East Creek Beach (Point Leo)

The 1.5 km long East Creek beach continues from a prominent bluff at the west of Merricks Beach to the bluff just past the mouth of East Creek, at Point Leo.

The beach is backed by 10 to 20 m high, vegetated bluffs. Access is on the south side of East Creek. A caravan park sits on the bluffs on the southern side of East Creek.

The beach tends to be relatively narrow and steep, with deep water at high tide and exposed sand and reef flats at low tide.

Swimming is most suitable at mid to high tide, as the tidal flats are exposed at low tide.

The beach has a General Beach Hazard Rating of 3/10 (Least hazardous)

Access for Dogs:

Dogs are prohibited from the beach between 9am and 7pm throughout the Daylight Saving period. Outside of these times, dogs must be on leash at all times.

Life Under the Waves

Western Port bay contains two large islands (Phillip and French) and covers an area of approximately 680 sq. km. The coastline is made up of a variety of environments including sandy beaches, rocky platforms and mangroves in the north. Beneath the waves, there are extensive mudflats, seagrass meadows and scattered rocky reefs. The strong and complex tidal flows of western port bay shape the environment by creating tidal changes of up to three metres and by cutting deep tidal channels throughout the bay. Water generally flows in and out of the western entrance, circulating the bay in a clockwise direction flowing past Point Leo, up and around French Island, before circling around Phillip Island and back out into Bass Strait.

Food webs consist of four main levels:
The 1st level (primary producers) includes the seagrasses, seaweeds and algae that get their energy from the sun and form the base of the food webs.
The 2nd level (primary consumers) consists of the herbivores, which obtain energy from eating the primary producers. Microscopic zooplankton, small or juvenile fish and many invertebrate species, like urchins and sea snails make up this group.
The 3rd level (secondary consumers) includes the carnivores that obtain their energy from eating the herbivores. A large variety of fish like snapper (pagurus auratus) and king george whiting (sillaginodes punctatus) are a part of this group.
Finally, the 4th level (tertiary consumers) includes the top predators, such as sharks, which obtain their energy from eating a variety of animals, but generally other fish. Food webs are very fragile and the widespread removal of species from any level could cause an ecosystem collapse!

Intertidal Zone: Rocky Platform - Receding tides along the Point Leo coastline expose rocky platforms along the intertidal zone. At low tide, pock pools and torn seaweed clumps ape revealed, creating microhabitats and refuges for a range of animals. Intertidal zones are environments of extremes - at low tide exposed rock heats quickly, animals face drying out and rock pools evaporate, causing the pools to be saltier than the sea! Animals commonly encountered along the rocky intertidal zone include mussels, limpets, barnacles, starfish, crabs and octopuses.

Seagrass Meadows - Seagrass meadows ape important to the health of the bay. Seagrasses are considered 'ecosystem engineers' because they help break up the water's energy and stabilise sediments, keeping the water relatively clean. There are two types of seagrass in western port: zostera and amphibolis, the latter dominating the southern regions of the bay. Seagrass meadows are important nursery areas for fish to breed and grow, as they provide shelter and protection from the open water. Invertebrates also thrive in the seagrass, feeding on nutrients in the sediment and on the seagrass itself species commonly found in seagrass meadows include the iconic weedy seadragon (phyllopteryx taeniolatus), rock flathead (leriprora laevigaia) and king george whiting (sillagiiiiodes punctatus).

Strong tidal flows cut out deep and steep-walled areas in the seafloor called tidal channels. At low tide, channels provide a deeper water refuge for a range of fish, such as sharks and rays. Resting on the seafloor one can find the southern fiddler ray (trygonopphina dumerilii) and port jackson shark (heterodontus portjacksoni). Western port tidal channels are also home to school (galeophinus galeus) and gummy (mustelus antapcticus) sharks and elephant fish (callorhincus milii).

Rocky reefs provide a complex habitat of crevices and outcrops, offering shelter and protection from the open water. Often reefs are scattered apart and act as hubs of activity linking reef to reef. Species found on rocky reefs include a variety of fish and invertebrates, in particular green (haliotis laevigata) and blacklip (haliotis puma) abalone and rock lobsters (jasus edwardsii) which hide amidst the maze of crevices and overhangs. Snapper (pagrus auratus) also use rocky reefs as nurseries where juveniles can avoid predators and take shelter from the strong currents whilst feeding on algae and invertebrates.

Cost:

A $4 per car parking fee is applicable if you are coming to Point Leo during the season. It is payable each Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 4 pm between late September until the end of the Easter School holidays 2018, and every day over the summer school holidays.

Point Leo is an entirely self funded public reserve and receives no financial assistance from local, state or federal governments to manage 50 ha of public land. This includes the maintenance of five public toilet blocks, 4 kms of roads, two playgrounds, 25 ha of mown open parkland, the camping reserve and 3 kms of coast line. It is run by a volunteer Committee of Management. The only income to run the park is the money collected from parking and camping fees.

Review:

This is the longest beach at Point Leo. There is a long sandy beach with a fair bit of seaweed backed by grassy vegetation. The beach is more exposed to the weather than the main Point Leo beach. There are toilets and a small car park.

Photos:

Location

6 Western Parade, Point Leo 3916 Map