Nature Walks
Surrounded by National Park, the cottages provide easy access to a variety
of pleasant walks through the spectacular bush and coastal land. For the
more serious walker, Point Addis is on Surf Coast walk, a 27 Km track
winding from Jan Juc to Angahook Lorne State Park near Aireys Inlet.
Surfing
The cottages are located in the heart of Australia's world famous surf
coast, and you will find many world-class surf breaks within the local
area. Test your skills the infamous Bells Beach, Winki Pop or Juc, which
are all only minutes away by car. Too far? Simply tuck your board under
your arm and head down to the Pt Addis back beach, which has offering
excellent waves on the right conditions.
Beaches and Rock Pool Rambles
Being located on the Great Ocean Road, the Flower Farm is only short drive
from many beautiful of long stretches of golden sandy beaches. Fossick
for shells and small crabs in the many rock formations formed by the sea
– small and large pools, armchair ledges and cave-like hollows.
Bike Riding
Try cycling along the famous Great Ocean Road or head inland to conquer
the many mountain biking trails.
Golf
With Anglesea, Torquay and the new Sands Golf Clubs within easy reach
of the cottages, there are plenty of opportunities to play on these tranquil
and un-spoilt courses.
Point Addis Marine National Park
Rugged sandstone cliffs overlook the Point Addis Marine
National Park that covers 4,600 hectares from the Victorian State limit
at sea, along 10 kilometres of coastline between Anglesea and Jan Juc.
This Marine National Park is representative of the central Victorian coastline
and is exposed to the intense wave action that arrives on this coast largely
from the southwest. The waves are a major part of this environment and
shape the coastal landforms as well as the animals and plants that live
in the area.
The Point Addis Marine National Park
also includes the world famous Bells Beach, a beach noted for its waves
and surfing. Bells Beach features as one site for international surf competitions
including the annual Rip Curl Classic.
Offshore, there are a number of small rocky reefs including Ingoldsby
Reef, a popular local diving destination.
Heritage
The local Aboriginal people use the area surrounding the Pt. Addis Marine
National Park for traditional practices of fishing and food collection.
Middens are located along the shoreline and it is believed that Point
Addis may be a burial area, however to date there has been no adequate
archaeological survey.
There are two wrecks in this popular
diving area. The Inverlochy was a Scottish built international cargo vessel
wrecked in December 1902 on Ingoldsby Reef. It sits in about 4 - 7 metres
on the side of the reef. The small cutter, or yacht, Naiad was also wrecked
here in 1881.
Fauna
Senator Wrasse (Pictilabrus laticlavius)
Inquisitive and ever active, the Senator Wrasse is one of the most beautiful
kelp forest residents of the park area. They are carnivorous fish that
hunt a wide range of small animals including snails, amphipods and crabs.
The bright green males and reddish females can be seen busily slipping
in and out of the kelp fronds. During the spring breeding season, male
Senator Wrasse become territorial and you can see them swimming above
the kelp, fins erect. Females release millions of eggs above the kelp
and if these are successfully fertilised by the male, juveniles will float
in the ocean current for two to three weeks. However, few survive this
experience. Over 10 species of wrasse are found in southern Australian
coastal waters.
Cowrie Snail (Cypraea comptoni)
Beautiful, yet shy and elusive in habit, cowrie snails can be found on
reefs in the park feeding on sponges living on the underside of rocks.
The snail can draw its skin-like mantle over its distinctive shell and
the colour of the mantle assists with camouflage. At only 25 millimetres
in length, this is one of the smaller cowries of the 77 found in Australian
waters. It lays its eggs in a depression in the rocks and then protects
them until they hatch by 'sitting' on them.
Bells Beach
One of Australia's most famous surfing beaches Bells Beach, famous for
its world-renowned Easter Surfing Classic, is located near Point Addis
on the southern coast of Victoria, 71 km south-west of Melbourne.
The beach is named after the family that took up the first
pastoral run hereabouts in the 1840s. It is claimed the surfing potential
of the site was first recognised in 1949 by Vic Tantau, Peter Troy and
Owen Yateman. Access was a considerable problem. An old road led to within
45 minutes walk of the beach, but the heavy 5-metre boards then in fashion
proved too difficult to drag through the bush, necessitating rubber mats.
However, when shorter boards went into production in 1957 the beach was
more heavily frequented. Negotiations with a local landowner in 1958 enabled
road access to the beach although the failure of visitors to close farm
gates caused friction and rendered the route problematic. Eventually Torquay
surfer and Olympic wrestler Joe Sweeney hired a bulldozer and cleared
a road along the Bells cliff from the old Cobb & Co road, from where
the concrete wave now stands down to the beach, thereby facilitating access
from Jan Juc. He then charged one pound per surfer to recover his expenses.
This is now part of the Torquay to Anglesea walking track.
The first surfing contest was organised by Vic Tantau and
Peter Troy and held on the Australia Day weekend in January 1962. The
competition was subsequently changed to Easter in 1963, thereby opening
it up to interstate competition. This makes it the longest-running professional
surfing event in Australia and the world and one of Victoria's six "Hallmark
International Sporting Events". The consistency and excellence of
the surf saw Bells become the site of the world amateur board-riding championships
in 1970 and, in the early 1970s, the first surfing reserve in the world.
It has since become a fixture on the world professional circuit. In the
year 2000 it was listed as a site of historical significance by the Victorian
branch of the National Trust.
Easter Festival
Most famously, this is the site of a surfing contest which was first held
in 1962, although the competition attained a more official status when
it became an interstate Easter event in 1963, making it the longest-running
professional surfing event in the nation and the world. The consistency
and excellence of the surf saw Bells become the site of the world amateur
board-riding championships in 1970 and, in the early 1970s, the first
surfing reserve in the world. It has since become a fixture on the world
professional circuit. In the year 2000 it was listed as a site of historical
significance by the Victorian branch of the National Trust.
The men's contest is now known as the Ripcurl Pro and the
women's event has an uncertain present and future. Although prize-money
was, for many years, rather low by world standards, this changed in the
1990s when the importance of the event, and the beach which engendered
it, was recognised by an Act of Parliament that declared the site a recreation
reserve.
The festival now runs for ten days around Easter. Interested
parties can make inquiries from, and buy either day tickets or ten-day
passes, Surfing Victoria, tel: (03) 5261 2907. There is no on-site accommodation
but there are caravan parks and other holiday accommodation in Torquay
and the surrounding area.
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