Nelson Bay is a 4 km wide, south facing, rocky bay lying between Cape Sir William Grant and Cape Nelson. Deep inside the bay are three remnants of a once larger beach. Today the bay consists of 50 to 90 m high cliffs, composed largely of dune calcarenite sitting on top of basalt bases and rock platforms. Behind the beaches, the cliffs rise steeply to heights of 30 to 40 m and are capped with a veneer of dune sand. The dunes were deposited when a larger beach and backing sand ramp occupied the back of the bay, probably about 6 000 years ago. The beaches are difficult to access. Cape Nelson Road runs above the western beach (Nelson Bay 3) and there is a car park, walkway, viewing platform and steps down the bluffs to this beach. However, the other two (Nelson Bay 1 & 2) must be reached on foot around the rocks at low tide. All three beaches receive waves averaging about 1.5 m, that break over a 200 m wide surf zone. An inner, rip dominated bar is usually detached from the beach, and the outer bar has larger rips. Rocks and reefs also dominate the inner surf. In addition, the narrow, high tide sand beaches are often awash at high tide. These are backed by cobble beaches at the base of the cliffs. read more

Beach Length: 0.5km