are both wonderful surf beaches. Whichever beach you choose you will need to hire a car to get to it and it is a fair journey as well!
Oct 12th, 2004, 04:45 AM
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One of the main problems for beaches in general in Victoria is the changable weather patterns. We went to Victoria last November (we stayed at Nudist retreats and clubs and didn't venture to the beaches at all) and one day would be hot and sunny(>40 degrees) and then the next day was windy, overcast and cold. You couldn't predict what the weather would be like from day to day!
