“Adventure awaits beyond those cliffs” a voice whispers in your mind. This is Sorrento back beach. It is a place where the rugged coastline meets the vast Southern Ocean. The Sorrento back beach offers some of the most exciting seascapes in the area.
Sorrento is one of Victoria’s posher seaside resorts. The Sorrento back beach is usually pretty populated. But the place still manages to feel rugged and just a little adventurous. Imagine a scramble along the rock-pools. It offers a certain nostalgia. The simplicity of the seaside offers an almost Victorian experience.
The spectacular amphitheater-like setting of Sorrento back beach is the perfect summer escape. Explore sheltered rock formations reefs and rockpools. Some are large enough to swim in. Set out on a short walk across rocky headlands and through coastal heath. Be amazed by the huge ocean vistas from Cape Schanck to Cape Otway. Look out across Bass Strait.
A short 0.5km circuit track from the lifesaving club up to the historic lookout rotunda provides excellent views along the Southern Peninsula Coast. Add a 1.2km loop to Sphinx Rock. Venture a further 2km east along Coppins Track. Then you will see the spectacular Jubilee Point and beautiful Diamond Bay nearby.
But be aware. Sorrento back beach is a dangerous swimming beach. There are unpredictable rips currents and large waves. Please only swim between the flags. Stay within your limits. Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club patrols this beach every day over the summer and Easter holiday periods. They also patrol each weekend in between.
Before recorded history, the Bunurong people came regularly to gather shellfish from the rock platforms along the coast. To help in hunting game, they periodically lit fires to control the scrub. This gave the area a park-like appearance. You would see the drooping casuarina, moonah and wirily.
The Hon. George Selth Coppin saw in Sorrento the potential for a resort for the general population. His companies purchased much of what became the newly located centre of Sorrento. They built Ocean Beach Road to the back beach amphitheater. Paths were built along the cliff-top. Later, his companies operated a steam tram, with a line from the pier to a café at the amphitheater, from 1890 to 1920.
The Sorrento back beach’s bays and coastal scenery were a tamer environment than the Portsea surf beach. Coppin’s Ocean Amphitheatre, lookout and walking tracks have been incorporated in the Mornington Peninsula State Park. It is a linear foreshore reserve that runs to Cape Schanck. The Sorrento back beach offers a blend of natural beauty. It combines historical significance and recreational opportunities.