We got up normal time, had breakfast, and got ready for a road trip. We had a vague plan to get as far down the Mornington Peninsula as we could, and stop in as many dive shops as we could to buy a strap for diving with the GoPro. We studied the Melways and I worked out how to get there. Then we set off with Christian in the driving seat.
It was a lovely warm day. The route was simple down Springvale Road, and onto the coast road. We first saw the beach at Chelsea. I was very surprised to find that the water was beautiful and tropical-looking. Frankston was the biggest town we went through, but we didn't stop there. We kept on to Mornington, as we'd singled out a dive shop to have a look in. Upon arrival in Mornington, we discovered that half the population of Victoria had converged on it. We crawled down the main street, dodging pedestrians, to the water, and didn't find anywhere to park down there, so came back up the car park side, and wasted about 15 minutes going in an out of different sections. We gave up and drove back to the approach to the town, and got a park for two hours there.
We walked back into the town, keeping an eye out for the dive shop, and for somewhere to eat lunch. We found the dive shop in a side street, and bought a fluorescent yellow wrist strap that would do the job. Finding lunch proved more difficult. There were a lot of nice looking places, but they were all full. We decided on the pub in the end, and apart from the hours it took Christian's drink to come out, it was very good.
We walked back to the car, via Optus to get a new mini-SIM for my phone, and headed south in search of excitement. We found a nice beach just outside the town, a place to leave the car, and made our way down via a boat ramp to the sand. The water was shallow, and the bay open, so we mainly splashed around. I went to get my swimmers on, but never actually got in, as it was a bit cool. The sand was horribly annoying to walk on, but we explored the far end of the beach, and Christian chose to swim back rather than walking on the sinky sand.
We packed up, and continued south again. Beyond Mornington, Safety Beach looked the loveliest, but we kept driving, as we had the time. By now, I'd given up on making it to Michael's gig that night, though I was upset to give it up, given it was the only gig I was going to see, and it had been so fortuitous. The road between there and Sorrento seemed endless, but we eventually made it to Portsea, and were surprised to find a national park with some kind of military installation ('defensive facility') there. We drove as far as we could, then parked and walked through the warm and fly-ridden bush to the water. The beach was lovely, and mostly deserted. We went for a walk, but didn't reach the furthest tip.
We headed back to the car, and made our way east/north again. We chose to stop at Dromana for a swim, which was just before Safety Beach, as the water looked deep and inviting. It was pretty darn cold, as well, and I was still feeling fairly coldy. I made the effort to submerge myself fully, and was pleased that I did. We monkeyed around for a while, with some GoPro action, and then settled back in the car for the final trip home. There was an exit to the freeway nearby, and so we took that, which cut off most of the slow bit of the trip (and was a really nice road), and we found ourselves back at Mitcham quite quickly - I think by 8pm. We filled the car up with fuel on the way.
We had salmon for dinner, which was very tasty. It was nice to be at home for our final night in the end. We did as much packing as we could, and prepared ourselves for an unpleasantly early morning. Bed.
It was a lovely warm day. The route was simple down Springvale Road, and onto the coast road. We first saw the beach at Chelsea. I was very surprised to find that the water was beautiful and tropical-looking. Frankston was the biggest town we went through, but we didn't stop there. We kept on to Mornington, as we'd singled out a dive shop to have a look in. Upon arrival in Mornington, we discovered that half the population of Victoria had converged on it. We crawled down the main street, dodging pedestrians, to the water, and didn't find anywhere to park down there, so came back up the car park side, and wasted about 15 minutes going in an out of different sections. We gave up and drove back to the approach to the town, and got a park for two hours there.
We walked back into the town, keeping an eye out for the dive shop, and for somewhere to eat lunch. We found the dive shop in a side street, and bought a fluorescent yellow wrist strap that would do the job. Finding lunch proved more difficult. There were a lot of nice looking places, but they were all full. We decided on the pub in the end, and apart from the hours it took Christian's drink to come out, it was very good.
We walked back to the car, via Optus to get a new mini-SIM for my phone, and headed south in search of excitement. We found a nice beach just outside the town, a place to leave the car, and made our way down via a boat ramp to the sand. The water was shallow, and the bay open, so we mainly splashed around. I went to get my swimmers on, but never actually got in, as it was a bit cool. The sand was horribly annoying to walk on, but we explored the far end of the beach, and Christian chose to swim back rather than walking on the sinky sand.
We packed up, and continued south again. Beyond Mornington, Safety Beach looked the loveliest, but we kept driving, as we had the time. By now, I'd given up on making it to Michael's gig that night, though I was upset to give it up, given it was the only gig I was going to see, and it had been so fortuitous. The road between there and Sorrento seemed endless, but we eventually made it to Portsea, and were surprised to find a national park with some kind of military installation ('defensive facility') there. We drove as far as we could, then parked and walked through the warm and fly-ridden bush to the water. The beach was lovely, and mostly deserted. We went for a walk, but didn't reach the furthest tip.
We headed back to the car, and made our way east/north again. We chose to stop at Dromana for a swim, which was just before Safety Beach, as the water looked deep and inviting. It was pretty darn cold, as well, and I was still feeling fairly coldy. I made the effort to submerge myself fully, and was pleased that I did. We monkeyed around for a while, with some GoPro action, and then settled back in the car for the final trip home. There was an exit to the freeway nearby, and so we took that, which cut off most of the slow bit of the trip (and was a really nice road), and we found ourselves back at Mitcham quite quickly - I think by 8pm. We filled the car up with fuel on the way.
We had salmon for dinner, which was very tasty. It was nice to be at home for our final night in the end. We did as much packing as we could, and prepared ourselves for an unpleasantly early morning. Bed.
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