Erosion has been a huge problem along the beaches close to Apollo Bay in recent years. We got photos along the main beach in 2019. They had blocked access to a coastal walking trail because the path was starting to erode. The erosion was also pretty bad between Apollo Bay and Marengo.
The council would do sand restoration/re-nourishment, but that never lasted for long. Any sand would be washed away on the next large tide or storm. It was incredibly frustrating to see; they were disrupting local ecosystems for a temporary solution. It felt like the council were delaying making a long term, sustainable decision. I was getting incredibly angry and I’m from Geelong!
In 2021, stage two of the Apollo Bay Foreshore Protection Project was completed. This meant that there were three new groynes and 650 meters of rock revetment.
I gotta admit, I’m impressed! The area felt a lot safer and it felt like someone finally gave a day. My aunt did tell me that, as a result, less people were swimming along this stretch of beach. Instead, many had moved to the beach next to the Marengo rockpools. I wasn’t there long enough to make proper observations.
