Cape Schanck and Portsea

After our morning coffee at Laneway Espresso in Dromana we headed to the southernmost tip of the peninsula this morning - to the lighthouse at Cape Schanck. We arrived in the middle of a freezing cold rainy spell - so much so that all we could do was sit in the car in the carpark for about 15 minutes hoping to wait it out!!

And it worked....... the clouds cleared, the rain stopped, the wind dropped and we were able to do the cape walk in all its glory.............

 This side of the cape faces Bass Strait and sees some pretty wild weather at times.

This side of the cape faces Bushranger Bay - and is a much gentler place. There are some fabulous walks around this coastline (maybe next visit!).

 Still sporting the windswept look! ...........

 We loved seeing the stunning environment at Cape Schanck.

 Back in the car it was only a 25 minute drive up the SW coast to Portsea, the most exclusive of all the settlements on the peninsula. We enjoyed lunch at Le Capucin at the village before exploring the beautiful Portsea beach and pier area. 

 We admired these young women jumping off the pier into this cold but absolutely pristine water - to cool off after their morning jog.

 The Portsea real estate is really something else!

And the bathing boxes at Portsea are suitably refined too - very pastel toned compared to the bright colours of the other bayside beaches.

 We did a short walk in the National Park at the western tip of the peninsula to "Observatory Point". This is the view west from where the walk ends (on a bayside beach) up to Point Nepean and on to the tip of the Bellarine Peninsula next to it - showing how narrow the entrance to Port Phillip Bay is for those great big ships.........

This is the view east back towards Portsea. You can just make out Arthur's Seat (the mountain) in the middle distance and Mount Martha (where we're staying) in the extreme distance on the left of Arthur's Seat.

 In the late 1800s as thousands of new settlers arrived in Victoria, cattle used to be unloaded at Observatory Point  to undergo quarantine checks before they could be released in the colony. This remaining timber structure is part of the original pier from those times.

We waited AGES for this family to take all their selfies, Insta and FB pictures with this photogenic structure before we grabbed a few minutes of intermittent sunshine to take our shots. Just when we thought they had FINALLY finished they asked Maxie to take a family pic to round off their Observatory Point collection!

 Typical country on this part of the peninsula .......

We have loved our quick view of the Mornington Peninsula and have vowed to return - but next time we'll be better prepared for cold, wild weather and bring our walking gear!