Cape Bridgewater - Petrified Forest and Blowholes
The Petrified Forest and Blowholes are easily accessible from the car park at the end of Blowholes Road, Cape Bridgewater.
Cape Bridgewater (Blowholes)
The blowholes are rock tunnels that have been etched out of the volcanic rock by the waves. During rough seas, they spout spray high into the air. Old Aboriginal middens can also be seen along the cliff tops.
Length: Short
Walk: 10 minutes from the car park
Track: Good/solid
Grade: Gentle
Start: Blowholes car park
Finish: Blowholes car park
Nearby: Portland
Permits/bookings: None required.
Cape Bridgewater (Petrified Forest)
The area is called the petrified forest from an early theory that advancing sand engulfed an ancient forest of coastal trees that once covered the sea cliff, petrifying them for all time.
Actually the formation is a collection of hollow tubes of limestone called "solution pipes", eroded by millions of years of rainfall. The process starts when water gathers in a shallow pan of sand and seeps downwards dissolving the limestone. The mineral-saturated water then cements the sand, forming hard, trunk-shaped pipes. Most pipes around Cape Bridgewater are one to three metres high, although some are as high as 20 metres.
Length: Short
Walk: 10 minutes from the car park
Track: Good/sand
Grade: Gentle
Start: Blowholes car park
Finish: Blowholes car park
Nearby: Portland
Permits/bookings: None required.
Review:
On the way to the car park you pass 29 windmills which can be interesting for the kids. The windmills have 82m diameter blades. Both, the Petrified Forest and Blowholes are easily reached from the car park within a few minutes.
There are views of the steep cliffs and waves crashing below, although you need to be careful since the cliffs are unstable. From the kids perspective the blowholes would be more interesting provided the weather is fairly rough and big spouts are jetting into the air.
This is also the start of a 5.5km walk to the Cape Bridgewater seal colony (there is an alternative shorter, steeper route from near the Cape Bridgewater Bay cafe.
It is often cold and very windy, so make sure you have a jumper or jacket handy.
Photos:
Location
Blowholes Road, Cape Bridgewater 3305 Map
Web Links
→ Cape Bridgewater Geological Features (PDF)
