Fabulous Foreshore
Warrnambool’s picturesque Lady Bay is so much more than simply a beach!
Warrnambool Promenade
Warrnambool’s award winning Foreshore Promenade is a wonderful 5.7 kilometre track that stretches from the Breakwater along the coastline to the famous Southern Right Whale Nursery at Logans Beach. An estimated 20,000 people annually explore the ‘The Promenade’ by walking, running, cycling or skating along this scenic trail. Stop off for a surf or swim and take the camera.
The Visitor Centre can help you find bike hire locations.
Lady Bay
Warrnambool’s picturesque Lady Bay offers protected swimming along with surfing, yachting and windsurfing. Surf lifesavers patrol the beach during the summer. There are over 29 shipwrecks in Lady Bay with interpretative signage highlighting some of the tragedies.
Breakwater and Stingray Bay
The historic breakwater allows you to walk out to view the boats moored in the harbour and look out to sea south of the breakwater.
Beyond the breakwater, at the mouth of the Merri River, is Stingray Bay, a beautiful shelte
red bay where you can explore the rock pools.
Middle Island Maremma Project
The Middle Island Maremma Project is a world first environmental program which involves the use of Maremma Guardian Dogs to protect breeding seabirds on Middle Island from fox and dog predation.
Background
From August to February Middle Island is home to a breeding colony of Little Penguins and Short-tailed Shearwaters. Standing at about 45cm tall and weighing about 1kilogram, the Little Penguin is the world’s smallest penguin. The once thriving penguin colony of over 600 birds in 1999 has been decimated by fox and dog predation, reducing the population to below 10 in 2005. In 2006 a world first conservation trial using Maremma Guardian Dogs to protect penguins on Middle Island was successfully conducted for four weeks.
The trial has been further extended to cover the breeding season for 2007 2008.The Maremma idea developed from a concerned community member, Alan “Swampy” Marsh, a local free range chicken farmer who has successfully used the Maremma breed to protect his chickens for fox predation. The Maremma breed has been used for centuries in Italy to protect sheep from wolves, bears and thieves; they are specifically bred for a flock protection role. Swampy had the vision to see how this proven agricultural method could easily be adapted to protect the Little Penguin and Shearwater colonies from fox and dog predation.Today
Currently there are two Maremmas, Electra and Ne've on Middle Island protecting the penguins. They are cared for by Warrnambool City Council employees on a regular basis. The Maremma project is also monitored by a steering committee comprised of Council employees, state government wildlife experts, veterinarians, community members and university staff and students. So far there have been no seabird deaths caused by predation and the breeding colony is slowly growing with a population estimate of atleast 60 Little Penguins. The Maremma trial is a good example of government organisations and community working together to protect our native fauna and improve biodiversity on our coasts.
MIDDLE ISLAND IS CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
