As there is no travel at the moment I thought I might share a little bit of where I live. I happen to live in what is known as one of the main holiday destinations in Victoria. The Mornington Peninsula. Its about an hour a way from Melbourne by car or you can catch the train to Frankston then catch a bus. That takes a little longer than an hour but you do get to see much more.
There is so much to do down here walk along sandy beaches, visit wineries, breweries and even gin is distilled down here.
In summer there is a huge influx of holiday makers who start coming down here around October and then go home around April to May. They fill the motels, BNB’s and holiday homes and the areas along the bay are full of campers. This year thats been put on hold till at least December 2020 but that could change.
The sand is oh so white and the water is crystal clear. Dolphins, whales and stingrays have all been sighted in the bay and along the rocky coastline. The sunsets are just glorious and many a time we head down to the beach with a wine and sit and take in the views.
The sunsets are glorious along the bay
Over two weeks ago we were advised by our government that Melbourne and the “greater Melbourne” would be going in to stage 4 of lockdown. So we thought while we could we would take a drive down to Point Nepean and Portsea. Its about a 15 minute drive from our place in Rosebud.
Stage 4 would be quite severe. Only 5kms from home could we shop and not more than 5km to go for exercise. We still had our beach and parks within walking distance but we needed to get out and enjoy the sunshine while we could.
Point Nepean or Portsea is only about 15 minute drive from our house. Our first stop was the Portsea backbench. We parked the car in the car park maybe two other cars were there. Its just a short walk to the viewing platform to see the stunning ocean views and the the London Bridge. There are many amazing rock formations that are along the Victorian coastline. London Bridge is one of them. You can also explore London Bridge but do so at low tide. The waters around the back beaches are quiet treacherous.
London Bridge
London Bridge is a well known, hollowed out sea stack that can be viewed from a lookout at the end of London Bridge Road. On either side of London Bridge are two high tide platform beaches, backed by 30 to 40 m high calcarenite bluffs and fronted by continuous intertidal rock flats, with reefs further offshore. Waves average 1.7 m on the outer reefs, with their height at the beach depending on the tide. The narrow sand beaches are awash at high tide, but fronted by exposed rock flats at low tide.
There were a couple of lone surfers waiting for that perfect wave. They must have belonged to the two cars in the car park.
Two surfers paddling out for that decent wave
When you research this area it says time and time again that waves for surfers are not suitable. Tell that to the surfers above, just before this picture was taken I watched them surf in. Looked pretty decent to me. It does also say swimming is not suitable due to the strong currents and outer reefs and all the rocks right up to the cliffs. A strong swimmer myself I wouldn’t be swimming here.
Looks like a blowhole in the reef
You can fish off the flat rocks along the beach but do take care. Those waves can be treacherous and many a fisherman has come to grief along the Victorian coastline.
Here is a link on the London Bridge
We then drove to the Point Nepean only about a 5min drive from the London Bridge. There are so many things you can do but the one thing you can not do is take your dogs there. National Parks in Victoria are off limits to dogs. You are not even allowed to have them in the car with you. I find that rule just quite simply silly!
I took a couple of pictures of the quarantine station. It was all cordoned off – I thought it was because of stage 3 restrictions but it is due to renovations taking place. Perhaps it should be used as a quarantine station again? What do you think. The last time anyone stayed there was in the 1990’s were over 400 Kosovars, refugees from the Bosnian War of 1992-95. By June 1999 they were finally allowed home.
During World War 11 the army was billeted at the station. Hence rifle ranges still there.
25 Metre Range – Rifle Range used by the Army
There are many walks you can do at Point Nepean or what a lot of us call the Quarantine Station. We have decided that once this lockdown is over we will go and do some. Will have to leave our dogs at home.
Point Nepean National Park is the most westerly point on the Mornington Peninsula and sits on one of the most treacherous coastlines in Victoria. Point Nepean played an important role in shaping the early settlement and defence of Australia. Walk or cycle through this rugged coastal landscape and learn about the history of the Quarantine Station, Fort Nepean and their surroundings. Explore military forts and tunnels, learn about the people who passed through the Quarantine Station — and see fascinating artefacts spanning back over 150 years. Or jump aboard the hop-on-hop-off Point Nepean shuttle service. Running between the Quarantine Station and Fort Nepean, it’s a great way to explore all the highlights of Point Nepean National Park.
Here is a link for more information on the Quarantine Station
On the way home we stopped off in Sorrento where you can catch the ferry to Queenscliff. Its a 40 minute trip and you may spy a dolphin or a seal on the way over. Queenscliff is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road.
A seal sunning himself in the beautiful colors of the Bay
Searoad Ferries – Sorrento to Queesncliff
Travel and Lifestyle with Bree 
Absolutely love the walk at Point Nepean. Especially the contrast with both sides- the wild ocean and the calm bay 🙂 great write up.
