9/11/2018
Friday R & R woke to a dry start to the day even though they were aware
that it had rained during the night. It
was a little early at 6:00am but RA was keen to catch up on the diary from the
day before so she wrote while RL read.
About 8:00am, R & R had breakfast before tidying up. RL put 20lts of fuel in and by 9:00am, they
were on their way to Phillip Island for the day. RA selected a route via Dunes Creek Rd and
Hastings and it took them over the range that runs down the middle of the peninsula
with a few kilometres in the middle which were steep and winding with bends
bearing as low as 30kms for suggested speeds.
That section was forested while, either side of that, R & R saw
small farms with cattle and vineyards.
The Mornington Peninsula would be less than 30kms across at its widest
and it was not long before the road came close to the eastern side near
Warringine Park, a coastal wetland just south of Hastings. RL stopped at the Western Port Marina and
then Hastings Yacht Club to have a coffee and a comfort break. From there they could see, over the waters of
Hastings Bight, the tanks and gas stacks of Long Island Point. From Hastings to Tooradin was about 20kms and
along the way they saw many market gardens, some in green houses and others
outside. R & R were totally
surprised to see a row of workers (nationality unknown) wearing wide brimmed
Chinese straw hats! The large number of
horses, many with foals, was noteworthy.
It was another 55kms from Tooradin to Phillip Island bypassing Koo Wee
Rup and Lang Lang on the South Gippsland Highway and then south on the Bass
Highway. Just before Koo Wee Rup, R
& R stopped to climb Swamp Tower where they bought apples off a doughnut
vendor who also sold vegetables. The
road south along Bass Highway was in good condition with double lanes both ways
until the last 8kms or so and it ran more or less closely to the coast. R & R saw vineyards, horses, alpaca and
cattle farming, a deer farm near Bass and the Maru Koloa and Adventure Theme
Park near Grantville. The sea was a dark
grey mirroring the clouds in the sky.
The highway veered eastward near San Remo and became the Narrows, a long
bridge spanning the waters between the mainland and Phillip Island. Phillip Island is 26km long and 9km wide with
an area of 100 square kilometres. Its
coastline is approximately 97kms. Sixty
percent of the island is farmland taken up with sheep and cattle grazing. R
& R did see other activity like silage in rolls, olive oil and
quarries. A major focus is on tourism
supported by wildlife related attractions and the Grand Prix race track. It was 11:25am when R & R went into the
information centre to enquire about attractions and their prices. As there was only half a day left R & R
were not inclined to rush around different venues using PIE, the Phillip Island
Experience Pass which give access to 3 out of 4 of the best venues for $55
(valid for 12 months) even though it was great value. RL drove to the Grand Prix visitor centre,
established in 1958, before going to Pyramid Rock lookout. The road was unsealed but in good condition
with a blue metal mix on it. R & R
were surprised at the number of Cape Barren Geese, with their distinctive greenish
cream coloured beaks, all over the roads and in the fields of reedy grasses
blowing on the hills and ridges. It was
a little warmer at 16*C about noon when R & R walked the boardwalk out to
look at Pyramid Rock, so RA took her jumper off for the first time in the day. RL drove to The Nobbies and point at the far
western end of Phillip Island. There,
the 1.2km boardwalk traversed windswept coastal cliffs covered in grasses and
succulents like the small pink pig face in bloom. The view down over the rocks and cliffs with
white foam and splashing from the waves that repeatedly crashed onto them
competed for attention with the gulls, geese and the burrows of the tiny fairy
penguin. R & R were lucky enough to
see one at the entrance to its burrow.
It is almost unimaginable how such a tiny fragile creature is able to
get down to the sea each day over such terrain and back again every day. The board walk provided the opportunity to
see where water swept in and out under a rock that was hollow and to see the
blowhole where water swept into a cave-like formation and blew back up and out
again. From several vantage points, seals
could be seen on Seal Rocks about 1.5kms out.
