Bastion Point guards the entrance to Mallacoota Inlet and bar. Unfortunately it offers little protection for the boats that still have to negotiate one of the most dangerous entrances on the east coast. Standing on Bastion Point, you can see waves breaking over the bar up to several hundreds of metres out to sea. Local knowledge and experience are required to successfully cross the bar. The inlet and bar also shift from time to time, and occasionally the inlet closes completely. The inlet may be located adjacent to, or up to 1 km east of, the point, at which time it is joined to the point by a stretch of sand called Main Beach. When it is present, Main Beach contains rips and numerous bars, as well as shoals and channels associated with the inlet. Below the 10 m high bluff of the point is a permanent 500 m long beach, that for the most part lies behind eroded lines of low sandstone ridges. The sealed road from Mallacoota ends at the centre of the beach. Here there is the new surf lifesaving club and small car park. The beach is used for boat launching and small boats use this spot to avoid having to cross the bar. The beach faces north-east and receives waves averaging 0.5 m, which tend to run along the beach and rocks and, where there is enough sand, form a shallow, attached sand bar. The most popular spot is in front of the car park, where the surf is clear of rocks for about 100 m. Elsewhere, tidal pool and rock fossicking are more popular than bathing. When the inlet is closed or it shifts to the east, the beach can turn and continue northward until the inlet is reached, usually within 1 km. This section of beach and adjacent inlet receives higher waves and is dominated by rips and shifting sand bars and channels, and should not be used for bathing. read more

Beach Length: 0.5km