Melbourne is known for its taciturn weather. This year was no exception. Only difference was that it held the record for the coldest day in December in 10 years. It even snowed in our high country! Now, why is it exceptional to snow in December? Well this is Melbourne in Australia in the southern hemisphere where December is the start of our summer season.
This year I spent a few days down on Philip Island. We were there for 5 days and it rained 4 of those days. As Melbourne is only 1.5 hours away, we were able to fit in a walk on our way home.
We managed to fit in a few activities in between the damp weather – I also gave my raincoat a good workout. Thankfully the resort we were staying in had a selection of movies to watch.
As it was just the two of us, we stayed in a studio apartment at the Ramada Resort this time. The resort has pedal karts for hire (unless you’re a member in which case it is free). You can book the karts for 1.5 hours each time. We took a pedal kart out for a good spin around the 1.5km loop around the property.
The resort also has tennis courts, a gym, several pools, spas and saunas that guests can use. We made good use of the latter two. I also participated in a Zumba class while my hubby used the gym. My Chilean Zumba teacher was very energetic to say the least but she encouraged us to work at our own pace and to just have fun – which we all did!
The onsite restaurant (Flametrees Restaurant) had the most beautiful tender eye fillet on special while we were there – so succulent and tender you didn’t need a steak knife – an ordinary ‘butter knife’ was sufficient. I had my doubts when they brought our meal when they didn’t remove the set cutlery to replace it with steak knives, but they knew better.
Near reception is an open fire-place with seats around it. I love the smell of the wood fire each time I went past there. Sheltered BBQs are also available for guests to use.
The resort has wild Cape Barren Geese roaming freely about. These geese tend to mate for life and the male tends to be very possessive of its mate if you get too close. There were also purple swamp hens and galahs as well as rabbits and kangaroos that make themselves quite at home here. I spotted rabbits and kangaroos most mornings and evenings from the dinning room door. One time I took a photo of a rabbit hiding amidst the grass and only discovered later that there was a kangaroo in the background which I hadn’t seen earlier.
Another highlight for me during this trip was seeing the brightest longest shooting star in my life on Tuesday night. As it turned out, that week was when the Geminids peaked on Wednesday between 11pm and 1am Melbourne time. I tried looking for them again the following couple of days but it was too cloudy. It was on Tuesday night that I got my personal show when the clouds parted long enough to reveal beautiful clear night skies with the most amazing array of stars. Fortunately, as it was rather on the chilly side (I was dressed in winter gear), I did not have to do combat with mosquitoes which can be ferocious at this time of year.
During our four nights there, we managed to do four leisurely walks between the rainy showers. The first one we did was along the shore in Cowes (which is the main town centre). That Monday presented us with wintry blustery conditions. I felt as if I was going to get blown over when I was out on the jetty. Images of Piglet (of Winnie the Pooh) going sailing through the air on a kite came to my mind. During that walk we spotted plovers (curlews), a washed-up sea urchin and a very attractive dried up banksia pod along our walk. This was also where we got rained on – but after the rain came a rainbow.
We visited Smiths Beach the next day where we saw some strange looking blue washed up things that were about half the size of my thumb. At first I thought they were some kind of jelly fish and then later seaweed. After speaking with the life guards, I found out that they were called Velella Velella. These are also called By-the-wind-sailor – they drift wherever the current takes them and they are related to the ‘jelly fish’. They are hydrozoans and come from the cnidaria family. They do use toxins to stun and then capture their prey but their toxins are generally not dangerous to humans – just as a precaution though, do not touch your eyes after handling them.
At Pyramid Rock to Berry’s Beach walking trail we enjoyed the beautiful coastal seascape. This cliff-top walk is through grasslands and low scrubs which kangaroos love to inhabit. We spotted nearly 30 kangaroos during our 2 to 3 hours there. We also saw numerous kangaroo trails leading off across our paths into the distant paddocks. We also spotted two echidnas. We couldn’t see many birds but we could hear their merry chirps coming from the low scrub. This was the season for grasses to seed – because they were in seed, it was easy to identify the myriads of varieties of ‘weeds’. I was quite captivated by the fluffy ones – Lagurus Ovatus – Bunny Tails. People sometimes use them as decorations.
On our last day we decided to check out Woolamai Surf Beach and its adjacent walking trails. From the carpark we descended to the beach and turned left for a short distance before ascending a flight of stairs (dubbed the Magicland steps). There are well made signs at each crossroad with times indicated for a stroll to your destination. We chose the Pinnacles Lookout as it seemed like a suitable walk before lunch. This turned out to be an open trail with stunning views of the surf coast. We pass a lonesome Cape Barren Geese sheltering in the shade of a timber bench. It allowed us to get really close to it to take its photo. The view from the lookout did not disappoint us. It was a particularly clear day with views for miles around.
There is a historical Granite Quarry that is an alternate trail to the Pinnacle Lookout trail. From what I’ve read, this would be a good thing to check out another time. It is slightly longer and I think I will need to bring lunch with me if so.
As I descended the Magiclands Steps to return to the carpark, I noticed some interesting patterns on the weathered rock on the sandy shoreline. On closer inspection, one of these rocks had beautiful blue streaks through it – they were soft to the touch and came off on my fingers.
Our tummies were reminding us that it was lunch time, so on the way home we stopped in San Remo at the well acclaimed Fishermen’s Co-op Fish and Chips café. This place has indoor and out-door dining with floor to ceiling glass walls for you to enjoy the view of the bridge that joins the mainland to Philip Island. Thankfully the seagulls have been trained not to expect food from this outdoor dining area.
Next to the carpark on the shore, is San Remo’s famed pelican feeding area. At 12pm each day, staff feed the pelicans here. This is quite the tourist attraction now.
There’s a lot of things you can do in Melbourne in December. This is just a highlight of a trip to Philip Island I did this year. Last year we were in Rye and the weather was quite different then – much warmer and dryer. I’ll write more on this in a different post.
What do you normally do on your summer vacation? Where is a place you have been to with the most stunning views? Which do you prefer – sea or the mountain?
If you want to find out more about Melbourne through each month of the year, you can read my other posts below. It is a developing series (which I started during lockdown with limited travel opportunities but which I’ll develop further) so be sure to check back for more.
- https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/April-in-Melbourne-with-Maria/td-p/2934443
- https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/May-in-Melbourne-Daylesford-and-Clunes/m-p/2996951#M1155346
- https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/July-in-Melbourne-coast-and-cafes-Torquay-Lorne-Barwon-Heads-and/m-p/3139039#M1228083
- https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/August-September-October-in-Melbourne/td-p/3141488
- https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/November-in-Melbourne-Australia/td-p/3156839
ich habe dies selbst eine Zeit lang versucht… Ich liebte die Musik und die eleganten Bewegungen der Trainerin… Ich selbst hatte jedoch scheinbar viel zu viele Arme und Beine um diese in die gewollte Richtung zu bringen 
