Gunnamatta

Gunnamatta is an exposed sandy beach break underpinned by rocky reefs and permanent rip channels that cut through the sandbar every 300 meters. Waves peel in both directions and typically reach waist-high with frequent opportunities to reach double overhead during larger swells. Southwest swell with northeast winds generates the most consistent conditions, favoring mid to high tide when the bar structure is most rideable.

The Peninsula Surfriders Club established Gunnamatta as their home beach in 1974. The spot now hosts the Victorian Open Championship and Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles, both major competitive events that serve as qualification pathways for state and national surfing. The beach regularly attracts strong regional competitors and remains the Mornington Peninsula's most popular and consistent surf destination.

Access is via Truemans Road with two carparks and facilities supporting the three-kilometer shoreline. Multiple break zones scatter along the beach—near the main carparks, fronting the surf club, and at a location known as the Pumping Station. Recreational walkers also use the exposed beach, following it east toward Fingal and Cape Schanck or west to Boag Rocks. Rip currents are the defining hazard and intensify at low tide; rocks, reefs, and shark presence reinforce this as a high-energy, potentially dangerous exposed coast.