Just north of Hell’s Gates, the spectacular entrance to Macquarie Harbour, is Ocean beach. No visit to Strahan is complete without travelling here. Some six kilometres due west of town and facing 8,000km of Great Southern Ocean, it is Tasmania’s longest with nearly 40 kilometres of unbroken beach from Macquarie Heads in the south to Trial Harbour in the north.
If you want to experience what the end of the world is really like it is worthwhile standing on this hard, flat beach watching the huge waves relentlessly breaking and realising that those waves, travelling on the Roaring Forties, have not made contact with land between Australia and Patagonia. At this point you are further south than the Cape of Good Hope and on the same latitude as the southern reaches of Patagonia, on the southern tip of South America. The beach is wild and beautiful, the sunsets are impressive. You can also watch the Muttonbirds return to their nests at dusk from a day’s feeding and depart again at dawn.
Ocean Beach offers some great beach fishing that is comparable to anywhere. The main fishing from here is Australian Salmon, sharks and skate. One excellent spot here is at the mouth of the Henty River. Anyone wishing to drive along Ocean Beach to access its fishing spots should be very wary of the quick sand, common throughout this area. It is suggested to obtain local advice before the trip.

View Larger Map