George Bass Coastal Walk

The George Bass Coastal Walk is a clifftop track on the Anderson Peninsula between San Remo and Kilcunda, following the route explorer George Bass charted in 1798.

It is one of the few long coastal walks in Victoria where dogs are welcome on lead, and the payoff is constant: sheer drops to turquoise water, sea caves near the Kilcunda end, kangaroo mobs grazing in the grassland and, from May to November, whales passing close to shore.

Advertised at 7km one way, though most walkers find it closer to 8km, with about 235m of climbing.

It is a moderate walk on a wide formed track, and we have now done the full 16km return with both dogs.

Walking it with the dogs

Dogs must stay on lead for the whole route: the cliffs are sheer in places, the dunes hold sensitive native fauna, and an off-lead dog makes no sense here.

Leads on did not dull it for Pepsi and Max though we did let the dogs off for a swim in the beaches. Be careful it is nesting season which off-lead dogs are strictly forbidden and the waves are very harsh - Max got swept away briefly before orientating himself with the tide.

The track is wide and well formed so you can walk two abreast, and the roos kept their attention enough that neither dog pulled.

We started from Punchbowl Road rather than the Kilcunda end on Bass Highway at the San Remo end which way have been a mistake.

Kilcunda has parking, a pub and a general store, while the Punchbowl Coastal Reserve end has no facilities or transport.

There is no water along the track, so carry enough for all three of you.

Parts of the route drop onto the beach, so check the tides before setting out, and allow two to three hours one way. The Kilcunda-to-Sandy Waterhole section (about 4.6km one way) is the pick if you want something shorter, and the best stretch for spring wildflowers.

Max: I walked 16 kilometres and saw wild rabbits and birds. Best day.

Make a day of it

The Kilcunda Trestle Bridge over Bourne Creek sits right at the trailhead, and the walk links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail at Kilcunda if you want to extend toward Wonthaggi on a flatter grade.

It shares its clifftop character with the other dog walks in Victoria we have covered.

The one off-lead swim nearby is Kilcunda Main Beach, the only off-lead beach close by; the walk-side beaches are on lead with strong currents, so keep leads on until you reach it.

For another clifftop-and-sand day, the San Remo Dog Beach sits near the walk's eastern end and the Inverloch Dog Beach is a short drive around the bay.

For a weekend, the dog friendly stays and eateries around San Remo cover both ends of the peninsula.

Pepsi: a whole cliff line of smells and no cats anywhere. Five stars.