Mornington Peninsula

I have a hire car for the weekend again, so I could explore more around Melbourne. On Saturday I went to the Mornington peninsula, which forms the land between the southern reaches of Port Phillip bay and the Bass Strait. Driving there brought it home to me how much Melbourne sprawls. I travelled to nearly 60km from the centre of Melbourne as the kookaburra flies before I stopped and I felt I had barely left the city. A bit like driving from London to Maidenhead, I suppose. "Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough". But I digress...

I drove to the top of Arthur's Seat (named after the famous Edinburgh landmark), some 314m above the bay below. This is the view looking towards the tip of the peninsula.

Looking north I could just make out the cityscape of Melbourne, but it was too hazy for my camera to see it. I did the short lookout and statues walk around the Seawind Gardens, ravaged by bushfire a few years ago, but now replanted with indigenous plants. It is haven for wildlife and I saw my first pair of Fairy Wrens, although when I heard them sing I realised I'd heard plenty more of them.

I went on down to the bayside and travelled along the edge towards Point Nepean. The shallow sloping, calm and beautifully white-sanded beaches are ideal for children. I stopped at the original settlement site of 1803 at Sullivan Bay - abandoned after 7 months because of lack of water and suitable timber.

A little further on, at Sorrento, I came across this children's play area.

I was curious about the names carved in the wooden railings. At the entrance I came to the answer - there was a plaque saying the play area had been created in the space of just 5 days in 1994 by 1800 volunteers. Wow! That was some makeover team.

At the end of the peninsula is the Point Nepean National Park where you can walk the last 3km to Fort Nepean at the heads of Port Phillip bay.

The entrance to the bay is quite narrow and known as the Rip, because of its strong currents. Over the other side you can see the beginning of the Surf Coast at the eastern end of the Great Ocean Road.

On the path back up from the point itself I was rewarded with this sight...

It's an echidna. I'd seen them in captivity at Healesville and Ballarat but not in the wild before.

On the Bass Strait side of the peninsula are what are called the "back beaches". I stopped at Blairgowrie back beach for a stroll and a paddle. The water was so inviting, but the undertow looked fierce.

The peninsula is also know for its wineries. So I had to visit at least one or two. Here at The Cups I met this happy couple soaking up the sun on the terrace after their tasting.

And as for the wine? Well that's another story...

You can see plenty more of my photos of my day out here on Flickr.