Wilson's Prom & Last Days in Melbourne

Meg on Whiskey Bay - Wilsons Prom

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We landed back in Melbourne in the morning of the 28th and got the train to Glenhuntley and once again Peg & John found us knocking on their door. The day was uneventful, bit of washing and updating the web page. The next day Katrina (Park Ranger we met in the Rockies), and her partner Aaron picked us up around midday and we went to Wilsons Promontory Nat Park which sits south east of Melbourne on the coast. We had 2 nights in the park staying with Kat's friend Emily who is a park ranger and we had a fantastic time. From the start we could see how lovely the park was, with green bush filled mountains all around and beautiful sandy bays protected by dramatic granite headlands. Our 1st stop was a short stroll on one such bay - Whisky Bay - where the bright sunshine reflected off the clar water. Later we went for a nice walk alongside Tidal River down to the lovely Norman Bay. We were treated to a delicious bbq in the evening which Aaron cooked and we sat chatting. Great to meet up with Kat again and Aaron is a really nice guy. On 2nd we did the 6.8km return hike to Mt Oberon summit with Kat. From the top we had fantastic views over the many bays/beaches that are dotted along the west caost of the park and they looked beautiful in the bright sunshine. In the afternoon we went by ourselves for a lovely 10km hike along the west coast to visit the bays we'd seen from the summit. We crossed Tidal River and followed the track as it took us from one stunning bay to another. Andy's favourite was Squeaky Beach with its beautiful water and incredible white 'squeaky' fine sand. Meg particularly liked the more secluded Pinic Bay which has large granite formations sheltering the sandy beach. After another wondeful meal prepared by Aaron the 4 of us and Emily went to Squeaky Beach where we sat and watched a beautiful sunset - a lovely way to spend the evening. On our last day in Wilsons Prom the 4 of us went abck to Squeaky Beach for a couple of hours. Meg and Kat sunbathed, watching on as Aaron helped Andy have a go at surfing. Afetr lunch we left the park and drove the 222km back to Melbourne where we got dropped off at Peg & Johns. The next day Peg & John took us to St Kilda for the afternoon where we strolled along the esplanade looking around the market stalls and after we had a drink on one of the cafes that line the busy Acland St. That evening we went with Kat & Aaron to spend a nice evening with Matt & Janine (nice couple we met in the Rockies) in their appartment in South Bank which overlooks the high rise of the city and we were spoilt with a delicious meal. We spent the 5th walking around Melbourne city. First we visited the Shrine Of Remembrance which was quite moving and then went to the nearby Royal Botanic Gardens which were suffering badly from the heavy water restrictions. After, we visited the impressive St Pauls Cathedral in the city centre before walking over to the MCG to look at the famous sporting venue. Lastly we visited Fitzroy Gardens and had a look at Cook's Cottage (Capt Cook's mothers old house) that was shipped over from England brick by brick!