I joined other photographers at Gunnamatta Surf Beach for the Igers Melbourne June Instameet to capture this spectacular landscape and beach during the golden hour and sunset. Once the sun had set I also shot the Milky Way rising over the beach.
Gunnamatta Beach is an exposed, high energy beach with a wide, rip dominated surf zone. It is located in the Mornington Peninsula National Park and is part of the 30 km long sandy and rocky coast that extends from Cape Schanck to Point Nepean. The Gunnamatta section is 3 km long, with extensive intertidal calcarenite reefs and rocks forming the boundaries, with some smaller reefs on the beach and in the surf. The waves average 1.9 m and combine with the medium sand to produce a 150 m wide single bar surf zone. The bar is cut by strong rips every 300 m, together with additional permanent rips next to major reefs and rocks. The rips intensify around low tide.
