English (p. 12): Phillip Isl. & Mornington P.

Saturday 22nd of November 2014: Tidal River – Cowes (Phillip Island)
As we leave the Prom today, we have to break up camp after breakfast. Luckily it is still mostly sunny and dry, while we pack the tent. As soon as we leave the campground behind us, it starts to rain though. Fortunately the rain doesn’t last long and as we leave the park, the sun soon returns. Via Fish Creek and Inverloch we finally reach San Remo, the last town on the mainland before the bridge to Phillip Island. We plan to have a quick look at the visitors centre here and maybe stay for the pelican feeding performed here every day around noon. As we are unable to find the visitors centre and it is still too early for the feeding spectacle, we decide to cross the bridge and visit the big information centre on the island. Outfitted with a map as well as some brochures on the island we then continue to Cowes, where we head to the Amaroo Caravan Park, our accommodation for tonight. The park is centrally located with two supermarkets as well as a few restaurants within easy walking distance. It consists mostly of cabins, but also has a few small camp sites. Ours is right next to the well-equipped camping kitchen and the amenity block. After pitching the tent we walk to the nearby supermarket to buy some food supplies. Then we have lunch at the picnic table in the camp kitchen, before we head out to the Nobbies Centre at the far end of the island.
The centre houses an exhibition on the fur seals and other animals living in the waters of the Bass Strait. The adjacent boardwalk overlooks the cliffs and rocky islands, where the seals use to rest and raise their pups. In the grass along the boardwalk hundreds of sea gulls have built their nests. The noise of the hungry chicks calling their parents is deafening. The top of the cliffs is covered in the soft pink blossoms of the pig face, a wildflower growing everywhere around here. On the way back to Cowes we stop at a viewpoint overlooking the wild and rocky shoreline. Descending to the beach we find a sponge as well as a dead penguin. Further out between the rocks we spot a few ibis searching the mudflats for some food. We also stop at the Swan Lake Reserve, where we take the short walk to the bird viewing hides situated on the water’s edge. The lake is home to wide range of waterbirds such as ducks, coots, plovers and of course swans. On the way back to the car we even spot a wallaby hiding in the bushes.
Back at the campground we prepare an early dinner of steak and pasta salad at the camping kitchen, in order to be on time for the Penguin Parade tonight. As soon as the dishes are done, we head back to the site of the Penguin Parade we had passed earlier this afternoon on the way out to the Nobbies Centre. Although we arrive at least an hour early, the enormous parking lot is already pretty full. We enter the information centre, which houses an interesting exhibition about the penguins, a café, a restaurant as well as two enormous gift shops. We have a look at everything, then following the crowds out to the boardwalk, which crosses the sand dunes with the burrows of the penguins and takes us to the big viewing stands built along the beach. Here we sit down in the company of hundreds of other tourists waiting for the nightly arrival of the cute little birds. They can spend weeks in a row at sea hunting for fish, before they return to their burrows. However at the moment it is mating season and most of the penguin couples have eggs or chicks to care for. That means, one of them always has to stay home, while the other one is out at sea fishing. As soon as the night falls and they can’t be seen by predators anymore, the penguins swim back to the beach and waddle up to their burrows in the dunes to take their turn in caring for the eggs or chicks. Some of them have to walk as far as 1 kilometre inland to reach their burrow. In order to be less vulnerable they usually arrive in small groups on the beach and stay together as long as they can. Hence the name Penguin Parade. It is this parade the hundreds of tourists on the stands have been waiting for. Although we enjoy watching the cute little bird’s waddling over the ”catwalk” in front of us, I’m not so sure the penguins feel the same way. Although photography is prohibited at the Penguin Parade, walking in the spotlights across the beach and facing a crowd of hundreds of noisy tourists every night must be pretty annoying. Luckily most of the tourists quickly return to their cars and busses, once the last group of penguins has arrived on the beach and disappeared in the dunes. We stay a little bit longer though. From the boardwalk leading back to the information centre we enjoy the view of the penguins being reunited with their families. Some of the returning parents are chased by no less than 4 or 5 of their young ones begging for food. As every chick tries to be the first one in the queue, the poor parent doesn’t manage to feed any of them properly. Even back at the parking lot the show continues. Watching closely you can still see a couple of penguins waddling back to their burrows situated in the hills right next to the parking lot. Seeing this, I’m asking myself, how many burrows might have been destroyed to build this enormous parking facility? Anyway I’m not so sure what to think about this whole experience. I’m aware of the fact, that the whole facility of the Penguin Parade was built to protect the little birds. At least this way the tourists won’t trample around between the burrows, don’t disturb the little creatures with flashlights and can’t block their way to the burrows. On the other hand the facility and its visitors still have a huge impact on the penguin’s lives.
