Bridgewater Bay - Blairgowrie Ocean Beach - clifftop Trail

Pix and Video taken on March 3 2013.

This was a 3 km clifftop hike along the Peninsula Coastal Trail, starting at the small car park at the end of St. John's Wood Rd, Blairgowrie Ocean Beach.

The views along this trail are in my opinion among the most spectacular in this section of the Mornington Peninsula National Park.

Click here to see all of the Photos of my visit!

Bridgewater Bay - Blairgowrie Ocean Coast

These pix were taken on September 3 2012, on a 3 km clifftop hike to Bridgewater  Bay, Blairgowrie Ocean Coast, 8 0 km south of Melbourne.

The views were spectacular!

The track is reached from a small carpark at the end of St John's Wood Rd.

See the Slideshow of all of the pictures of my visit!

Collins Historical Settlement, Sorrento

These pix were taken on March 15, 2012, on a visit to the Collins Settlement Historic site, Sorrento.

Sullivan Bay lies 60 km due south of Melbourne on Port Phillip Bay, 1 km east of Sorrento. It was established as a short-lived convict settlement in 1803 by Lieutenant Colonel David Collins, who named the bay after the Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, John Sullivan.

The site was chosen because of its strategic location near the entrance of the Bay. The settlement is significant because it was the first attempt to settle Europeans permanently in what is now Victoria and is a key link in the expansion of the colony of New South Wales into Tasmania and Victoria, and the control of Bass Strait as a trade route.

In April 1803 the HMS Calcutta and the transport ship Ocean were sent from England, via the Cape of Good Hope, carrying officers, a marine detachment, free settlers and convicts to Port Phillip. They arrived on October 10 1803.

The new colonists quickly discovered that water was scarce, and suitable timber could not be found. The treacherous entrance to the bay made the site unsuitable for whaling and with few marines, the settlement was vulnerable to attack. Collins decided to abandon the settlement and move to Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania) in January 1804 where John Bowen had established a settlement at Risdon Cove in 1803. They were moved as two parties, the second group leaving on May 20, just over seven months after the settlement had been established.

During the brief occupation, 21 convicts escaped. One of these was William Buckley who lived in the area around Geelong for 33 years before meeting with John Batman's party in 1835.

Little evidence of the settlement exists. Four graves on the eastern headland, and parts of barrels, leg irons, bottles and other pieces are all that remain.

The Collins Settlement Historic Reserve is protected under the Victorian Heritage Register and the Mornington Peninsula Planning Scheme.

There are good coastal views from two Lookouts near the site, reached by a walking track from the Information Centre just off the Nepean Highway.

Information Boards along the Track describe the early settlement of the district, with some interesting heritage photos.

See the complete set of  Photos of my visit, and my YouTube video!

Bridgewater Bay, Mornington Peninsula National Park

These pix were taken on January 21, 2012 at Bridgewater Bay, Mornington Peninsula National Park, 80 km south of Melbourne.

They show the magnificent coastal scenery on the 2 km circuit track, starting at the small car park at the end of St. John's Wood Rd (Blairgowrie).

The signed track is mostly on sand, and a staircase of about 100 steps leads down to the Beach. There are some hilly sections, and seats at various vantage points.

Beware of the huge March flies which like to eat humans!

Part of the track follows the Lifesaver Track, which forms part of the long Peninsula Coastal Walk.

See the Slide Show of my visit, and check out my YouTube video!

Pirate's Bay - Blaigowrie Ocean Beach - Mornington Peninsula National Park

Pirates' Bay is a beautiful secluded cove in the Mornington Peninsula National Park, facing Bass Strait.

It is about 80 km SE of Melbourne, in the municipality of Blairgowrie.

I visited this bay on Friday afternoon May 29, 2009, for a 4 km coastal hike along the cliff tops, which included nearby Bridgewater Bay, Prickly Rocks, and Pearse's Beach.

My visit started at the small car-park at the end of St. John's Wood Rd, reached from Melbourne Rd.

The coastal views from the clifftop were spectacular, extending from Cape Schank about 20 km to the south-east, to Portsea Ocean Beach in the north-west.

My route followed the Lifesaving Track, and is a section of the 40 km Coastal Walk which runs all the way from London Bridge, in the NW, to Cape Schank in the SE.

I had already completed 95% of this long walk, over several visits from 2007 to the present, and I am now finishing off the remaining 5%! When that is done, I will do the entire walk again.

See the full set of Photos of my visit!