Portland Victoria Australia
Australia
17
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Crystal Cruises (11 Cruises)
Crystal Symphony
11 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
At the deep-water port, still working with its log and aluminium carriers, a few minutes from the town centre. The main streets are reached on foot or by a short shuttle.
Because the Henty family established here in 1834 the first permanent European settlement in what would become the state of Victoria. Long before Melbourne and its towers, there was this shore swept by Bass Strait winds, its whalers and its stone warehouses.
A complete sperm whale skeleton greets visitors, a reminder of the era when whaling made the bay's fortune. Models, shipwreck accounts and navigation instruments trace two centuries of maritime history, including the local lifeboat's role in the Admella disaster.
Yes, in the southern winter: southern right whales, once hunted here, now return to calve in the bay. The visitor centre keeps an updated board showing which whales are in the bay during the cold season.
A viewing platform at the edge of town overlooking Australia's only mainland colony of Australasian gannets. Hundreds of white birds incubate within tens of metres of visitors before diving headlong into the open water.
An 1884 white lighthouse standing above cliffs where the Southern Ocean swell explodes, fifteen minutes away by road. A little further, Cape Bridgewater holds a petrified forest of strange shapes and a fur seal colony visible from the headland trails.
Yes, with restored period cars running along the waterfront between the botanic gardens, established in 1857, and the wharf precinct. The commentated ride is a perfect introduction to the call.
The Maritime Discovery Centre, the waterfront tram to the botanic gardens, a wander through the bluestone streets, then Point Danger and its gannet colony. The capes need an excursion or a taxi.
The dark basalt typical of Victoria, used to build the customs house, courts and mid-19th-century cottages. Several of those venerable facades now hold cafés and galleries, and the whole gives the streets a strong character.
Dress in layers and keep a windproof jacket handy, even in sunshine: Bass Strait weather changes fast. The cafés on Percy Street serve solid Australian lunches to restore you.
