Wildlife Coast Cruises · Port Welshpool jetty
A full day by boat from Port Welshpool down the wild east coast of the Prom, round the lighthouse and South Point, under Skull Rock, then ashore at Refuge Cove. Pick it if you want the parts of the Prom no road reaches, with three meals on board and a swim in the middle.
This cruise does not start in Melbourne or at Tidal River. It leaves from the jetty in Port Welshpool, a fishing town on the east side of the Prom (the listing gives 84 Lewis St; Wildlife Coast Cruises lists the jetty at 80 Lewis Street, with free parking). There is no hotel pickup, so you drive there or stay nearby the night before. Boarding is at 9:30am, and the operator asks you to arrive 30 minutes early.
The season is short. Wildlife Coast Cruises runs it on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from February to April, and its own page flags the schedule as currently limited, so check the calendar before you plan a weekend around it. In November there are no sailings; the next run of dates is February 2027. The operator gives 8.5 hours on its page (the listing says 8), so expect to be back on the jetty around 6pm. Every trip depends on the weather and on minimum numbers: if they cancel, you get a transfer or a full refund.
You spend the whole day at sea or on the sand, which is the point. The boat covers over 100 km of coastline, takes a maximum of 30 guests and stops for two hours at Refuge Cove, a sheltered bay that walkers otherwise only reach on the multi-day Southern Prom Circuit. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are included; alcohol and soft drinks are at bar prices. Open water means motion: the operator recommends sea sickness tablets. The official price is A$525 per adult, A$475 concession and A$425 for children aged 3 to 15.
Park for free near the jetty and check in 30 minutes before departure. Boarding opens about 15 minutes before the boat leaves.
The boat heads south past Rabbit Island and the granite islands off the eastern Prom, with morning tea served on the way. Watch for dolphins and seabirds.
Hundreds of fur seals haul out on Kanowna Island. Then the lightstation on its headland and South Point, the most southerly point of the mainland.
Skull Rock, once called Cleft Island, is a sea cavern that cannot be reached by land. On a calm day the skipper takes the boat in close for the view up into the cave.
A tender runs you ashore. Take a clear-bottomed kayak or a paddleboard, swim, walk a short bush track or just sit on the beach. Lunch is part of the day.
Afternoon tea on the run home, then back at the jetty after roughly 8.5 hours.
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Wildlife Coast Cruises runs it at 9:30am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from February to April, and calls the schedule currently limited. There are no sailings in the rest of the year.
From the jetty in Port Welshpool, on the east side of the Prom, not from Tidal River. The listing gives 84 Lewis St; the operator lists the jetty at 80 Lewis Street with free parking.
About two hours. You can swim, take a clear kayak or a paddleboard, or walk a short bush track before the boat heads home.
Wildlife Coast Cruises lists A$525 per adult, A$475 concession and A$425 for children aged 3 to 15. The GetYourGuide price is from $360 per person, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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A full day from Port Welshpool past Skull Rock and the lighthouse, with a swim or kayak at Refuge Cove.
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