Back in Cowes we are in desperate need of a cold drink. Unable to find an open pub or bar near the caravan park, we buy a drink and dessert at the supermarket instead. Then it’s time to hit the sheets.

Sunday 23rd of November 2014: Cowes – Dromana
This was our last night tenting on this trip and we are glad to see the sky is blue and the sun out, as this means the tent is nice and dry and ready to be packed. Today’s destination is Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula, where we booked a motel room for the coming two nights. But before we leave Phillip Island we want to visit Cape Woolamai, a small headland at the south eastern tip of the island. The cape offers one of Victoria’s most popular surfing beaches, some beautiful pink granite cliffs and a fauna reserve, where birdlife is plentiful. From the parking lot at the beach start several short hikes leading into the fauna reserve. Our wildlife experience starts even before we enter the reserve though: A blue tongue lizard is sunbathing on the bitumen surface of the lot and hundreds of annoying flies make us perform the “Aussie wave”, as soon as we leave the car. Luckily the Pinnacle Walk starts on the beach, which means more wind and less flies. About 900 metres further on, at the far end of the beach, the trail climbs a flight of wooden stairs up to the tableland at the top of the cliffs, that enclose the beach. It is hot up here and our sweaty bodies attract huge swarms of flies again. Although they won’t bite you, they are terribly annoying. Looking for humidity the try to get into your mouth, nose, ears and even into your eyes. On our last trip to Australia we bought two very “sexy-looking” fly-nets, you can put over your head to protect you from this annoying creatures. But although we actually brought them to Australia again, they are back at the car and thus completely useless. All we can do at the moment is trying to wave them away, which of course is totally useless too. But despite of the annoying creepy crawlies Cape Woolamai is a fantastic hiking destination. The Pinnacles, an ancient pink granite formation shaped by the ferocious force of wind and water, are rewarding us for all our efforts. They are truly stunning!
Around 11.30 am we are back at the car. Leaving the island we follow the Bass and the South Gipsland Highways to the north and enter the Mornington Peninsula at Tooradin. We cross the peninsula to the west and end up in Mornington, a quirky little town on the Port Phillip Bay. The Mornington Peninsula is one of Melbournians’ most popular weekend destinations, which is why on this Sunday afternoon the restaurants in Mornington are full, the shops busy and the beaches packed with families enjoying the warming sun and the cool waters of the sea. Following the Esplanade to the south we are looking out for a nice place to have a picnic. However it isn’t easy to find a spot to park the car along the beach. Most of the lots are packed. Finally we succeed to find a free spot as well as vacant picnic table at the beach in Mount Martha. As it is pretty hot and there isn’t any shade, we leave the place soon after lunch.
Following the beautiful coastline to the south we finally reach tonight’s accommodation, the Bay Motel Safety Beach in Dromana. The hotel is situated on the Nepean Highway, only a few minutes’ walk from the beach. Although it is only 2 pm we can check into our room right away and the friendly man at reception gives us a whole bunch of advice about the area’s attractions and restaurants. At 130 $ a night our room is slightly more expensive than all the accommodations we have stayed at so far. But considering the fact, that the Mornington Peninsula is one of the priciest destinations in the state and we are here during the weekend, 130 $ turns out to be a quite reasonable price for what must be the most luxurious motel room we had on this trip.
