Local Attractions

Long Beach is a safe family beach with gentle surf and is quite unique as it is one of the few beaches where you are able to drive your car onto the sand. A unique part of Robe’s heritage. Great spot for swimming and surfing. Larger surf is usually from 3rd ramp onwards.

Town Beach is a safe family beach and this is where VacSwim swimming lessons take place each summer. Explore Girl and Boy Rock (or Butchers Rock) to the west or take a swim out to the pontoon.

There is a Beach Wheelchair available for hire (free of charge) from the Robe Library & Visitor Information Centre for use at Town Beach. This needs to be pre-booked and paperwork signed before use. Call 08 8768 2465 for more information.

Hoopers Beach is a safe family beach which is generally calm. There are rocky reef sections at each end of the beach. Great for swimming, snorkelling, kayaking or stand up paddle boarding.

Karatta Beach is home to the Robe Yacht Club. It is a safe family beach, and a great beach to sail from.

Fox’s Beach is a safe family beach with rocky reef sections.

West Beach walk over the dunes to experience the back boggy beaches. Not safe to swim here!

The Outlet is where the Drain L lakes system drain into the sea, this area is popular for waterbirds including pelicans, ibis and egrets, and great for exploring.

Little Dip Conservation Park Beaches showcase the beautiful, rugged coastline of the Limestone Coast and is lined by coastal sand dunes. Four-wheel drive access only to most of these beaches. Great spots for diving and snorkeling.

Wrights Bay Beach is an unearthed treasure of the region. The beach begins north of the Wrights Bay Caravan Park, car parking is available, it is recommended that experienced four-wheel drivers only access the beach by vehicle.

Stony Rise is an exposed beach and reef break that has consistent surf year-round.

There are many different places to go fishing in Robe, whether it be from the beach, jetty, marina or from a boat. A few of the fishing spots around Robe are:

• Lake Butler Marina and the channel
• Robe Jetty
• Breakwater
• Long Beach – past 3^rd ramp is great for surf fishing
• West Beach
• Drain L Lakes system (Lake Battye, Lake Nunan, Pub Lake & Fox’s Lake)
• Jumbo’s Landing
• Use the Boat Ramp (4 lane boat ramp) to go fishing from your boat. Permits can be purchased from the Council Office, the Robe Library & Visitor Information Centre or for the ticket machine at the Boat Ramp.

Robe Jetty is Robe’s 4th jetty and 3rd Government jetty.

The Obelisk stands proudly on the point of Cape Dombey. A local builder erected the 40-foot Obelisk in 1855 for $460 to act as a landmark for shipping & to contain rocket fired lifesaving equipment for stricken ships. The structure was originally white, but Captains found it difficult to differentiate it from Long Beach’s white sand hills. In 1862 it was repainted in alternate red & white bands. On a clear day, it can be seen from 20km away. Eventually tidal erosion will result in the Obelisk collapsing into the sea. *Park at the Old Goal Ruins and walk to view the Obelisk.

Little Dip Conservation Park is an incredible natural playground for visitors wanting to go four-wheel-driving, fishing, bushwalking, camping and mountain bike riding. There are several lakes located throughout the park, each with their own unique character. The main lakes to visit are Lake Eliza, Big Dip Lake and the Fresh water Lake. There are also areas around the lakes which provide a haven for the birdwatchers.

Lake Butler Marina is the home of our crayfishing fleet & recreational boats. Lake Butler is a natural lake that was once closed to the sea. Fishermen used to moor their boats out in the bay during fishing season, and then drag them across the sand hills to moor in Lake Butler during the winter weather. In 1964, a 2m deep channel was dug to allow the fishing boats safe haven all year round. A fisherman’s memorial was built to honour the fishermen lost at sea.

Lake Fellmongery (Ski Lake) This large freshwater lake was given its industrial sounding name in 1853 when a fellmongery was established there to wash wool salvaged from a wrecked ship in Guichen Bay, the barque Duilius.

Royal Circus & Customs House The flagstaff was erected when Governor Frederick Holt Robe & Surveyor Thomas Burr took the first theodolite bearings for the town in 1846. The Matthew Flinders Memorial Seat commemorates the first English survey of the southern Australian coast by Captain Matthew Flinders in 1802. From here you can see Baudin Rocks named by Flinders after Captain Nicolas Baudin who led the French naval expedition which carried out the first survey of the South East Coast and Guichen Bay. The Cannon is reputed to be from the barque “Koning Willem II” wrecked in 1857.

Soldier’s Memorial First World War memorial and German naval mine which was found planted offshore and towed to Long Beach for deactivation in 1941.

Robe Lighthouse was built in 1972 to replace the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse and is fully automatic and unmanned.

Doorway Rock with its “doorway” created by the constant crashing of waves on the Limestone.

The Old Gaol was built about 15 years after settlement in 1860 to house prisoners who had formerly been sent to Adelaide for trial. There were a number of escapes where prisoners assaulted guards and on one occasion, picked their way through the gaol walls. The walls were later reinforced with boilerplates from the Admella ship wreck.

Beacon Hill Lookout Tower The rebuilding of the Robe Lookout Tower at Beacon Hill took place as part of the Robe “150” Celebrations in 1996. The old wooden structure was removed and replaced by a circular paddock stone tower offering panoramic views of Robe. It was also used as a navigational aid for fishermen and was formerly called “One Tree Hill”.

The Chinese Memorial Remembers the 17,000 Chinese who landed at Robe between 1857 and 1863 on the lure of the Victorian goldfields. Here is the seawall and jetty site –3 jetties were built between 1842 and 1866 and “Pai Fang” Welcoming Gate.

Lake Fellmongery (Ski Lake) This large freshwater lake was given its industrial sounding name in 1853 when a fellmongery was established there to wash wool salvaged from a wrecked ship in Guichen Bay, the barque Duilius. A great place for water skiing.

Drain L Lakes (Lake Battye, Lake Nunan, Pub Lake & Fox’s Lake (Park of the Drain L Lakes system) is one of the many man-made drains that crisscross the South East and earlier this century converted the area from swamps to fertile farming land. It links the small lakes which are popular bream fishing spots. A great place for fishing and non-motorised water sports such as kayaking, windsurfing and stand up paddle boarding.

Lake Charra is a breeding spot for local black ducks.