Seaspray Beach

Seaspray is a coastal town on the Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland. Seaspray's main attraction is its beach, which has a patrolled section in the summer months.

Understand

Seaspray is a small, sleepy town whose holiday homes and campsites get booked out with holidaymakers from Melbourne between Cup Day and Easter. With a long, sandy beach and quiet, flat streets, this town is mostly frequented by families with young children. The ocean fishing here is reportedly excellent. Besides fishing and swimming, there isn't much else to do besides relaxing, bird-watching, and drinking at the Surf Lifesaving Club, which doubles as the town's bar and bistro and has a lovely outdoor area facing the beach.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans the area around Seaspray was home to the Gurnai Kurnai Aboriginal people. Seaspray has been used as a holiday destination since 1871, with the first holiday home being built there in 1886 and the first blocks of land being divided up and sold in 1916. By this time, there were already over 40 houses in the town, which also acted as shopfronts for residents selling food and goods to holidaymakers.

During the winter months, the town is battered by the ceaseless Southern Ocean winds. However, this is the time when southern right whales tend to make their appearance, cavorting close to shore.

Get in

By car

Seaspray is located at the end of the 27 km (17 mi) Seaspray Road (C496), which forks off the South Gippsland Highway (A440). There are two possible routes that can be taken from Melbourne: using the Princes Highway (M1/A1) or the South Gippsland Highway. You can take the Princes Highway directly from Melbourne (note the signage changes from M1 to A1 in Traralgon) to Sale, and once you reach Sale, turn onto the South Gippsland Highway. After about 7 km (4.3 mi), you should reach Seaspray Road. Turn left onto Seaspray Road.

To use the South Gippsland Highway, follow the Princes Highway until Dandenong, where you should head onto the South Gippsland Freeway (M420). Just past Lang Lang, the highway splits off into the Bass Highway and the South Gippsland Highway. Follow the South Gippsland Highway for about 200 km (120 mi), and then turn right on Seaspray Road. There is no fuel in Seaspray, but the nearest petrol station is on Seaspray Road less than 10 km out of town.

By public transport

It is possible to use public transport to navigate to Seaspray, though it requires quite a bit of patience and planning. There is a bus service on Thursdays that operates from Gippsland Centre in Sale to Seaspray, with 2 buses leaving at 9AM and 2PM respectively for a journey lasting just under 30 minutes. The full timetable for this bus service is available here, and you can buy the ticket on the bus.

Navigating from Melbourne, if you want to take the 9AM service, you must leave the night before, taking a late night service on Wednesday from Southern Cross station to Traralgon and staying overnight. Early on Thursday morning, a coach service leaves from Traralgon railway station at 7:45AM and arrives at Gippsland Centre in Sale at 8:25AM, from where you can take the Seaspray bus service at 9AM. You can use a Myki card for the Traralgon train service, but you must book the coach service in advance, and you get the ticket from either Southern Cross or Traralgon stations. The timetable for the Traralgon train service is here, and the Sale coach service here.

For the 2PM service, you have two options. You can either take the train directly to Sale train station from Southern Cross station, which leaves at 7:16AM and arrives at 10:21AM, and then spend lunchtime in Sale before taking the 2PM bus, or you can take a train to Traralgon from Melbourne and take the coach to Sale from Traralgon. The Traralgon train leaves Southern Cross at 9:25AM and arrives at 11:48AM, while the coach service leaves Traralgon at 11:58AM and arrives at Gippsland Centre at 1:16PM. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options: the train to Sale is simpler, but doesn't take you to the bus stop, where you'll have to walk to, while interchanging in Traralgon takes you straight there. The timetable for the Sale train service is here, the Traralgon train service here, and the Sale coach service here.

Get around

There are no taxis or public transport within the town, so visitors will either need to walk or use their own transport.

See and do

• 1 Merriman Creek. Merriman Creek feeds into the sea at Seaspray, and there's a boating ramp, fishing platform and picnic area beside the creek here. Fishing bait is available at the Mini Mart. The waters are calm and very shallow especially at the mouth end, making it also good for swimming. (updated Apr 2021)
• 2 Seaspray Beach. Part of the larger Ninety Mile Beach, Seaspray's biggest attraction is its beach. While generally safe, there can be strong currents at the beach. When swimming, stay away from rips and the outer bar, and stay within the red and gold flags. The beach is wide and low with golden sand. During summer months, the beach is patrolled. (updated Apr 2021)

Buy

• 1 Seaspray General Store & LPO, 37 Foreshore Rd, ☏ +61 3 5146 4209. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 9AM-noon. General store with small range of essentials, ice, hot food, cold drinks, and acts as a post office. No petrol. (updated Apr 2021)
• To do a serious grocery or beer run, you'll need to head to Sale which has major supermarkets and shops.

Eat

• 1 Waves Bistro & Sandbar, 10 Foreshore Rd, ☏ +61 3 5146 4231, admin@seaspraysurfclub.org.au. Bistro restaurant located in the Surf Life Saving Club. Has a teriffic outdoor seating overlooking the beach. Live music. (updated Apr 2021)
• Besides the SLSC and the general store, food trucks and coffee carts often set up shop on the foreshore between the SLSC and the caravan park during the summer months.

Sleep

• 1 Seaspray Caravan Park, 1 Futcher Rd, ☏ +61 3 5146 4364, hello@seaspraycaravanpark.com. Check-in: Sites: noon-7PM. Cabins: 2-7PM, check-out: By 11AM. Caravan park with powered sites a stone's throw from the beach. Also offers a 3 bedroom cabin. A jumping pillow and a playground is available at the park for kids. (updated Apr 2021)
• There are also 20 free camp sites along the road between Seaspray and Golden Beach. These are imaginatively named "Camp 1" to "Camp 20" and are signposted. They vary in size. Some sites are shaded, some not, Some have pit latrines, some don't. None have water and all are plagued by mosquitos at certain times of year.

Connect

Seaspray has good 4G reception with Telstra and Optus. There is a public phone outside the Mini Mart. Note that all Telstra public phones in Australia are free.

Go next

• Wilsons Promontory is never too far away, and contains a number of beautiful beaches, as well as hiking opportunities and the southernmost point of the Strayan continent.