Five unique Australian lighthouse stays
Australia’s lighthouses were built mainly in the 19th century before GPS became a thing and sailing ships needed beacons to avoid hitting rocks and sinking. Now they're being used to search for the perfect weekend escape.Lighthouses are still used today for their primary use but they also make a great excuse to explore relatively remote coastal areas and perhaps stay in the original housing used for their historic and heroic keepers. Here are five lighthouses around the country to visit and stay at.
Cape Willoughby, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Cape Willoughby is a rugged outpost on the eastern end of Kangaroo Island. The lighthouse is South Australia’s oldest and was built in 1853 to guide ships coming from the east into the Adelaide region. Made from hand-hewn granite blocks, the 20-metre tower was manned by three families and the good news is, their cottages are now self-contained accommodation welcoming guests. Day-trippers can climb the tower for a wonderful view and learn some history during one of several daily tours.
Sugarloaf Point, NSW
Just North of Newcastle in the Myall Lakes National Park you’ll find this 1875 lighthouse overlooking Seal Rocks. The rocky, convoluted stretch of coastline saw plenty of shipwrecks back then but now from the top of the lighthouse tower (unusual for its external spiral staircase), you’re more likely to see whales migrating. The view is spectacular and to make the most of it, stay in one or both original lightkeepers’ cottages (they sleep up to 20 in total) and watch the sunrise over the ocean next morning.
Cape Otway, Victoria
A clue to the Cape Otway Lightstation’s existence is this stretch of coastline in Victoria’s west known as the Shipwreck Coast. Hundreds of vessels went down during the 19th century and the Beacon of Hope (as it was known) was built in 1848 to help navigation. Nowadays the lighthouse makes a wonderful detour on a Great Ocean Road trip to the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, while the old telegraph building and cottages offer accommodation. The scenery is spectacular, the history grim but fascinating.
Cape Capricorn, Curtis Island, Queensland
You need to be a dedicated lighthouse-spotter to reach Cape Capricorn. It’s a 35km drive from Gladstone – itself 530km north of Brisbane – and a car ferry ride out to Curtis Island. But the trip is worth it for not one but three lighthouses built between 1875 and 1964 to help ships navigate this section of the Great Barrier Reef. Once there you’ll want to stay a while in either of two homesteads or two cottages with 360-degree views of coastline and tropical waters, with walking tracks and even an original rail trolley to access the beach.
Low Head Pilot Station, Tasmania
Tasmania has many remote rocky outcrops with beacons to guide ships, but the good news about Low Head is its accessibility, being just 40 minutes north of Launceston at the mouth of the Tamar River. The lighthouse was built in 1805 making it Australia’s oldest and looks striking in its candy-striped red-and-white livery. But the precinct offers much more with a cafe, a platypus enclosure for the kids, penguin tours in the evening and some great accommodation in cosy cottages.
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