Barwon Heads has very little in the way of large commercial accommodation establishments such as hotels, motels or resorts. There is much more in self catering and holiday type accommodation such as bed and breakfasts (also known as bnb and b&b), apartments, holiday houses, cottages, cabins, guesthouses as well as tourist or caravan parks, but no back packers.
Self catering accommodation – Apartments, holiday houses, cottages, cabins, b&b’s and guesthouses in Barwon Heads are:
Tourist, Caravan or Holiday Parks in Barwon Heads are:
- Barwon Heads Caravan Park
- Rondor Park
The Motel in Barwon Heads is:
there are no motels, nearest in Ocean Grove
The Hotel in Barwon Heads is:
Barwon Heads Information:
The township of Barwon Heads was surveyed in 1870 but remained sparsely populated for years. In the 1920s and 1930s the town became a popular holiday resort and a number of the richer families of Melbourne built houses here.
In 1959 the closing scenes of the film On the Beach based on a Neville Shute novel about the end of the world was filmed in the town.
Barwon Heads was just another sleepy seaside holiday destinationuntil it was used as the location for the hugely successful ABC-TV series SeaChange and it became a place where people wanted to go to check out the television locations; the seaside Ramsay St. In the past decade Barwon Heads has become subject to what is colloquially known in some parts of Australia as the 'seachange effect'. Since the SeaChange television series first aired in 1998 there has been a significant increase in tourism and real estate sales in the area. Barwon Heads is somewhat quieter and smaller than Ocean Grove.
Barwon Heads is situated on the Bellarine Peninsula 22 km south-east of Geelong and 95 km south-west of Melbourne.
Things to See and Do:
Tourist Information
Tourist information is available from the Geelong Otway Tourist Information Centre in Geelong (ph: 03 5222 2900, or free-call 1800 620 888).
Beaches
Safe swimming can be enjoyed from the long sandy river foreshore (access via Flinders Parade or off Ewing Blyth Drive) at the river mouth. Thirteenth Beach (because it is behind the13th hole of the golf course) is a popular ocean beach (access off the Barwon Heads-Torquay Rd which extends from Ewing Blyth Drive).
Barwon Heads Golf Club
The golf course (access via Golf Links Rd) which is considered one of Victoria's most scenic as it is set situated amidst rolling, coastal hills and sand dunes with outstanding oceanic views.
Parks and Walks
A walking-cycling track follows Ewing Blyth Drive. Another passes through Village Park (where there are picnic facilities and a playground), connecting Geelong Rd and Wandin Crescent. Another park with picnic-barbecue-playground facilities can be found behind the river beach adjacent Flinders Parade.
The Bluff
'The Bluff' (also known as Barwon Head) extends out from the south-eastern corner of town beyond the river mouth and out into Bass Strait. It is made of limestone which overlays lava deposits but his formation also extends further out to sea forming submarine reefs which caused a number ofshipwrecks in the 19th century. Bluff Rd (which runs off Ewing Blyth Drive) leads to a carpark, an ocean lookout and walking tracks. A monument honours those killed in the wreck of the Earl of Charlemont in 1853.
The Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary
The Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a range of native animals. To get there head north on Sheepwash Rd from the roundabout where the Geelong-Barwon Heads Rd, Golf Links Rd and Sheepwash Rd meet. Turn left onto Taits Rd and you will soon see the sanctuary to the right.. It is open daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Breamlea
Breamlea is about 10 km west on the coast, between Barwon Heads and Torquay. Beneath the high sand dunes is Bancoora, a well-known surfing beach. Access is via the Barwon Heads-Torquay Rd which runs off Ewing Blyth Drive.
Reedy Swamp and Lake Connewarre
Just to the north-west of Barwon Heads are Lake Connewarre and Reedy Swamp which are important migratory bird habitats and hence are havens for waterbirds such as bitterns, swamp hens, ibis, spoonbills, egrets, cormorants and herons. There are mangrove swamps in Lake Connewarre State Game Reserve on the southern shore. Access is via a series of roads which run off the Barwon Heads-Geelong Rd..
