Wilsons Promontory: Refuge Cove & the east coast
Wilsons Promontory is mainland Australia's southern tip, and its east side has the best shelter on the Bass Strait coast between Corner Inlet and Western Port. Refuge Cove is the one everyone heads for. NGA notes there are few anchorages for deep-draft vessels on this coast, and names Waterloo Bay and Refuge Cove as the main ones.
- 1Refuge Cove · OSM (Nominatim).
- 2Sealers Cove · OSM (Nominatim).
- 3Waterloo Bay · OSM (Nominatim).
At a glance
| What it is | National park anchorages on the east side of the Prom |
| Best shelter | Refuge Cove, sheltered from the east; anchor in its southern part (NGA) |
| Swell | Sealers Cove often gets a heavy swell; Waterloo Bay is exposed (NGA) |
| Land manager | Parks Victoria (Wilsons Promontory National Park) |
| Nearest port | Port Welshpool in Corner Inlet |
Refuge Cove
Finding it. NGA says Refuge Cove is the middle of three indentations between Brown Head, about 1.3 miles north of Cape Wellington, and Horn Point. It's midway between Kersop Peak and Horn Point, and it's the first sandy beach you see open up north of Cape Wellington. A light is shown on the east side of the southern entrance.
Entrance and anchorage. The entrance, south of Hobbs Head, is about 150 m wide with 11 m in it, shoaling gradually to 5.5 m close inshore. NGA calls it the only anchorage on that coast sheltered from the east, and says to anchor in the southern part. Parks Victoria calls the cove a safe anchorage.
Ashore. Parks Victoria asks boaters not to tie stern lines to the vegetation. Recreational boat users staying in the camping area need to book ahead. There are toilets at the camping area, and creek water that you need to treat before drinking.
Sealers Cove
NGA says Sealers Cove is entered about 1.7 miles WNW of Horn Point, about 0.6 mile wide with 7.3 to 9.1 m, shoaling to 5.5 m about 0.2 mile in. A heavy swell often rolls into the cove. OpenStreetMap shows the old jetty there as a ruin.
Waterloo Bay
NGA says the bay has 26 m in the middle, shoaling to 11 m about 0.2 mile off its head, and the best anchorage is in about 22 m, about 0.4 mile off the south-west shore. But it doesn't recommend anchoring there, even though the holding is good: the high ground and swell from both sides of Bass Strait make it uncomfortable, and from 0.5 mile north of Waterloo Point it's open to severe westerlies that sweep through the valley at its head. Small vessels heading west into a south-west gale can tuck in close under Waterloo Point. There's a marine farm, marked by lit buoys, about 3 miles SE of Waterloo Point.
Getting round the Prom
- Cape Wellington. NGA describes a considerable tidal rip and race off the cape, where the flood streams meet and split.
- Tidal streams. South of the Prom the streams run east and west and normally turn at about high and low water. Heavy east or west weather sets up a current against them that keeps running after the blow has passed.
- Traffic Separation Scheme. A TSS lies south of Wilsons Promontory, with an Inshore Traffic Zone for westbound traffic between the lane and the Prom (NGA). Ships use it; keep a good watch.
- Rabbit Island. On the way north to Corner Inlet, NGA gives good anchorage about 1 mile NE of Rabbit Island in 8.2 to 9.1 m, in all but south-east or east gales.
- Oil and gas. Between the Prom and Point Hicks there are offshore platforms, and an area to be avoided about 40 miles SE of Lakes Entrance (NGA).
Victorian rules in brief
- Heightened risk. On vessels up to 12 m underway, the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook counts these among the times of heightened risk: crossing an ocean bar, boating in a Designated Hazardous Area (Port Phillip Heads is one), boating from an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise, in restricted visibility, or where a gale, storm force or severe weather warning is current. Lifejacket rules are tighter then; check the handbook's tables for your boat.
- Warnings. The Bureau of Meteorology issues strong wind (26 to 33 kn), gale (34 to 47 kn) and storm force (48 kn and over) warnings. Safe Transport Victoria strongly advises small craft not to go out when one is current.
- Radio. Marine Radio Victoria monitors VHF 16 (67 alternative) 24/7 out to 20 nm, gives forecasts twice daily, and broadcasts current warnings on VHF 67 at 48 minutes past every even hour (the first at 00:47), eastern standard time (handbook).
Ashore
These are remote national park anchorages; Refuge Cove has a hike-in camping area (Parks Victoria). Plan to be self-sufficient.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, the current notices to mariners from the Victorian port managers, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- Parks Victoria: Refuge Cove camping area
- Parks Victoria: Wilsons Promontory National Park
- Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (Safe Transport Victoria, PDF)
- Bureau of Meteorology: coastal waters forecasts
- Bureau of Meteorology: warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Marine Search and Rescue unit locations (vic.gov.au)
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from the Parks Victoria Refuge Cove camping area and Wilsons Promontory National Park pages, NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) South and East Coasts of Australia, 16th edition (2025, corrected to 30 July 2026), the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (Safe Transport Victoria, 2024 edition), the vic.gov.au Marine Search and Rescue unit list and OpenStreetMap, all read on 28 October 2026. NGA Pub. 127 Sector 2 (2.8 to 2.30) for the anchorages, tides and traffic scheme.
Parks Victoria. Facts from the Parks Victoria notices to mariners, the Port Phillip and Western Port Recreational Boating Guides, the boating and swimming zones pages and the Gabo Island, Refuge Cove and Wilsons Promontory pages, restated and summarised in our own words. Parks Victoria web content is CC BY 4.0 unless marked otherwise; the boating guides and notices are linked, not reproduced. Not endorsed by Parks Victoria.
Gippsland Ports. Facts from Gippsland Ports notices to mariners, navigation warnings, local navigation notices and port pages, cited for fact only and linked, not reproduced. The current notices prevail.
Ports Victoria. Notices to mariners for the ports of Melbourne, Geelong and Hastings, cited for fact only.
Safe Transport Victoria. Facts from the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (2024 edition), restated in our own words and linked, not reproduced. The handbook and the Marine Safety Act 2010 and its regulations prevail.
Bureau of Meteorology. Tide, tidal stream and forecast pages are linked, not reproduced; the Port Phillip Heads slack-water guidance is summarised.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) South and East Coasts of Australia, U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Victorian Government. Marine search and rescue units from the vic.gov.au unit list, checked on the date shown in the rescue box.
Last checked: 28 October 2026.
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