Welcome to Lake Victoria an outstanding wetland area that forms an important part of the larger Swan Bay system.

Location

Lake Victoria is situated between Point Lonsdale and Ocean Grove and is separated from Bass Strait by a narrow strip of coastal dunes.

Site description

Lake Victoria is a shallow sub-coastal lagoon forming part of the Swan Bay systems of wetlands on the Eastern Bellarine Peninsula south-east of Geelong.

It is part of the Lonsdale Lakes Nature Reserve administered by Parks Victoria. Lake Victoria although it varies in water level provides a relatively stable environment for waterbirds maintaining its high salinity even when full and never drying out in summer. Saltmarsh is the dominant vegetation around the lakeshore. It is a natural lake but has been modified by shell-grit mining.  Water enters the lake through urban run-off rainfall and slow seepage.

Click to Enlarge Image

Biodiversity values

Plant communities consist of salt tolerant species typical of coastal dune woodland and saltmarsh in the region.  Woodland and tall shrubland along the southern lakeshore mainly consist of Moonah woodland Melaleuca Lancadolata a species that is listed as threatened in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

81 bird species have been recorded.  These include:

• Waterfowl
• Waders
• Pelicans
• Cormorants
• Herons
• Egrets
• Ibis
• Spoonbills
• Crakes and
• Rails.

There are breeding records for five species and it often supports thousands of birds.  The highest ever recorded as 10 062 birds in 2000.

The lake is of international significance for Red-Necked Stints Banded Stilts and the globally endangered Orange-Bellied Parrot.

A project sponsored by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality program. A joint Initiative of the Victorian and Australian Governments.