Shortly before 3:00pm, RL headed for Cowes on the northern side of the
island. Cowes is Phillip Island’s CBD
with shops and traffic lights so it was no surprise when RL stopped on the main
street because he had seen an op shop.
There was a short sharp shower of rain as R & R went into three op
shops near the Ute, before driving down to the jetty where tour craft pick up
and drop off tourists. Under the jetty
there were some lovely red rocks most similar to the black ones along the
coast, only a deep maroon colour. It was
4:30pm as RL drove back over The Narrows, away from Phillip Island, up along
the Bass Coast. RA used the Navigator to
get RL to Pearcedale Road in South Cranbourne to refuel at the local general
store where diesel was 154.9c/lt. It
drizzled the rest of the journey home to Dromana using the same route as RL had
driven out on earlier in the day. The
journey from Phillip Island to Dromana was about 120kms and took them just
under two hours (including a couple of kilometres detour and time for fuel) so
it made dinner a little late, but not seriously so. RL watched an episode of Walker – Texas
Ranger while RA wrote her diary. It had
been a long day and RA knew … they would sleep well.
10/11/2018
Saturday RL’s birthday. R & R woke
to a calm and sunny 11*C at 7:30am. They
had a coffee before showers and putting a wash in while breakfasting. Having hung the wash RL read a while and RA
finished off the diary from the day before.
So, it was about 10:00am, when R & R left the house to look at some
of the back beaches in search of ship wrecks and rock pools. First stop was at the Dromana information
centre where the ladies said that, though the maps show where ships have been
wrecked in the past, there are none that are visible from the coast. Craigburn (1891) – Number 16 Beach, Formosa
(1869) & Sierra Nevada (1887) – Point Nepean and Wauchope (1918) – Port
King. As for rock pools, the ladies
suggested Bridgewater Bay and Sorrento Back Beach. Armed with all that information, R & R
set off in the knowledge that whatever they did, there would be constant
interruptions with family ringing for RL’s birthday which began with a call
from their daughter, H, shortly after they left the centre. RL pulled over and chatted for ages while RA
made coffee. By the time R & R
arrived at Bridgewater Bay off St Johns Wood Rd it was nearly noon. There they did not really see any rock pool
that looked like the one described by J, their brother-in-law. They did walk over the ridges to get a good
look at the rock formation. just out at sea, called The Bridge. K, RL’s sister rang. Shortly after, they
drove to Koonya Beach via Hughes St where they saw a rock formation called
Dog’s Head. R & R arrived at
Sorrento Back Beach about 1:15pm ready for lunch and spotted what they thought
might be J’s rock pool under the feature called The Amphitheatre, so they took
a couple of photos as it was only another hour to high tide and they were not
sure how much higher the water would rise over it. Only then did they have lunch and chat with
J, RL’s brother and then E, his sister, before returning a missed call to their
son, J. It was a lovely sunny 17*C so RA
took her jumper off and walked up and over the sand ridge to look at The Sphinx
Rock and back up to the top where standing in the Rotunda gave a 360* view to
the Point and both sides of the peninsula.
On route to shopping at Rosebud Plaza, both S, RL’s brother, and Z, R
& R’s son rang so RL pulled over to stop and chat. While standing at the seeds and nuts in
Coles, C, their daughter’s mother-in-law, also rang, as did RL’s brother, G, on
the way back. So, it was nearly 6:00pm
when R & R got back to Dromana. RA
put the shopping away and fetched the washing in while RL chatted with G. By that time, RA decided that fish and chips
was absolutely on the menu for dinner, so R & R walked down to Dromana
shopping centre to find some. When they
returned, they set the fish and chips up on the coffee table with some cut
salad, in front of the TV, and ate with very little decorum. It really was a birthday treat! No sooner was RA doing the few dishes than
their son, S, rang followed by their daughter, S. RL had driven just on 50kms for the day, seen
three beaches, picked up some groceries and fielded no less than 11 phone calls
with birthday wishes; all the best ingredients for a lovely day … finishing
with fish and chips.
