July in Melbourne – coast and cafes – Torquay, Lorne, Barwon Heads and Queenscliff

On looking back at my photos of July, there was a certain theme running through them – coast and cafes. It was certainly the weather for warming comfort foods so I was definitely on the right track.

 In July, our average temperatures reach highs of 14°C and lows of 7°C (57°F and 45°F). Warm parkas and beanies are my usual order for the day during this period and gloves are often part of my essential attire. Along the Victorian coast if you happen to be standing by the beach, you would definitely notice the chill winds and be very very glad for those warm extras.

 

Surfer at Bells Beach, black sand, Point Lonsdale lighthouse, Torquay cuisine - photos by Maria Ngo

Chill winds or not, you still can’t keep the dedicated surfers from their sport. Here at Bells Beach,  where the sands are black in parts, I met one such stalwart surfer whose white beard contrasted with his black wetsuit and strong posture as he descended the steps to challenge the waves carrying his trusty board with one arm.

Bells Beach is home to Rip Curl Pro and is the longest running competition of its kind. This event is also known as the “Wimbledon of surfing”. In 2022, Bells Beach will celebrate 61 years of professional surfing competition. This beach is just 5km from Torquay which we had made our base for a few nights to explore the surrounding towns along the coast including Lorne, Barwon Heads and Queenscliff.

Bells Beach was named after its first pastoral family from the 1840s (https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/bells-beach-vic). This hidden gem for surfing was discovered by locals in 1939. Access was difficult as there was no clear path to the beach. It was not until 1959 when “Torquay surfer and Olympic wrestler Joe Sweeney, determined to solve the problem, [and] hired a bulldozer and cleared a road along the Bells cliff from the old Cobb & Co Road. This meant that access was achieved from Jan Juc. Sweeney charged £1 per surfer to recover his expenses”. (You can read other more interesting facts about this beach and its relation to surfing in the above link.)

New Holland Honeyeater, moody landscape, more food from Torquay, lighthouse at Split Point (Aireys Inlet) - photos by Maria Ngo

I did not know all this about the beach when we first stumbled upon it on our walk along the coast. We had started our walk from Bird Rock lookout near Jan Juc. This lookout has raised platform seats and clear views of the sea and is a good spot for viewing a sunset. It was a very refreshing walk with ocean views and local birds keeping us company. We even spotted a New Holland Honeyeater during our walk. The section we did is part of a much longer trail.  

That evening we decided to try Pholklore which served Vietnamese cuisine. We sat on low stools at tables made of recycled spools that used to hold large cables. The restaurant was a large shed with simple low key ambience and items which harkened to simple Vietnamese village life. Our pho was full of flavour and absolutely delicious. It was particularly satisfying on a cool evening and hit all the right spots for me. We thought we’d have it again before we left but did not realise just how popular it was because there were no seats available the next time we came back.

Torquay offers a range of other dining experiences as well – fish and chips, steak, brunches, Japanese, Thai, burgers, Mexican, Chinese etc. – of which we have tried a number on this and on previous visits. Torquay is a very popular holiday spot and the range of eating places here is an indication of it.  

Over the next few days we visited several promontories with light houses – at Split Point near Aireys Inlet and Point Lonsdale. This part of Australia is known as the Ship Wreck Coast. it is believed that over 700 ships have been wrecked here while only around 240 have been found. There is a lighthouse tour at Split Point and nice costal walking tracks, a tea room and three lookouts (Eagle Rock, Split Point, Loutit) in this area. You can also walk down to the beach. This is a much more interesting one to visit in my opinion. There isn't much to do at Point Lonsdale lighthouse - unless you're a geocacher or if you're a fishermen. There is a well provisioned pier here for fishing.  

The channel that leads into Port Philip Bay has a very narrow opening with a dangerous reef. Sea pilot boats are needed to guide ships in and out of the bay. You can see their small orange coloured craft at work if you stand at Point Lonsdale or Point Nepean (Fort Nepean) . I have seen them at both these points.

