With the outbreak of Blue Green Algae in the Murray River we
decided to switch things up and head south for the coast. It had been a long
time since I have spent any time in Ocean Grove and the difference was amazing.
So many of the little beach houses are gone, replaced with million dollar
townhouses. Whilst I don’t mind the quaintness of the old beach houses, some of
these townhouses are amazing.
Most people know about Torquay, Lorne and Anglesea, but Ocean
Grove is a lesser known cousin of these Surf Coast tourist spots. But it is a
fantastic little spot especially for families to get their dose of the sand and
sea. Located 97kms south of Melbourne it is a relatively easy drive to get
there. We arrived just after the Easter rush and whilst it was school holidays
I was surprised how quiet the beach and the small shopping strip was.
The beach at Ocean Grove is patrolled in summer and is fantastic
for children. The wide, gentle slope into the water means there kids could move
a fair way out and still be able to stand up. This made it easy for kids to
boogie board and learn to surf. My kids loved it and the smile on their faces
was priceless as they caught waves (although I don't Kelly Slater or Stephanie Gilmore will lose any sleep with worrying about a challenge from Milana and Sebastian).
On low tide there are a few little rock pools to fossick about
in, but if you head over the bridge to Barwon Heads you can go for a walk over
the headland towards 13th Beach and then on low tide walk back
around the headland. This provided the kids some great rock pools to explore.
Finding a star fish was the highlight of the walk.
Ocean Grove isn’t really party central as it doesn’t have a large
pub (you can venture across to Barwon Heads for that) but does have a couple of
bars including the newly opened Uncle Jack and also the Zebra Bar and Bistro.
The Driftwood Café on The Terrace is a good spot grab a coffee and a bite to
eat.
Where To Stay.
We stayed at Dare Ja Vue which is a beautiful house on Dare St.
From here it was an easy walk to the beach or the shops.
The nagging has started and the kids want to get back to the beach.
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