11/11/2018
Sunday It was a calm 10*C when R & R woke at 6:30am to breakfast and be at
Mass by 8:00am just around the corner so there was plenty of time even after
showering. After Mass, R & R chatted
with a local couple who had previously lived in Broome for 30 years and had
just returned from a three months stint on the mission at Kalumburu. When R & R returned, they put a wash in,
had coffee and chatted with R, RL’s sister.
At the appointed hour, they rang A, their granddaughter, to wish her a
happy 7th birthday. Naturally, little R,
their younger grandson, wanted to tell his story and then R & R chatted
with H while she worked on the birthday cake for afternoon tea. R & R gathered up some essentials and set
out for the Point Nepean National Park via London Bridge near Portsea Surf Beach
about 11:30am. From Dromana to London
Bridge was 28kms. The drive to the
bridge was sealed with a huge carpark and good facilities. Part of the beach with access from the sand
to the bridge had suffered a cliff face collapse so it had been closed but it
could be seen quite well from the top so R & R did not stay long. The route to the other side of Point Nepean
and the main entrance of the park and its historical points of interest was
just a few kilometres. R & R were
surprised how many cars were in the carpark near the Gunners Cottage, which
also acts as an information centre, and how many people were coming and going
along the main sealed route and in and out of all the various tracks. Although the walk was just short of three
kilometres to the point itself, it was quite steep and ignored the fact that
the way was littered with paths to look at this or that and required time to
read boards and take photos. Point
Nepean was critical to the defence of Victoria, and Australia, from 1878-1948,
beginning first as a quarantine station for cattle (and later leprosy patients)
and finally, being declared redundant after WWII, was closed to the
public. During that time, it was used
intermittently as a training ground and firing range. For the Bicentennial in 1988, it was reopened
to the public after unearthing some of the buildings and emplacements from sand
that had covered much of them over time.
What remains and the way they have been presented for the public is
invaluable to transmitting an awareness of its unique place in the history of
the area. Parts of the buildings at Fort
Pearce and Point Nepean Fort were in excellent condition, like the Engine House
which was built in 1882 for powering search lights, including some of the
tunnels, which were lit. “Thank
goodness!” RA thought. R & R took
phots at every turn. They were keen to
see the memorial to former Prime Minister, Harold Holt, who disappeared off
Cheviot Beach and were totally impressed by the stone and concrete wall which
surrounded the coast on all sides.
Having got to the end, so as not to feel that they had short changed
themselves, it was 2:30pm, so R & R put the cameras away and set a hot pace
back to the car park. They covered the
2.8kms in just under the half hour. The
journey back to Dromana along Point Nepean Road was about 23kms (a total of
just over 50kms for the day) so R & R were having coffee and chatting with
C & C in their house about 3:30pm.
About 5:00pm, R & R walked down to Dromana foreshore to take a photo
or two of St Marks Anglican Church. The
grounds had been covered with 100s of crocheted poppies! It was spectacular and a wonderful tribute to
the 100 years since Armistice Day 1918.
They returned to fetch the washing in and sort it out. R & R had insisted that they provide
dinner, which was just as well because CA was not feeling great, so they set to
it. Everyone enjoyed meatballs, hot veg
and gravy at the table before retiring to the TV to watch Part 2 – The Days of
Our Lives about the rock band Queen. When
that finished, R & R retired to the camper on the front lawn. R & R’s biggest disappointment about the
afternoon was that they should have allowed a full day, not a half, for the
excursion and, even then … there was a feeling that one would still be left
wanting to go back.
12/11/2108
Monday R & R woke early and got out at 5:30am. So as not to disturb C & C, they had
coffee in the camper and RL read while RA wrote diary. It was a not too cool 11*C and forecast 26*C,
a lovely sunny day. About 8:30am R &
R went upstairs to join C & C for coffee.