In spite of the comfortable room, we don’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon inside, but go out and do some sightseeing. So after dropping our luggage we take the car and drive up to Arthurs Seat a hill top high above Dromana with fantastic views of the peninsula and over Port Phillip Bay to the skyscrapers of Melbourne. The picnic tables and barbecues on the lawns of Arthurs Seat are very popular with families holding their Sunday picnic up here. Despite the fact, that Arthurs Seat is a state park, it is in a very poor state. The lawns are scattered with the rubbish visitors left behind and the information panels are old and hardly readable. The signs still mention the chairlift, which used to go to the summit, but was closed eight years ago back in 2006. Luckily the Seawinds Gardens, a park located a short stroll from the hustling and bustling at the summit, are a lot more quiet and much neater than the summit region. The formal gardens consist of a mix of exotic and indigenous vegetation and offer splendid views of the peninsula and Port Phillip Bay. After a quick look around we head back to the car and drive across the hilly interior to the village of Flinders on the Westernport Bay side of the peninsula. On our way there we come across some of the Mornington Peninsula’s famous vineyards.
According to the landlord back at the hotel Flinders is a charming historic village with lots of antique shops and a couple of nice restaurants. Unfortunately it’s far too early for dinner and antique shops are not really our cup of tea. That’s why we decide to turn around and head further south to Cape Schanck. Part of the Mornington Peninsula National Park the cape offers spectacular cliffs with stunning ocean views, a light house and a couple of lovely tidal pools. We take the short circuit walk towards the cape with wooden stairs taking us down to the beach and the rock platform at the foot of the cape. The tidal pools on the rock platform are full of shells, funny looking plants, little crabs and other marine life. Unfortunately not everyone seems to respect the fact, that this is a national park. The beach and the cliffs are littered with empty bottles, plastic bags and other kinds of rubbish and some of the tourists take sea shells, stones and even little crabs out with them. As for us we take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints. On the way back to the car we come across another echidna. Totally unimpressed by our presence it continues foraging for insects, while our camera is clicking uninterruptedly.
Unfortunately it isn’t quite as sunny anymore as it was this morning and because it is already 6 pm, we decide to stop the sightseeing for today and return to our hotel in Dromana. Later we walk to the boulevard along the beach in search of something to eat. We end up at the comfortable outdoor deck of the Two Buoys Tapas and Wine Bar, where we order a selection of mouth-watering contemporary tapas with a glass of locally produced wine. It all tastes delicious, but the pork belly with apple saus and the local Chardonnay produced by a vineyard with the funny name “Ten Minutes by Tractor” are our favourites. Service is a little slow though and we have to remind the waiters several times, before we finally get our second batch of tapas and drinks. No problem, as we have all the time in the world and they make up for their mistake by cancelling some of the items on the bill. When we finally walk back to the hotel, it is dark and time to go to bed.

Monday 24th of November 2014: Dromana (Mornington Peninsula)
Today we wake up by the noise of a thunderstorm. While lightning and thunder are soon gone, the rain showers stay. It is raining cats and dogs all day long. Under these circumstances hiking or sightseeing is out of the question. Instead we head to Rosebud Plaza, a mall we came across yesterday, for some serious shopping. After a few pleasant hours at the Target and the K-mart and a quick lunch at the mall’s food court, it is still pouring outside. Trying not to become completely soaked on the way back to the car, we have to run there with our shopping bags. Next on the agenda is a visit to the Peninsula Hot Springs in Rye. At least the rain won’t bother us there, as we will get wet anyway. Unfortunately we don’t seem to be the only ones thinking like that on this rainy day. The parking facility of the spa is packed with cars and therefore we don’t even try to get inside. Instead we drive further towards the tip of the Peninsula at Point Nepean. Of course hiking Point Nepean National Park is no option in this kind of weather, but maybe we can have a quick look at the historic towns of Sorrento and Portsea. Although the main shopping street in Sorrento looks tempting, it is still far too wet to get out of the car. Our only option is to return to our motel room and spend the rest of the afternoon inside writing emails and updates for the website, watching tv and trying to fit all the loose stuff in the car back into our bags. At dinner time the sky is still clouded and grey, but at least it stopped raining. We take the car back to Rosebud, where we have dinner at the Italian restaurant La Porchetta. We both have a bruschetta for starters, followed by penne alla matriciana with salad (Franziska) and a seafood platter (Klaas). Although not really special the food tastes ok. With our bellies filled we return to the hotel and spend the rest of the evening watching tv.

