What to Pack for the Wilsons Prom Southern Circuit
A Prom-specific checklist: layers for Bass Strait, a stove because fires are banned, and water you'll need to treat.
Updated 5 Jul 2026
The trip you're packing for
The Wilsons Prom Southern Circuit is a three-day coastal loop out of Telegraph Saddle, camping two nights at hike-in sites like Sealers Cove, Little Waterloo Bay and Refuge Cove. It's tent-based, self-sufficient walking on the remote southern half of the Prom: no roads, no shops, patchy phone reception, and Bass Strait weather that can turn from beach day to hail in an afternoon. You carry everything in and everything out.
That shapes the whole packing list. This isn't a hut walk where the shelter and a bunk are provided, and it isn't a car-camp where you can overpack. Every night is a per-person permit you booked in advance, and Parks Victoria caps each campsite at a maximum group size of 12 with a two-night maximum at any one site. Pack like the nearest help is a day's walk away, because it is.
What to wear
Dress for cold, wet and windy even in summer. The Prom juts into Bass Strait, so a warm morning can flip to a cold southerly with rain or hail while you're on an exposed headland.
- A proper rain jacket: fully waterproof hard shell, not "water resistant". This is the single most important item.
- Warm layers: a fleece or light down mid-layer even in January, plus thermals for the shoulder seasons.
- Quick-dry clothing: synthetic or merino. You will get wet; cotton stays wet and cold.
- Sturdy, broken-in footwear with good tread for wet rock, roots and sand. Consider that your feet will be wet at the creek crossings.
- Sun protection: hat, sunglasses, sunscreen. The open beaches and headlands are exposed.
- A warm hat and gloves for camp and early starts, especially April to October.
What to bring
The self-sufficient camping kit, Prom-specific notes in brackets:
- Tent: every southern campsite is tent-only; there are no huts on the loop.
- Sleeping bag and mat: a bag rated for genuinely cold nights; Bass Strait camps get colder than the forecast suggests.
- Stove and fuel: campfires are banned year-round in the southern section, so a stove is the only way to cook or make a hot drink. No stove, no hot food.
- Cookware, bowl, mug, utensil and enough lightweight food for the whole trip, plus a bit spare in case weather delays you.
- Water treatment: a filter, drops or tablets. The campsites have water supply, but treat everything (more on this below).
- Headlamp with spare batteries.
- First aid kit and any personal medication.
- Navigation: a paper map and compass (and the knowledge to use them), plus a downloaded offline map on your phone. Reception is unreliable.
- A personal locator beacon (PLB) is well worth carrying on a remote coastal walk like this.
- Your booking permit: Parks Victoria requires overnight hikers to carry it at all times; a phone screenshot or printout is fine.
- A rubbish bag: there are no bins; you carry out everything, including food scraps.
- Your own toilet paper: it is not supplied at the campsites.
- Dry bags or a pack liner: the one thing you don't want wet is your sleeping bag and spare layers.
Water, fires, and the tidal creek
Three Prom-specific things trip people up:
Treat all your water. The southern campsites have a water supply (tank or creek), but it's untreated. Carry a filter or tablets and treat everything you drink. Refuge Cove and Roaring Meg have composting toilets; none of the camps have showers or bins.
No fires, ever. Campfires are not permitted at any time in the southern section, and on Total Fire Ban days even camp stoves may be restricted. Check the fire situation before you go and always carry enough no-cook food to get by.
Time the Sealers Creek crossing. At Sealers Cove you cross Sealers Creek off the beach. At high tide it's deeper and getting your pack across dry can be tricky, so check the tide times for your day and aim to cross on a lower tide. Heavy rain can also close the Sealers Cove area entirely, so check current park conditions before you drive down.
One current note worth checking: the direct Sealers Cove Walking Track has been closed, with the route following the Telegraph Track instead (about 25 km from Telegraph Saddle to Sealers Cove), which lengthens the days. Closures change, so confirm the current route on the Parks Victoria page before you finalise your itinerary.
When to go
You can walk the circuit year-round, but the seasons are very different. Summer is warm and the beaches are at their best, and it's the busiest and first to book out. Autumn and spring are the sweet spot: quieter, often settled, cooler walking. Winter is cold, wet and windy off Bass Strait, with short days; beautiful, but a trip for people who are ready for it. Whenever you go, tell someone your itinerary and expected return, and pack as if the weather will turn, because on the Prom it often does.
If your dates are booked out
Popular dates, especially Sealers Cove on summer weekends, sell out well ahead. Here's the thing though: the circuit is rarely actually full. Plans change and cancellations trickle back constantly, so a single freed permit at the right campsite can reopen a trip that looked gone for months.
That's what we do. Spotbagger watches the Parks Victoria booking page often and alerts you the moment a complete two-night loop opens up for your party, so you can grab it before anyone else refreshes. Set up a watch on the Southern Circuit, and if you want the full playbook of alternatives while you wait, read what to do when the Southern Circuit is booked out.
Itineraries in this guide
Can't get a booking?
We'll watch for you.
Spotbagger checks the booking page often. The moment a spot opens, we'll tell you.
