How to get to The Pillars, Victoria
Yes, the water really does look like that.
Is it Greece? Is it Croatia? Nope, it’s an hour’s drive from MELBOURNE, believe it or not.
Welcome to The Pillars at Mount Martha, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. This dreamy swim spot makes for the perfect summer outing when you want to feel like you’re in Europe without leaving Australia.
How to get here
Getting here is pretty easy. Hop on the M1 highway from Melbourne CBD and it’ll take you straight to the Mornington Peninsula in an hour. From the blogs I read, parking can be limited during summer and on weekends. There is one small car park near The Esplanade and Marguerita Avenue that fits about six cars. I went on a Tuesday morning in February, and was the second car there. There is more parking nearby, but you’ll have to walk further to get to The Pillars.
For public transport commuters, it’s difficult but not impossible to get here. The nearest bus stop is Esplanade/Hearn (Mount Martha) and the journey will take you about two and a half hours.
Finding The Pillars
The trail to The Pillars is not signposted, but if you look for the well-worn tracks you’ll know you’re on the right path. There’s a smaller path about 500m before the actual spot, so don’t do what I did and start descending this one. The rocks are super crumbly and whilst you’ll be able to easily get down, getting up will be a challenge.
There’s a “danger” sign at the top of the correct path, and you’ll descend through the bushes before you reach the cliffs.
Cliff jumping
Always assess your own abilities and never cliff jump if you don’t feel safe. I personally didn’t jump in or swim, but I saw plenty of others jumping multiple times off the cliffs. The water is definitely deep enough (it’s the ocean) but be careful not to get scraped on your way up or down from the rocky cliff edge.
Other things to note
There’s no actual sand beach here, only the rocky top of the cliffs. Most people come for the cliff jumping, stopping by on a road trip, or for photography purposes.
As you should do anywhere, take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.
