There is so much beautiful coast to explore around Wilsons Promontory National Park. Skull Rock, otherwise known as Cleft Island, is located in the Bass Strait about five kilometres south of the most southern point of the Park. I did a memorable return paddle to Skull Rock from Tidal River in April 2017.
I was lucky enough to see seals on this trip. They are captivating to watch in their home environment. Unfortunately there are not as many know as there once was. Early in the 19th century men flocked to the Bass Strait Islands to kill the seals which were valued for their fur and oil. Between 1800 and 1806, about 100,000 seal skins from Bass Strait passed through Sydney, and by 1820 the seals were almost completely exterminated.
Three different seals were originally present in Bass Strait: the Australian elephant seal, the Australian sea lion and the Australian fur seal: but only the fur seals still live there in very small numbers. The elephant seal and sea lion colonies were completely destroyed. The only way these two species will ever return to the Bass Strait is with a significant population growth at colonies south of Tasmania (elephant seal) and west from Kangaroo Island, South Australia (sea lion).
You can see a short video of my paddle via the link below.
Greg Young 