A calm day at Cape Conran, near Marlo
From here on a clear day you can see the oil rigs in Bass Strait
From Marlo it was only a short drive to Lakes Entrance which is a very popular holiday destination for Victorians - and we can understand why
View from the lookout over Lakes Entrance
We had booked to go to a country music festival in Whittlesea, about an hour north of Melbourne in the midst of where the fires occurred the previous year. At that time the festival was actually on the Black Saturday weekend resulting in everyone being evacuated on the Saturday afternoon. Needless to say it was a very emotional time for the locals and the contrast in the weather couldn't have been greater - quite cool, a bit of rain and very cloudy, but we still had lots of fun there from Friday through to Sunday when the main concert was on.
The McClymonts - great performers
Troy Cassar-Daley who was the headline act
The finale with some of the performers on stage together
After Whittlesea we had two spare days so decided to visit Mornington Peninsula - we now wish we had allowed a lot more than that as it is a really delightful area. The weather was bright and sunny and the water in the bay calm and blue.
We did the walk out to Point Nepean where there are several old forts dating back to the 1800's and also where the first shots were fired by Australians in both WWI and WWII.
From Point Neapan, a view of the entrance to Port Phillip Bay
Along the walk we came across the memorial to Harold Holt PM who drowned at Cheviot Beach in 1967
The Harold Holt memorial
This is Cheviot Beach on a very calm day and it doesn't look at all inviting, so you would have to wonder why anyone would venture in there on a very rough day! (Maybe we was meeting a Chinese submarine?)
On the Mornington Peninsula we stayed at the village of Dromana, and visited Arthur's Seat which is a lookout above Rosebud (what a cute name for a town)
Helen on Arthur's Seat
And Brian on Arthur's Seat
We loved all the little decorated boatsheds along the bay and actually saw people using them. They store deck chairs, tables, canoes and all manner of things in them.
From Mornington Peninsula we drove to Port Melbourne to catcb the Spirit of Tasmania to Devenport. We had a few hours to kill along the way so stopped at St Kilda
St Kilda Beach at 4.30 pm on a Wednesday, blowing a gale (like a very strong Freo doctor), and still lots of people on the beach sunbaking - funny people these Victorians!
View of Melbourne skyline from St Kilda pier with kite surfers in the foreground - if you squint you can just see them
The famous kiosk at the end of St Kilda Pier. It was destroyed by fire back in the 80s and restored to its former glory
We left Melbourne at 7.30 pm and arrived in Devenport at 6.00 am the following morning. It was a good crossing, although we were a bit worried about the forecast 2m swells on the bay which is less than a quarter of the journey.
Our luxurious cabin on the Spirt of Tasmania.
Our next blogs will show some of the wonders of Tasmania.
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