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We used to go to Mornington for summer hols when I was a kid. When I was 8 I nearly drowned in one of the rock pools at London Bridge. I’ve never forgotten it!
Alison
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Om my goodness you nearly drowned! It says to be really careful and only strong swimmers should be in the water. Im glad you didnt xx
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Me too lol.
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Congratulations Bree on your 4th blogging anniversary. I loved this post. Point Nepean is one of my favourite places. We were there two years ago and planned to go back this year and then the pandemic struck. I have great memories of Coastrek which finished at Point Nepean #MLSTL
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First, congratulations Bree on four years of blogging! Quite an accomplishment. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos. You’re one lucky lady living so close to these wonders of nature.
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Thank you so much Christie xx Yes it is beautiful here xx
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Nice blog
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Thank you x
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Huge congrats on your 4th anniversary Bree! It was lovely seeing your area and I do hope you are coping OK. #mlstl
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Thank you Deb xx yes 4 years wow! It all started as a “joke” lol. Some days are ok, now they have relaxed the “not allowed to drive to exercise” last night I am even happier. We were doing it anyway as our streets dont have footpaths and the dogs need a run, then we found out we actually were not allowed. Crazy!
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I don’t blame you for getting one more taste of freedom before you’re locked down again. That’s what is so hard about restrictions – you can’t even go to the beach when it’s so close. We live on the Gold Coast and we weren’t allowed to go to our beach. Hopefully restrictions will ease sooner rather than later
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Oh yes who knows when we can get back out there in the wide yonder. Although 5 kms is not too bad down here. Our beach is 1.2 kms we often walked there early on in April however with both of us with dodgy knees and dogs it would take us an hour an half. only allowed out for an hour at the moment. Plus lots of hills and steps. So we have been driving there and spending more time in the sun the dogs have a good run.
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Lovely seeing all your pictures – and they must be so nice to look back on while you’re in lockdown again. WA has much fewer precautions in place (for now) and I know my husband has been visiting the beach regularly for walks – it’s his way of keeping his soul calm during these unsettled times.
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Thank you yes they are a joy and at the moment all my European adventures are coming up in my memories on Facebook also. So lovely to look at.
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Congratulations on your blogging anniversary. Thank you for sharing your home with us. I greatly appreciate the vicarious travel.
Sending warm thoughts across the miles. #MLSTL
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Congrats on the anniversary and what a beautiful place. #MLSTL
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Thank you so much and yes its a beautiful part of the world
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Your home looks truly lovely. I have never been to any part of Australia, and i look forward to the day when we can travel again. Australia has been on our list for a long time, the hope is to travel there when my husband retires in two years.
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Yes its such a beautiful place. You must travel out here one day so many stunning places to visit.
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One benefit of the pandemic and the resultant lockdowns is that we get to rediscover the wonderful places close to home. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures. I hope I get to visit some day!
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Thank you and yes that is def one benefit of the lockdown xx
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Congrats on your blogging anniversary! Thank you for sharing a bit about where you live and your photos. It looks beautiful. Stay safe and well! #senisal
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What a great idea to share a bit more about where you live during this time. I have relatives in Australia but I’ve never been myself, and I’m not great with the geography. I’ll have to ask if they’ve been to near Mornington Peninsula. It’s so sad to hear both NZ and Oz have had resurgences in coronavirus, especially as it started to sound quite positive over there, at least judging by the news we get in the UK. My aunt, uncle and cousin have been in touch throughout the pandemic and it sounds rather different to how it is over here, but there are some similarities when it comes to lockdown and all the loo rolls disappearing from the shelves!
I’ll never quite understand why people swim or surf in areas that are deemed unsafe. I’d love to take that ferry ride and see some dolphins, that would be incredible.
Sounds like you’re in a good location in terms of having some parks and beach nearby, and plenty more a little further out depending on the state of lockdown. Hopefully it’s quiet enough any time you go out so as to reduce any risk. Please do stay as safe as possible, and thank you for showing us such beautiful scenes. It’s quite nice to get away for a while and daydream while stuck in the rather miserable and too-crowded UK at the moment. Xxxx
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We hope to visit and explore this part of Australia in a year. We loved Australia and can’t wait to return. Like you we are doing close to home trips. It’s nice sometimes to just be a tourist in your own backyard. But still hoping the world will heal soon and we can all be out there again. xxoo
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You certainly live in a beautiful part of the world. thanks for sharing. I was surprised at the no dogs allowed rule. We take our dog with us everywhere here in Spain.
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I know it’s so crazy , we actually had the dogs in the car kept telling them to lie down. Yep f course Betty kept sitting up to see where we were going. Darlene that’s why I love Europe so much. I remember getting into the airport at Zurich and nearly everyone had a dog with them. Our rules here are silly
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Congratulations on the anniversary
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