beautiful Victoria and surrounds

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42years ago I travelled on the ship Canberra to Melbourne in the state of Victoria.
I was unable to stay there at that time due to family commitments.

This holiday has been an opportunity to re-visit this lovely place.

There are many ways of travelling to Australia, we chose to go direct with no stopovers only changing 'planes at Dubai. This proved to be the best choice for us.

We arrived early morning in Melbourne, collected the hire car and set off for Rye, which is on the Mornington Peninsular, about 90km south of Melbourne.

The weather was cold, wet and uninviting. The traffic was horrific, not at all what we expected, more like home. We had to pay conjestion charges for using the city-linkand we were very tired.

Following an Aussie welcome we set off to explore and found a land off plenty.

The peninsular has a bay on either side of it. on the Rye side is Port Phillip Bay where the liners etc. sail up to Melbourne at the head of the bay. This is a like an inland sea, which is a haven for dolphins as well as many different sea birds.

On the other side of the peninsular is Western Port Bay which has two large islands, French Island, a former penal colony and now a wild life sanctuary and Phillip Island home to the little penguins ( fairy penguins) also the Koala sanctuary.

I used to live in Mornington on Port Phillip Bay about half way to Melbourne from Rye. It was interesting to see all the changes, from a sleepy seaside village to a very popular market town, a favorite holiday destination.
We visited on the day of the Round the World Yatch Race, when anyone with a boat took to the sea. The skyscrapers of Melbourne were seen on the horizon.

From Melbourne to the tip of the peninsular at Point Nepean on the bayside is very pretty and well worth the trip. Along the way are beautiful sandy beaches, small towns, museums, churches and 174 vineyards, many with cellar door sales and restaurants.

We found the local websites very useful, prior to travel.

The scenery is ever changing depending on the time of day and the weather, but we consistently met nice people, welcoming, warm and friendly. Friendships that we hope will last a lifetime.

On the back beaches the coastline is more rugged and the sea wilder, with huge waves that only the bravest would tackle. The force of the sea has worn the rocks away and created formations, which deserve names like London Bridge.

Another majestic rock to visit was at Port Schank, famous for its lighthouse, which is now a museum and currently being re-furbished. One look at the steps and boardwalk down to the rock and I decided to stay on the top. I knew that I could get down but was unsure about getting back up again, despite the pull of baby seals on the rocks. The colours in the seabed were stunning and made it worthwhile.

Rye itself has an interesting history. In 1802 Matthew Flinders sailed into Rye with the first Britons and created the first settlement and later arrived at Melbourne, Sydney was already settled. This end of the peninsular was famous for its Lime Kilns, lime was mined and burnt here, to be used in the building trade. Melbourne was built on lime from Rye, which was then shipped to the port of Melbourne, which is now a prestigious place to live.

Whilst in Rye the Sand Sculpting Australia competition was held. This entailed 3,000 tonnes of sand being brought in and 18 sculptors working for 21 days to produce the unique sculptures.
This championship is now in its 5th year. The procedes went to blindness and low vision services.

Another good day out is at Point Nepean at the very tip of the peninsular.
This is a very historic site, which had been closed to the public for over 100years, now you can explore Forts, tunnels and enjoy the excelent views of both sides of the point
. Parts of the park are still closed to the public due to the presence of unexploded bombs.
You can choose how you access the park, on foot, on cycles or on their transporter.No cars are allowed and can't go near the sealed areas.

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Photos

Regatta
Getting ready for the Round the World Yatch race

Mornington
I used to live here

Picnic area
Victoria has lots of gorgeous picnic areas

Cape Schank
the other side of the bay

London Bridge
Great for surfers

Western Port Bay
known as the back beach,favorite with the surfers

Kookaburra
standing at least 15feet and made entirely of sand

Comments

[Waterman]

Your trip of a lifetime (part 2)
Nice Pictures Glad you had a wonderfull time Down Under Nice to have you back R