C & C had a man coming to look at a window repair job so they
chatted with him for a while. About
10:00am, CT and RL loaded the last of the green waste into the back of CT’s Ute
and took it to the refuse tip while CA did domestics and RA sorted emails and
paid on line accounts like insurance for Officer and the Sat phone bill. An hour and a half later RL and CT returned
so it was about 12:15am before the towels were thrown in the wash and everyone
headed to the local IGA, which just happens to have been voted Australia’s #1
IGA in 2018, to pick up ham and bread to make sandwiches for lunch on their
return. R & R picked up some yoghurt
at the same time. When R & R
returned, they hung the towels. After
late lunch everyone chatted about C & C’s planned trip to Western Australia
in November 2019 before having quiet time for half an hour. Feeling refreshed CT and RL tackled a couple
of jobs: taking a lock off the door downstairs and replacing to make it work
better, hanging a children’s swing from the tree down the back yard, trimming
the tree to make it safe and packing the Ute up with its tools and the new tree
clippings. CA did some more domestics
and RA went back to the shopping centre to buy a dress that she had seen. The day had really warmed to 27*C and because
it was mostly cloudy and still, it had become quite sweaty. By 4:30pm everyone was ready for a drink
before thinking about dinner and turning on the TV. C & C had a couple of favourite game
shows they enjoy watching, so RA used that as an opportunity to write her
diary. A gentle cool breeze could be
felt after 5:00pm. R & R made chow
Mein for dinner for everyone. After
dinner RL watched a TV competition show called “Child Genius” but RA took the
phone down stairs and chatted with her daughter, S. It had been a lovely quiet day … and it felt
a little sad that C & C would be heading off the next morning.
13/11/2018
Tuesday R & R woke a little early at 6:45am after a warm, but not hot,
night, to a temperature of 19*C. R &
R had breakfast and did a few domestics in the camper before heading upstairs
to join C & C for coffee. After a
coffee and a chat, R & R had showers and helped wash up while CT put one of
RL’s CDs in his player for everyone to enjoy.
About 10:00am everyone walked down to the Dromana foreshore along the
main the street and popped into two op shops there. Shortly after getting back C & C decided
to have an early lunch before heading back to Melbourne. There were hugs all round with the knowledge
that their next meeting would not be until November 2019. R & R waved them off and then headed for
a drive up the coast to Mornington. The
Esplanade followed the coast closely, past Safety Beach and Mt Martha. Sometimes, the coast was a cliff face falling
at some depth to the west side of the road and, at other times, the coast was a
beach with beach boxes at the water’s edge.
The road wound through coastal vegetation in some places. Ä bit like Marine Terrace …” RL
commented. Shortly after 2:00pm, RL
parked at the Mornington Park where there was a statue of Matthew
Flinders. R & R walked down to and
along the Mornington Pier. Part of the pier was under repair after wild storms
with 100km/hr winds in 2018 damaged the wave protection barriers. It was a warm
afternoon with a top of 29*C though there was quite a breeze that made the
yacht’s flip upward and dip downward on the waves. From there RL drove into the CBD and parked
the Ute. They had just popped into an op
shop when M, an acquaintance, rang so they went outside and chatted a while
before heading into a couple more op shops and checking out Woolworths and Aldi
to compare some prices. RA wanted to go
on the wetlands walk at The Briars, so about 4:30pm RL headed south down Nepean
Highway a few kilometres. R & R were
really quite disappointed to find that the gates are closed and electrified at
4:30pm. In order to protect the wetlands
fauna, the entire wetlands complex is fenced and gated. R & R popped into the visitor centre and
looked at some of the animals that are protected in the sanctuary. There was
also a café, a restaurant/reception centre, a school camp facility, a historic
homestead, a plant nursery and vineyard.
RA just felt it a shame that they would not have time to go back as they
had promised to see their brother-in-law, J, the next day, in Melbourne. When they returned to Dromana, RL watched the
news on TV while RA wrote the diary before dinner. Both RL and RA were looking forward with a
little trepidation … to seeing J and taking responsibility for him for a while.
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