The following day was hot and sunny and after breakfast we headed East, along the Great Ocean Rd to the beautiful Bellarine Penninsula where we would be staying the night. We had two reasons for visiting this area, firstly, it was on the way to Melbourne and would be a convenient place to stop over. Secondly, a colleague from work moved out here 12 months ago. She moved, as a single parent, just herself and her young daughter. Of all my colleagues who have emigrated over the years, we have been the most worried about this one. She has no family in Australia and we all thought that she was incredibly brave to go it alone in order to give her daughter a better lifestyle. We had planned to meet up for a meal and a chat.
The East of the Great Ocean Rd is incredibly bendy......Fantastic scenery, but tight bends with towering cliffs on one side and lashing waves on the other. I think that this road was built by ex forces personnel who found themselves in need of a project after the war, but it is one hell of a road.
We drove through pretty, but busy seaside towns, Anglesea, Lorne, Torquay. The beaches were crowded with holidaymakers as January is the main school holiday for Australian children. Everybody looked relaxed and happy, enjoying the surf and sand. We arrived at our motel midway between Queenscliffe and Point Lonsdale on the Bellarine Penninsula. This lies at the western entrance of Port Phillip which is one of the most dangerous entrances to any bay, in the world. At Point Lonsdale it is only 3km across the bay to Point Nepean on the Mornington Penninsula, on the Eastern side of the bay, but it is 3 kms of swirling water known as the Rip..
This looks like an inviting stretch of water and the Rip is invisible to the naked eye but in 1967, Australian Prime minister Harold Holt went for a swim in this bay, a swim from which he never returned.... he was caught in the Rip and his body was never found. He had been PM for just less than 2 years.
However, the Bellarine and Mornington Penninsulas are pretty areas and very popular with holiday makers. We had a lovely evening meal in Barwon Heads, my friend's new home. I am pleased to say that she loves her new life and has settled in well, the best move she's ever made.
Here are some pics of :- The busy beach at Torquay, point Lonsdale and the innocent looking Rip, the town of Sorrento on the Mornington Penninsula.
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