The quickest way to get back to our friends who live on the Mornington Peninsular was to go by ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento. On this crossing, unlike the previous trip, we didn’t see any dolphins but you can’t be lucky every time.
Our friends had planned two pretty full days of sightseeing for the last part of our holiday starting with a visit to see ‘Puffing Billy’. This century-old steam train railway is a major tourist attraction and runs through the mountainous Dandenong Ranges National Park. Unfortunately due to our packed schedule we didn’t have time to go on the train but at least we saw it. It’s not a million miles away from Melbourne so if you’re in the area I’m sure it’s well worth taking a trip,
You can see why The Dandenongs is a popular tourist attraction. The landscape feels almost primeval full of verdant forests and rocky landscapes with a number of walking trails and lush pathways to choose from. If you’re not into walking there’s lots of arts and craft industries and quaint villages.
Our next stop after seeing the ‘Puffing Billy was right up my street as my friends knew it would be …William Ricketts Sanctuary. The brochure describes this place as ‘nestling into the hillside amongst cloud sweeping Mountain Ash and ferns’. It’s certainly hidden away and is literally a living gallery.
William Ricketts was apparently a quiet chap, very in tune with nature and believed all Australians should adopt Aboriginal philosophies. Within the sanctuary there are 90 different sculptures carved into rocks and tree trunks depicting Aboriginal people engaging with the pure forest setting, it felt quite magical and very peaceful.
It was hard to drag ourselves away from this delightful setting. What fascinating sculptures …I loved them! Lunch beckoned however and we had a table booked for 1.00pm for afternoon tea. At home we’d usually have this mid to late afternoon but don’t forget this is Australia! To be fair to our friends who’d booked ‘Fortnums’ for this treat, it’s such a popular place they were fully booked for lunch.
Fortnums is famous for their Devonshire scones and I’m not surprised, they were delicious and very filling. The restaurant is on the main street in Sassafras village which is full of English style tea rooms and shops. Agatha Christie came here hence as you might spot from the picture below, the village even boasts a Miss Marples tea room!
After a splendid tea we had a wander around before returning to our friends’ house in Hastings.
Our last full day in Oz and no time for slacking! Fist of all we were taken to an enormous outdoor market with hundreds of stalls selling crafts, veg. and lots of interesting goodies. Perhaps as well that we didn’t have any room left in our cases. An hour walking around was enough; the temperature had shot up and was in the mid 30’s.
Our next stop was a trip on Arthur’s Seat Eagle which the Swiss would describe as a Gondolbahn. The views are really impressive if you like heights which my man and I do. My friend’s husband however was pleased when we got to the bottom. Unfortunately for him we had the trip back up …This is a new attraction for the Mornington Peninsular and I must say the gondolas are very smart and the views across Port Philip Bay are impressive.
Back up at the top with everyone ready for lunch we sat in the nearby woods and had a picnic in the shade away from the searing heat.
Our friends know how keen I am on gardening and so our next port of call was to Heronswood, Australia’s first organically-certified gardens. As well as a variety of flower borders the house is quite a landmark. Architecturally it wouldn’t look out of place in Portmeirion. I was fascinated by the ‘Dry Garden’ with its mix of cacti, succulents and grasses which never needs watering. Handy in this part of the world I should imagine.
We would have stayed longer at Heronswood but it was very hot and our friends decided that it was time for an ice cream. It seemed like the whole of Mornington Peninsular was there, the place was packed, even coach loads of people arriving!
We’d certainly done quite a lot on our last day and were thankful to go down to the bay at Hastings to walk along a little and feel the refreshing breeze.
I can’t finish this Blog on our Australian trip without first of all thanking our friends for their wonderful kindness and hospitality. They had been waiting forty years for us to visit them and we were so pleased to be able to do that and celebrate their Ruby anniversary with them.
…And the plate of mussels? Please take note how beautifully those mussel shells are arranged! My friend at home always arranges the shells like this and we like to give it a go but what a stir we caused at the restaurant at Hastings. The waitress was amazed, so much so she took the bowl into the kitchen to show everyone! We have started a trend maybe?!
So it’s goodbye to Australia and hello again to Singapore before we arrive home. More on the last leg of our trip in the next Blog.
Travels with the Booths.blog 