"MORNINGTON PENINSULA NATIONAL PARK and POINT NEPEAN TOUR"

23rd June 2005

The Club toured Point Nepean in the Mornington Peninsula National Park on Thursday 23rd June 2005. Point Nepean is 95 km from Melbourne via the Peninsula Freeway and Nepean Highway. Forty four members set out on the tour coach at 9am travelling down the Mornington Peninsula and stopping off at Arthur's Seat Lookout for morning tea. Although the heavens threatened rain at times, we were blessed with a reasonable day, with the sun occasionally breaking through to take the sting out of a windy wintery Victorian day. We arrived at Rye just before midday finally settling in at the Rye RSL Club for lunch. An earlier mixup with bookings had us arriving at the Rye Hotel, but the driver - then realising his error - quickly transported us around the corner to the RSL, much to the disappointment of the hotel's bistro manager who saw her dining room go from full to empty in 60 seconds flat.

The Mornington Peninsula National Park was then just a short bus trip along the Nepean Highway through Sorrento and Portsea. Point Nepean at the tip of the Mornington Peninsula was opened to the public in 1988, having previously been the site of defence facilities since virtually the settlement of Melbourne by John Batman in the nineteenth century. Access within the park is either by foot, cycling or the trolley transports operated by Parks Victoria. Needless to say, we opted to be driven. Sights seen along the track to Point Nepean included the cemetary, abandoned quarantine station, Gunners Cottage and Cheviot Beach, site of the disappearance in 1967 of former Prime Minister, Harold Holt.

The views across the Rip at the narrow entrance to Port Phillip Bay are quite spectacular. Parks Victoria is restoring the old Fort Nepean defence site in order to preserve this interesting part of Victoria's history. The public is permitted to access some of the old gun emplacements and bunkers originally built to protect Port Phillip Bay from invasion by any potential enemy forces.

Our return trip on the trolleys to the visitor's centre had us back in time to connect with our tour coach to arrive back in Melbourne at 5.30pm. A great day and good value at $35 per head, all inclusive!