Ship in a bottle, old diving suit, lighthouse prism, breeches buoy, square waves, Split Point lighthouse, sunset at Barwon Heads, beach at Aireys Inlet - photos by Maria Ngo 

 As if to highlight the dangers of the water, while we were in Barwon Heads, we saw square waves (or cross seas) forming at sunset near the Barwon Heads Bluff and the bridge.  These waves are formed by waves moving in opposite directions and are extremely dangerous. You should get out of the water if you see them. Here is a link to the video I took. https://youtu.be/25bHqxCvOzg

In Queenscliff, there is a Maritime Museum where you can see old fashioned diving suits, retrieved artefacts from wrecks, ships in bottles, lighthouse prisms and also the Pantaloon or Breeches buoy which is life-saving equipment used to rescue people from the sea in the 1800s. The waiting shed that used to be on the old fishermen’s pier in the 1870s has been relocated here as well as the full sized crane. This museum was built around the last life boat used in Queenscliff. 

There is another museum in Queenscliff – the Fort Queenscliff Museum – but it was not open when we were there. This town also has a lighthouse that you can visit.

The coastal route between Torquay and Queenscliff we took that day was quite picturesque with its moody grey clouds above and scrubby grasses on either side of the road stretched out on the flat landscape on either side. This was in contrast to the steep high cliffs we had seen at Eagle Rock Lookout at Aireys Inlet. The descent to Lorne gives us sweeping views of the coastline. On this day we saw a rainbow. 

 

Lorne Pier, corellas at Lorne, fishing off the pier, Surf Coast walk, Memorial Arch and sculpture - photos by Maria Ngo

All along the coast, in each main town are piers which attract people who are keen on fishing and which also provide good views of the surrounding area. The pier also attracts dog walkers. There is a famous Pier to Pub race in Lorne which starts from the Lorne pier to the Lorne Life Saving Club which is a 1.2km distance. This race usually takes place in January. The average swimming time is 22 minutes and is now in its 32nd year of operation. 

There is a lovely walking trail from the beach to the pier. There was a flock of white corellas pecking at the ground when we arrived at the carpark of Lorne beach. There were gulls bobbing up and down at the water’s edge and a flock of sparrows sheltering from the gusty winds along the edges of the pier.

Between Torquay and Lorne is the historical Memorial Arch  – it was erected in memory of the returned servicemen who built the road, that is now the Great Ocean Road, that connects the towns along the coast. This is a 243 km stretch of road. Construction began in 1919 and was completed in 1932.  

The drive back to Melbourne on the main highway from Torquay can be covered in under 1.5 hours. It is just over 100km.

 

Fragrant clematis, cymbidium orchids, sunny street, dog exhibition at Queen Vic Market, yellow wattle, magnolia, arum lily, pink camelia, foggy day at the train station, hearty winter fare, birthday cake - photos by Maria Ngo

While it is officially winter in Melbourne at this time of year, and mist and fog can shroud railway stations in the morning and brilliant blue skies characterise the afternoon, we are not without our floral pick-me-ups when we walk around the neighbourhoods. At this time of, white, pink and red camelias, arum (or calla) lilies, cymbidium orchids, magnolias, wild clematis with tiny flowers and beautiful fragrance and the silver wattle are in bloom. 

Queen Victoria Market also played host to a Truffle Festival in early July which brought out food and dog exhibitions.  

Another highlight for me in July is that it is the time when we celebrate three birthdays in my family – so cakes usually make their appearance then. It’s not like we don’t have cakes other times of the year, but the ones in July are just a bit more special.

What is July like where you live? Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world during this time of year? 

_______________________ 

PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS POST

• Torquay
• Pholklore 
• Coastal walk
• Bells Beach 
• Rip Curl Pro
• Bird Rock lookout 
• Barwon Heads
• square waves 
• Queenscliff
• Maritime Museum
• Fort Queenscliff Museum
• Aireys Inlet 
• Split Point lighthouse 
• lighthouse tour
• Lighthouse Tearoom 
• Eagle Rock lookout 
• Split Point lookout 
• Lorne 
• Pier to Pub race 

 

June in Melbourne and the Victorian Alps

June launches Victoria’s ski season. This season usually lasts until the first week of October. Melbourne is the gateway to six places to enjoy the snow. 

 

Melbourne in June

 

(You can view more photos here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqEcO3CrLK0) 

 

Lake Mountain is very popular for families for tobogganing and cross-country skiing. You can easily do this as a day trip. Mt Stirling is another spot for cross-country skiing and it is the larger of the two.

