Queenscliff & Point Lonsdale

Our third outing for the year was to Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale. It had been postponed from its original date due to the weather, but we had a beautiful day. Eleven members including one spouse enjoyed beautiful sunshine, meeting at the Queenscliff South Pier where we explored the area including the pier sheds. The view from there over to the Fort , the parks and across to the Queenscliff Harbour was great.

After exploring the pier area we headed over to the Harbour and some of us ventured up the Observation Tower, giving us 360° views of the area. We took a break for lunch at this spot as there were a few options, including a great fish & chip shop. What better place to get fresh fish and chips. From the Harbour we walked around to the train station to watch the steam train leave the station then headed into town to have a wander around the old buildings and afternoon tea!

Some of the Members left us there with the remainder heading to Point Lonsdale with its great views including the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse.  Here we stayed to watch the sunset and the sturgeon moon rise. (That's when the sun sets at the same time the moon rises). A great day was had by all.

We visit the location highlighted in our earlier meeting and capture some of the beauty of Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale.

There is plenty of parking on Weeroona Pde or Symonds St adjacent to Princess Park/Queenscliff foreshore park, and toilets are located at Weeroona Pde and at Queenscliff foreshore park next to The Salty Breeze Cafe (a nice little cafe to grab a bite to eat and coffee).

Queenscliff Pier and Lifeboat Complex is a historic pier with unique features.

Starting at the Queenscliff Pier, you can easily walk to the Searoad ferry terminal, Observation tower (free), and the harbour. At the harbour there is fish and chips and other food options. Queenscliff Maritime Museum is on Wharf St ($12 entry fee).

Fishermans Flat is a heritage area of fisherman’ cottages that started in 1863. Fisherman’s cottages are located in Bay St, Beach St, Bridge St and Wharf St.

Q Train is a restaurant train that will be using a diesel locomotive on 26/07/25. It will arrive at Queencliff at ~2pm.

There are many historic buildings in Queenscliff: Old buildings with decorative facades, Post Office Built 1887, Circa 1902, Ozone House 1881, Lathamstowe 1882, and Wyndom 1887. There are 12 buildings on an historical walking tour within a 2-3 block radius.

Fort Queenscliff has been operating for 150 yrs. as a defence base. Take photos outside unless on a tour (adults $24). Pilot jetty is east of the Fort.

Drive to the Point Lonsdale for late afternoon photos and sunset.

Sunset is at 5:26 pm. Plan to get to Port Lonsdale before 4pm.

Port Lonsdale lighthouse is better than Queenscliff lighthouses. Also, there are a number of options using Port Lonsdale Jetty in photos, and there are rock formations on the beach.

Low tide on 26 July occurs at 7:15 pm with a tide height of 0.7 m. (Lowest tides are 0.2m.)

Note: Long range forecast indicates rain (6mm) for most of the day, and wind speeds of 14 to 25 km/h. A decision on whether this photoshoot will go ahead will be made a few days before this event based on and updated weather forecast.

Equipment for this photoshoot:

• Camera with a wide angle and short telephoto zoom lenses (flexible depending on lenses members have).
• Typically a good depth of field is desirable. F13 would be a good choice.
• Tripod, especially for late afternoon, sunset and twilight.
• A Neutral Density (ND) filter allows a longer exposure time to be used, which gives a wispy effect to waves.

A special thank you to Tania for visiting Queenscliff Visitor Information Centre and scouting locations at Queenscliff. I’ve added some extra details to some locations, and tides, sunset time and equipment.