Coastline at The Crags in Western Victoria near Port Fairy.
The rocks are in a state of flux.
Worn away by years of wind and water.
Solid rock is blowing away like dust and sand.
Waves are forming and fading back into the vast ocean.
Your breath and my breath - in and out.
In and out.
Claimed and lost.
Gone.
Transformed.
One of the most rugged and wild sections of Victoria's coastline can be viewed at The Crags, just 12 kilometres west of Port Fairy - a great daytrip and a perfect ending to a tour of the coastal sights of the Great Ocean Road.
The calcarenite cliffs, formed thousands of years ago as water "percolated" between shell fragments, fossils and sand, offer spectacular views of the coastline between Yambuk and Port Fairy and the volcanic Lady Julia Percy (Deen Maar) Island which sits 19km off the coast.
A visit to The Crags will give you a good understanding of why this area is named The Shipwreck Coast, with menacing rock formations jutting from the seabed. Spectacular at any time of the year, during winter months stormy weather and black skys add even more drama to this wild shoreline. In warmer months it's a great spot to relax and view sea birds sweeping along the cliffs.
The area is an important archaeological site with indigenous cultural sites listed on the National Estate. It is part of the traditional homelands of the indigenous Peek Wurrung speakers and has spiritual connections with Deen Maar. Over many thousands of years the coastal reserve was used as a place of gathering, ceremony and feasting for indigenous people.
The Crags is a wild and scenic section of our coast, with panoramic views. Lady Julia Percy Island is home to more than 4000 seals, fairy penguins, birds of prey and has the largest Australian rookeries of fairy prions and driving petrels. Many of the bird species can be viewed from The Crags as they move across the ocean in search of feeding grounds.
