Day 103 - Monday 10 April - Wet n Wild on Phillip Island

Day 103

Monday

10 April 2017 –

Dalyston – Cowes – The Nobbies – Pyramid Rock – Rhyall – Cape Woolamai

Well if the van wasn’t rocking before, it was now. We had a howler come through, throwing the van about for part of the night. We could hear the wind screaming around outside and were hoping the van would hold it together; it did.

With the weather wild and woolly outside, I was happy to snuggle down in bed and ignore it for as long as I possibly could. I did read for a little bit, but when 9am came around Paul was ready to brave the outside and go for a shower. The footy change rooms had been left open, so we snuck in there for a quick birdbath and then returned to the van for breakfast.

I packed up our lunch and the other necessities, loading everything in to the car and then we made our way through San Remo and onto Phillip Island. It was nice to be visiting this place without the hordes of bike riders jostling for space at the Motogp.

We stopped first of the chocolate factory; not a pinch on Margaret River. They dole out one sample, with tongs, for you to try, oh so generous. They charge to go into their chocolate museum and to watch the chocolate being made, a bit rude! and seeing it is run by an Indian bloke, they serve curry in the restaurant.

After coming away with a seconds bag, we crossed the road to the tourist info centre, taking photos of the busts of the Aussie GP winners, Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Casey Stoner. We then entered and picked out a library’s worth of reading material to keep us going for while we are here in Victoria. Then it was on to Cowes.

During the two other times we have been to Phillip Island, 2003 and 2008, we haven’t checked out Cowes before. We drove down the main street and parked at the jetty. We donned all the warm stuff and had a walk around the waterfront, talking to another photography enthusiast who was also a biker. We then hiked up the main street, coming across Ocean Ridge Brewery. We knew the place was closed for trade, but spied the brewer inside, so Paul knocked on the door, gave his spiel and in we came.

Simon, the brewer was only happy to oblige Paul with a sample of his brews and talk us through his operations. We were shown the brew house and the room for expansion, before taking some video and photos and heading on our way.

We continued up the street a short distance before opting to turn around, return to the car, collect our lunch and sit on a park bench by the water to enjoy the view. It was still cool and crisp and you could see the sheets of rain falling over the Mornington Peninsula.

Once finished, we returned to the car and drove out to The Nobbies.  Here we had to layer up with all our warm weather gear. I tightened my hoodie around my head to keep the wind from whistling through my ears and then we proceeded to follow the walking trails. 

A penguin was sitting amongst the vegetation, obviously happy to be out of the wind and the raging water below. There were plenty of nesting boxes around the point for others to pop out of the water and retreat to.

We battled the wind as we walked along the boardwalk. The rock face was covered in a lush green layer of cactus like plants that were really set off by the turquoise blue of the Bass Strait waters and the black nobbly rock being pounded by the surf. At times the water rushed in so fast, the sea spray was like a mist, coating everything in its path. Even sea foam took flight like a lost balloon, floating over the rock face behind us.

We made it to the blowhole before turning around and checking out Seal Rocks , then walking up the stairs and returning to the car for a reprieve from the biting wind. I set the GPS for Pyramid Rock and we were off.

It was relatively quiet in the car park when we arrived. We donned our warm gear again and made the trek to the viewing platforms. It was quite obvious as to why the rock was given the name, coming to a distinctive point. We took photos and finished up, just as the tourists began streaming down the path towards us.  

We returned to the main road, passing the Motogp track and the campground we stayed at in 2003. There were bikes going around today, but nothing of interest. We pulled into a side street where we could watch a few wiz by and then we continued our drive on to Rhyall. We passed the Rusty Water Brewery on the way, but it wasn’t open so we continued on, stopping in at the waterfront of Rhyall. On our way in to Rhyall we stopped at the inlet and took a walk among the boardwalk amongst the paperbark trees.

This area is supposedly good for bird watching, but I didn’t see anything while we wandered. We drove on to Rhyall, there wasn’t really much to see here, so we didn’t hang around for long, opting to head on to Cape Woolamai.

We again arrived to a fairly empty car park and a quiet beachfront. The sun was just peeking out of the clouds highlighting the rocks on the point. I took some photos of it and the interesting way sea foam was being pushed into shore by the waves lapping in along the beach. When we made to return we saw the tour bus unloading its passengers and knew it was time to make a hasty retreat once again.

As it was now 4.10pm, Paul figured we could head back to the Rusty Water Brewery and we arrived in time for its opening at 4.30pm.  He picked up a tasting paddle of their offerings and made himself comfortable as he began writing notes and getting my ideas on the “nose” of the various brews. He chatted with the bar staff, ensuring what he was getting was on the house and then we were ready to head on.

We passed back over the bridge that connects Phillip Island with the nearest mainland town, San Remo and then followed the highway back towards our van in Dalyston. We stopped briefly at a lookout, which would have been great had the trees been trimmed. The sun was once again trying to peek through the clouds and was sending out bursts of thick sunrays across the island and Bass Strait. If only I could have had a better vantage point for photos.

We were back at the van by 5.30pm and ready for a feed. I got straight into the cooking, while I loaded photos and Paul wrote up his reviews. Once dinner, eating and the dishes were complete, I was able to sort through all the photos, meanwhile Paul took himself off to bed to read.