On Walkabout In: Angelsea, Australia

Basic Information

• Name: Angelsea
• Where: Victoria, Australia
• Founded: 1884
• Population: 2,290 (Wikipedia)
• More Information: VisitVictoria.com

Narrative

If people find the Victorian surfing capitol of Torquay a little bit to cool for them, then a great place to go to get away from the hip crowds of Torquay is just a short ride down the Great Ocean Road to Angelsea:

Angelsea is the family friendly answer to Torquay. The town is a small, family friendly town with plenty of places to camp. Best of all is the beautiful ocean scenery all around the town:

Australians first started traveling to Angelsea in the 1860’s, not to holiday but to fish in the Angelsea River that runs through the area and the nearby ocean as well as hunt for kangaroos and rabbits that frequent the area. The first permanent settlement at Angelsea didn’t happen until 1883 though, when Anna and Agnes Murray opened up a boarding house at Angelsea to take advantage of all the sportsmen hunting and fishing in the area. More would follow which would lead to the establishment of the actual town of Angelsea the following year.

The holiday atmosphere in Angelsea continues to this day. The village only has a full time population of 2,290 people, but during the peak holiday periods up to 10,000 vacationers pack this small town with 3,000 of them being campers.

Many of these people on vacation begin their holiday in this wonderful seaside town by taking advantage of the many water sports available on the Angelsea River:

There are plenty of kayaks, rafts, and other boating equipment for anyone to have fun on this nice little river. Other holidayers would rather hit the links and play a round of golf with Angelsea’s favorite mob of kangaroos that inhabits this well known golf course in Victoria:

However, most people come to Angelsea to simply hang out at its beautiful beach:

The beach at Angelsea is located in a stunning cove that is protected by the long, rocky peninsula capped by Point Roadknight:

Since the cove is protected it provides plenty of gentle waves to do everything from wading in the ocean, body boarding, or even taking out a sea kayak:

Conclusion

Like I said before, for those looking to get away from the glam of Torquay, taking a short drive down the Great Ocean Road to Angelsea is a good alternative.