Surprise Bay is located on the western side of 1 km wide Shoemaker Point. The 1.3 km wide bay faces southwest and is bordered to the west by the narrow 107 m high Prettys Point and its reefs. Beach T 571 occupies the northern base of the bay, which it has partly filled with a 30 m high, 500 m wide now densely vegetated dune system. The dunes have deflected the Surprise Rivulet to the eastern end of the beach where it maintains a wide sandy entrance between the boundary headland and some shore-perpendicular rocks that extend 500 m into the surf. The beach receives waves averaging 2-3 m which maintain a 200 m wide surf zone with normally a large central rip and smaller rips against the boundary rocks and reefs. The walking track descends to a campsite at the eastern end of the bay, then crosses the usually shallow creek mouth and follows the beach before heading inland for 5 km in lee of Prettys Point. read more

Beach Length: 0.9km