The other four ski resorts are Mt Buller, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham and Mt Baw Baw. Mt Baw Baw is good for those who are just starting out on the snow while the other three have well developed ski networks for green run beginners to advanced black runs. Snow boarding continue to grow in popularity on Falls Creek and Mt Hotham.

 

As it so happens, Victorian school holidays which falls during the last weekend of June and early July is perfect for a winter getaway.

 

This year, we based ourselves in Bright  to catch what we could of the snowfields and explore its surrounds. Bright is a lovely well supplied country town, just 3.5 hours’ drive from Melbourne. Bright has a number of dining options as well as a very large well-provisioned Woolworths supermarket. There is an ample supply of chalets and accommodation in town.

 

From Bright, Falls Creek is just over an hour’s drive away. This year, because of contactless pre-booking for entry as well as parking, it made for a quick seamless process. I had found in previous years that the bottleneck at the check through point as well as fitting of chains (if required) could add up to half an hour extra to our drive time.

 

It does rain in June in Bright and the snowfields and it can make for some sleety weather. If you stay on the ski resorts itself, this might not be such an issue, but if you have to drive to and fro, up and down the mountain each day, it can pose a problem. As it turned out, I only skied once that week, but my son and hubby braved it three times. I do find that glasses and ski helmets in sleety weather don’t go that well together. Yes, helmets are compulsory on these Alpine ski slopes. I am glad for that provision because I was tripped up by a snowboard while getting off the chair-lift one year and fell backwards, hitting the back of my head with a great big thwack on the chair on my way down. 

 

Bright has some beautiful walks along the Ovens River as well as the Murray to Mountains Rail-Trail to explore and enjoy. The deciduous trees were in various shades of yellow and wrinkly brown and even green at this time of year.

 

Damp mosses, lichen, hopping spiders and various fungi can keep nature photographers quite occupied in Bright while the cloud covered hill tops that surround the snug little town make for picturesque views. The Ovens River Canyon Walk  still bear vestiges of a gold-mining era with tail-races embedded into the cliff sides.

 

Mt Buffalo has a number of scenic stops as well as walking tracks that are more accessible during the warmer months. This is a very scenic drive even in wintry weather. It was snowing near the top on the day we drove up there. We didn’t go all the way up to the Horn carpark – we stopped at the Cathedral-Hump Track carpark  and did a short fifteen minute walk. I was not prepared for the snowy conditions that day and was not dressed for slushy snow.

 

We hired our ski gear and snow chains from Porepunkah Ski Hire  which gives exceptional family service. They personally fit and demonstrate to you how to fit snow chains to your car.

 

Bright is surrounded by nature and you can’t get more natural that kangaroos bounding into your resort!

It is possible to find some sufficiently dark corner even in the resort so that you can indulge in a bit of astro photography. My first! Not perfect, but I was pleased with my first efforts.

 

In the meanwhile, down closer to shore in Melbourne, at historical Princes Pier, fishermen, roller-bladers and photographers congregate. An information sign on location informs us that Princes Pier was “[b]uilt between 1912 and 1915” and that it “was the third major pier constructed at Port Melbourne. Together with the adjacent Station Pier, it served as a major passenger and cargo terminal in the twentieth century until its closure in 1989. Restored and modified to allow safe public access, Princess Pier reopened in 2011.” This pier is on the Victorian Heritage Register.

 

On a crisp evening, when the sun sets at 5:07 pm in the middle of June and the lowest temperature is 7C and the maximum 16C, it pays to dress warmly to catch those last rays of the sun on a clear blue day to watch the sky change to violet, mauve, pink and yellow as the last rays of the sun dip along the water’s edge. It is eerie, mesmerising and hypnotic gazing along those rows of aged pylons stretching into the distance of what was once a bustling pier. Satellite imagery comparing Princes Pier and Station Pier gives you an indication of just how much of Princes Pier has not been restored. Standing on this pier, you can often see the Spirit of Tasmania in the evening before its departure for Devonport, Tasmania at 7.30 pm.

 

Now at this time of year when bare tree branches cast long shadows upon the street even at 2 in the afternoon and camelias, cyclamens and orchids add their cheery countenance to our yards, and gum nuts are well formed and comfort foods beckon, there’s nowhere sweeter than home. 

Thank you for dropping by, hope to see you at the next instalment of what Melbourne is like in July.