Breakwater Rock Pier — Local services in Warrnambool

When the surfing world reflects on 2017 ‘wave pools’ are the most likely topic that’ll come to mind. In the space of a few years, wave pools have moved from fantasy to reality and they’ve become so popular there’s now a wave pool industry with competitors vying for primacy, investors seeking the best return, and surfers arguing over every single thing about them. Before wave pools, however, there were artificial reefs, and when you look at it like this it seems surfers have always had a thing for imposing our will on the coast and creating waves. Yet what’s been overlooked in the rush is the enormous amount of waves that have already been created for us. Waves that were created inadvertently, mind you, but they were created nonetheless. Construction of Australia’s first man made wave began in 1820 shortly after coal was discovered at Newcastle. On the back of convict labor a breakwall was commenced to link the mainland to Nobby’s, a small islet 100 metres offshore. Lack of funds and an abundance of swell saw the work continue only sporadically till in 1846 a causeway linked land and island. It was shortly followed up with a longer breakwall which redirected water and scoured a deep channel on the north side. If naming Newcastle Harbour causes anxiety then stop reading now as more East Coast gems will be revealed before this article is over. And the East Coast it is, save for one or two spots - here's looking at you Mandurah! The reason for the geographical exclusivity is the Great Dividing Range and the river systems that flow east from it. Because of the mountains we have the breakwaters - and the accidental waves they create. Through the latter part of the 1800s, trade routes up and down the coast were reliant on sea transport, and this meant bars had to be crossed. In their natural state - that is, without training walls - river mouths tend to be broad and shallow, the deepest channel always shifting due to longshore drift, swell, or even rainfall. In these conditions every crossing was a coin toss and the list of shipwrecks, not to mention the lives lost, began to stack up. One of the people to work on this problem was an unlikely fella named Walter Shellshear. Walt was a railway engineer, and between overseeing NSW’s great railroad expansion, he studied river bars in his spare time. In 1884 he published a paper 'On the Removal of Bars from the entrances to our Rivers' in which he devised a...

Throwing the Breakwater Rock Pier a 5-star review - it's a 100% free thing to amble along, gives you really beaut views of the southern ocean if you clamber up the stairs and get to the top (not a hard thing to do, BTW. You simply need to get off the rear-end and walk up about a dozen stairs and ... Boom! You're there. Look southwards: yup, that's the southern ocean).

Some pretty awesome waves crash against the pier, as is plainly indicated by the "Warning - Big Wave Gonna' Dump On The Dude" black-and-yellow hazard signs that dot their way along the pier. (So, yeah. That warning is very, very real. If you're up on top, keep an eye out on the water conditions. It can get big really, really fast and without any sort of warning).

I read on one of the other reviews here that you can jump into the ocean from here - not sure if the writer meant into the sheltered harbour side (which I presume any keen person could do) or into the ocean side (which would ramp up the adrenaline levels, I presume). Either way, make sure you're a strong swimmer.

Also - bonus spotting of a really, really laid back seal in the bay. S/he seemed just happy swanning around in the sun, not really doing much. Talked to a local fisho' who said there's a couple of seals who call Lady Bay their home, and are very, very regular visitors to the place. They don't seem to show, or have, any fear of us 'umans, which is cool. The one I was watching seemed to be very, very content in itself. Was a cool thing to...

Warrnambool is a port city at the Western end point of the Great Ocean Road. I’m so glad I manage to reach the city in time for its magnificent sunset. Drive out to the coast at the mouth of Merri River and awe at the beautiful view of the ocean and Merri Island at the tip of the bay.

There is plenty of things to see and do. The Lake Pertobe is awesome but do head out to the coast as well. The Breakwater is an interesting place to explore and where this amazing sunset is captured. You can stroll along the mouth of the Merri River across to the islands or take Pickering Trail for an amazing view of out into the ocean. Nearby Logan Beach is also a popular whale-watching spot between May...