Coastal Cliffs of Phillip Island: Self-Guided Audio Tour

Walk the headland on your own schedule, guided by audio through 15,000-kilometre migration routes and 360-million-year-old stone

This self-guided audio tour of Cape Woolamai on Phillip Island takes you through coastal heathland, pink granite cliffs, and shearwater nesting colonies over 2.5 to 3 hours. You navigate at your own pace using GPS and offline audio in English, starting from Woolamai Surf Beach and following clifftop tracks to the 112-metre navigation beacon. The tour includes lifetime access to audio, maps and directions on iOS and Android. You bring your own smartphone and headphones.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Cape Woolamai coastal highlights

• Start at Woolamai Surf Beach
• Walk through protected coastal landscape
• Enjoy views from clifftop platform
• Explore clifftop tracks and coastal heathland
• Climb timber stairs through shearwater nesting colony
• Marvel at pink granite rock formations
• Reach highest point with navigation beacon
• Discover 19th-century quarry ruins
• Return to Woolamai Surf Beach car park

The experience

You start at Woolamai Surf Beach, a National Surfing Reserve where powerful Southern Ocean swells roll in from Antarctica. The audio guide meets you there with directions built into the app, so the tour begins the moment you arrive at the right spot. From the car park, you climb timber stairs through one of the largest shearwater nesting colonies on the headland: during breeding season, thousands of burrows line the slopes, each one home to a bird that has flown 15,000 kilometres from Alaska to return here.

The route winds through coastal heathland along clifftop tracks, revealing new ocean vistas at every turn. You stand before towering columns of pink granite carved by 360 million years of weathering and relentless swells, the same stone that was quarried in the 19th century and shipped to Melbourne to build Parliament House. At the highest point, 112 metres above sea level, a navigation beacon marks the tip of the headland, and from there the fish shape that gave Cape Woolamai its name becomes clear against the surrounding ocean. The audio guide explains how George Bass landed his open whaleboat here in 1798, and walks you through the industrial ruins of the quarry where workers once used plug-and-feather techniques to split massive stone blocks by hand.

Because this is self-guided, you move at whatever pace suits you: pause to watch the swells, linger at the shearwater burrows, or move through quickly if the wind picks up. The offline maps and audio stay on your phone, so you can return to sections later or revisit the tour after your trip. The app works on both iOS and Android, and you keep access to it for life.

What’s included

• Lifetime access to the audio tour in English.
• offline audio, maps and directions on your phone.
• GPS-guided navigation so the tour starts automatically when you reach the beginning.
• flexibility to explore at your own pace and return to sections later.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (6 and older) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Audio guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by VoiceMap Audio Tours

Is this one for you?Start from Woolamai Surf Beach car park, where the app's directions guide you to the beginning: ideal if you're staying elsewhere on Phillip Island or arrived without a car, since you navigate the headland entirely on foot with audio and offline maps.

Top questions

What happens if I visit during shearwater breeding season?

Thousands of shearwater burrows line the slopes of the clifftop stairs during breeding season, each one occupied by a bird that has migrated 15,000 kilometres from Alaska. The audio guide explains the colony and the conservation program that brought these birds back from the brink.

How long does the walk take and how difficult is it?

The tour takes 2.5 to 3 hours at your own pace. It includes timber stairs climbing through the nesting colony and clifftop tracks winding through coastal heathland. The operator notes it is suitable for all physical fitness levels.

Where exactly does the tour start and how do I find the beginning?

The tour starts at Woolamai Surf Beach car park on Phillip Island. The app provides directions to the starting point, and the audio guide begins automatically once you arrive at the right location.

What is the pink granite I'll see on the cliffs, and why is it significant?

The pink granite cliffs were shaped by 360 million years of weathering and Southern Ocean swells. In the 19th century, workers quarried this stone using hand-splitting techniques and shipped it to Melbourne, where it was used to build Parliament House. You'll see the ruins of the quarry along the route.

Do I need to download anything before I arrive, or can I use the tour offline?

The app includes offline access to audio, maps, and geodata, so once you download it on iOS or Android, you can use the tour without an internet connection. You bring your own smartphone and headphones.