You can stay at a stunning lightstation in Victoria - with whales for company

When the only way to reach a lighthouse is by a five- to six-hour hike, you get some inkling of the solitude and isolation its early keepers must have experienced. From a windowed lookout room beneath the granite tower, I scan the blue with binoculars for passing container ships or the blow of whales and feel some affinity with young Helen Musgrave, daughter of Thomas Musgrave, the head lightkeeper from 1869-1878. "A sailing ship becalmed was a joy to us, giving time for long conversations by flags," she wrote.

Wilsons Promontory Lightstation is perched on South East Point, two kilometres, as the crow flies, from mainland Australia's southernmost tip and within Wilsons Promontory National Park, a three-hour drive south-east of Melbourne. Perched 100 metres above the water and almost fully surrounded by it, the lighthouse has been in operation since 1859, evolving from 32 lamps fuelled by whale and rapeseed oils to today's fully automated, high intensity, LED solar-powered light.

Keeping the lights on once took four keepers in round-the-clock three-hour shifts, and a cluster of brilliant white light-keeper cottages with gardens hemmed by drystone walls housed them and their families. Nowadays, the lightstation is managed by Parks Victoria and offers accommodation for up to 22 people in either bunk rooms with shared living areas, or one private cottage with double bed. With a friend, I'm staying two nights, allowing plenty of time to soak up the light-keeper life.

It's a meditation on stars and sunrises, sun and storms. Four resident wombats quietly "mow" the lawns every afternoon and, offshore, we see a dozen humpback whales on their migration - a few close enough for us to hear their misty exhalations. Anything might be spotted if time is taken to sit and observe. In recent years, a guest watched a great white shark hunting a seal on the rocks below; another time, a ranger spied killer whales herding a mother humpback and calf into the shallows (they escaped).

Then there's the history. A tiny museum housed beneath the tower is packed with old equipment, photos and fascinating stories from across the lightstation's 165 years. During WWII, the Australian Navy commandeered it to establish a war signal station, and 31 RAAF personnel were also stationed here. Now, all is peaceful and my 42 hours are spent wandering the granite outcrop, lazing in the sun and savouring the pure air, or sinking into a book in the sun room.

The quickest route here is from Telegraph Saddle, a 17-kilometre hike that follows the path of the old telegraph line that once connected the lighthouse with the outside world. The walk starts on a gravel road, dwindling to single-track through lush rainforest peppered with wildflowers. Though the final 700 metres to the lightstation are a mercilessly steep climb, at least backpacks can be kept light. Cottages have fully-equipped kitchens so only sleeping bags, food and a change of clothes need be carried in.

A slightly longer route back leads us via Waterloo Bay which would surely be a contender for "world's best beach" if it weren't a four-hour walk from the nearest car park. Silica white sand glows almost unfeasibly white, setting off the turquoise water and emerald interior either side. It's entirely our own.

The scenery in this 505-square-kilometre national park is world-class. The Prom was founded on molten magma that hardened to granite about 350 million years ago, and rock bubbles in striking headlands and tors that puncture woodland, rainforest and swampland, all wrapped in dazzling beaches and blue coves. Wildlife loves it, too.

This granite stretches all the way to Tasmania, rising in islands along the way, and we get a closer look at them, and another perspective of the lighthouse, aboard a cruise with Wanderer Adventures. It's a weird feeling driving off the beach and out to sea - their powerboats were custom made to leave no trace with wheels that fold up once waterborne.

I've hiked the coastline many times but seeing the Prom from the water is enlightening, showing steep granite flanks sliding in to the ocean and placing us amid Victoria's largest marine national park. Dolphins zoom beneath the boat and arc alongside. A few passengers yell and point excitedly at the blows of several humpback whales but they're so distant I can't pinpoint them in the surface chop; then one surfaces much closer, its white tail fluke unfolding from the blue and peeling into the air before sinking again.

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Kanowna Island is one of the country's largest colonies of Australian fur seals - about 9000-strong until breeding season when it rises to about 14,000. We pull into a protected nook and dozens of seals slide off their rocky outpost and into the water to greet us, bobbing like black corks in the frothy swell.

When skipper Dave points out a white-bellied sea eagle nest, about two metres across, stuck atop a giant rock, I wonder how on earth it can stay put in such an exposed location. Dave puts it down to "superglue poo". Most impressive though is the granite dome of Cleft Island - aka Skull Rock - a monolith rising 113 metres above the surface with an enormous hollow on one side lined with grass that's almost big enough to house the Sydney Opera House.

Over four days, I lose count how many times we say "wow", and it occurs to me that if you're going to be a lightkeeper, there could be few better outposts.

Getting there: Wilsons Promontory is a three-hour drive south-east of Melbourne. The hike to the lighthouse takes 5-6 hours. Walk independently or go guided with an operator like Park Trek. parktrek.com.au

Staying there: A room in the lightkeeper cottages (BYO sleeping bag) costs from $297 for a two-bed room or $594 for a four-bed room. The Banks Cottage (private cottage for two with full bedding provided) starts at $412 per night. parks.vic.gov.au

Touring there: Wanderer Adventures operate 2.5-hour cruises daily ($155 for adults, $95 for kids). New 5.5-hour cruises covering the entire southern Prom depart Wednesday and Saturday ($295 for adults, $195 for kids). wandereradventures.com.au

Explore more: parks.vic.gov.au;. visitgippsland.com.au

The writer was a guest of Parks Victoria and Wanderer Adventures.