Bunurong Marine National Park (a.k.a. Eagle's Nest), Victoria, Australia

(Source: Park Victoria)
The Bunurong Marine National Park extends along approximately 5 km of coastline from 2.5 km east of Cape Patterson in Southern Gippsland to the eastern end of Eagles Nest Beach (about 6 kilometres south-west of Inverloch), and offshore for approximately three nautical miles to the limit of Victorian waters, encompassing a total of approximately 2,100 hectares

 

The Bunurong coast is special - a coast full of striking rock formations, attractive sandy coves, rugged sandstone cliffs and prominent headlands. The coastal waters also contain a remarkable range of habitats that support abundant marine life, nurtured by an unusual set of environmental conditions. The name "Bunurong" refers to the local Aboriginal group that have lived in this area for thousands of years and have used the coast extensively for food gathering.

Eagle's Nest beach, Victoria, Australia

It's a little wonder how Eagle's Nest got its name ;) - the rocky surface, earthy colours + the interesting contrast between the sky, clear water & landscape: Magnificent coastal scenery!

The park contains extensive intertidal platforms and subtidal rocky reefs that are uncommon along the Victorian coast. These sandstone areas provide numerous microhabitats and contribute to the area having a very high diversity of intertidal and shallow subtidal invertebrates. There is a mixed assemblage of brown algae and seagrass, supporting a high proportion of Victoria's marine invertebrates, including brittle stars, sea cucumbers, barnacles, sea anemones and chitons.

Things to do
The most common activity at Bunurong Marine National Park is observational rockpooling, about 22 per cent of tourists visiting the rockpools at some stage in their visit. Other activities include sunbathing, beach activities, swimming, surfing, cliff-top sight seeing, observational SCUBA diving and boating, as well as education and research.

The major tourism activities are focused around the township of Cape Patterson, situated to the west of the Marine National Park.