Tuesday 25th of November 2015: Dromana – Melbourne
This is the last day of our road trip, as we have to return to Melbourne and bring back the rental car by 5 pm this afternoon. Luckily we will still have two more days to catch up with Helen and David in Melbourne, before we fly back to the Netherlands. The weather is a lot better than yesterday, it’s dry and the sun is out. We start the day with another trip to Sorrento, in order to have a closer look at the quirky shops we saw there yesterday. Unfortunately we arrive early and many of the shops aren’t even open yet. On top of that Sorrento turns out to be a luxurious holiday destination for the rich and wealthy, as most of the items sold in Sorrento’s shops are far out of reach for ‘poor’ tourists like us. A long sleeved striped nautical t-shirt, I would normally pay around 40 $ for, costs here as much as 239 $. Needless to say we didn’t buy anything.
Instead we get back into the car and drive to the Australian Gardens in Cranbourne at the top end of the peninsula. The park is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria and showcases the indigenous vegetation of Australia. A landscaped formal garden displaying the flora of different Australian habitats forms the heart of the park. The rest of the park consists of natural bushland. We start our visit with a stroll across the formal gardens, spotting many species we’ve seen blooming in the wild during the past few weeks. Besides plants the park and the surrounding bushland also houses different species of wildlife, such as birds, bandicoots, wallabies and even snakes. There are signs everywhere telling you to be careful and watch out for snakes. Of course the only snakes we see turn out to be water hoses. After a sandwich lunch at the café near the entrance to the formal gardens, we have a quick look around giftshop and buy the very funny children’s book “Diary of a Wombat”. Leaving the landscaped part of the park we take the short trail to the Trig Point Lookout located in the surrounding bushland. From here you have a stunning view of the formal gardens, the woodlands and big parts of South-Eastern Victoria as far as Melbourne and Philip Island. On the way to the viewpoint we stumble across a wallaby as well as a bandicoot. By the time we are back at the car, it is almost 3 pm and high time to get on the road to Melbourne. Luckily Helen and David’s GPS takes us back to Sally’s place in Richmond without any problems. Our friends, who have just arrived from Moama themselves, help us to unload the car. Leaving them and the luggage behind we then continue to the rental car company on 89 Franklin Street. It is rush-hour and the traffic in the city is hectic and chaotic. In spite of the instructions given by the GPS it isn’t always clear, which of the many parallel lanes we have to choose. Sometimes Klaas has to make some dangerous last-minute-manoeuvres to get in the right lane, which isn’t appreciated very much by the rest of the drivers sharing the road with us. But despite all this trouble we manage to return the car in one piece and on time. Fortunately the employee in charge of the returns can’t find any damage to the car, but he seems a bit irritated by its dirtiness. However once we explain to him we had driven the car for almost 4 weeks, occasionally in very bad weather conditions, he seems to be satisfied and we are good to leave without paying extra. The tram takes us back to Richmond and around 5 pm we arrive at Sally’s place, where we have a cup of tea with Helen and David. Sally had to attend a meeting and can’t join us. While catching up on the past two weeks, we unwrap a few presents our friends brought us from Moama. One of the presents contains a picture of Echuca’s paddlesteamers mounted on canvas, another one a lovely candle-holder made from the wood of the river red gum. Although very pleased with these presents we feel a bit awkward, because as their guests we and not them should be the ones giving presents. So when we have dinner at a Nepalese restaurant on Bridge Road later that night, we make up for this mistake by paying the dinner bill. Back at Sally’s we spend the rest of the night chatting with a nice glass of Australian wine.