Ocean Grove is the largest town on the Bellarine Peninsula and is home to just over 11,000 people but like many of our seaside towns swells to much bigger numbers over the Summer period with thousands of holiday makers making their home in the camping grounds, apartments and holiday houses.
Ocean Grove is home to some of Australia’s best beaches and the surf beaches are superb with golden sands and protected dunes. There is also a sandy beach at the up from the mouth of the Barwon River overlooking Barwon Heads which is very popular with families looking for calmer waters for the children. Smiths Beach facing Bass Straight is a favourite for swimmers surfers and people who just want to soak up the sun. There is also good beach fishing along the wide sandy strip.
There are an abundant range of events in the town, many featuring the beach with various surf life saving events, beach runs and Ocean Grove was one of the major venues for the 2007 Surf Lifesaving Games which attracted lifesavers from around the world.
The main strip the Terrace is home to a vibrant cosmopolitan shopping area with good shopping, cafes, restaurants and recently a few bars. There are some great surf shops and the streetscape has recently been upgraded and is decorated with shark fin metal bollards giving the street a great nautical look. Al fresco dining is all the go with many places offering food or refreshments in the outdoors.
With only 25 or so minutes drive to the centre of Geelong, Ocean Grove over the last few years has really grown, there are many new housing estates which has also brought with it great facilities like shopping centres, sporting facilities including a new swimming pool. The town is growing rapidly to the east along the area which was known as Collendina.
Ocean grove has a couple of hidden natural treasures which many people don’t get to see, Blue Waters Lake and the Begola Wetlands are inland waters which feature some great walking tracks and a wide selection of native bird life including pelicans, ibis and other water fowl. Another natural attraction is the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve, found in Grubb road just out of town there are 143 acres set aside for native wildlife and is the last remaining piece of natural bush land on the Bellarine Peninsula. The reserve is home to some koalas and kangaroos, plus possums and plenty of birds.
The Foreshore Reserve is the towns main camping area, where thousands camp between the tea trees each summer in tents, campers and caravans. There is a long park which runs along the eastern side of the Barwon River, once waste land and even a tip the area is now home to a boat ramp and golf course plus parkland and plenty of places for walks and cycling.
The town has also been a popular location for filming, the ABC series Sea Change, filmed during the 1990s, used many locations around Ocean Grove and the film Kenny featuring a toilet hirer also filmed in the area.
Ocean Grove is an ideal base for a holiday with Barwon Heads just over the bridge, rural Wallington with its fun parks only minutes away, and Geelong and Queenscliff only 25 minutes away. The town has so much to offer all year round.
