Sorrento & Point Nepean, Victoria

On Saturday I caught up with peninsula girl C.  C and I worked together at the start of the year at one of the many Universities in Melbourne and haven’t seen each other since then.  She lives way down the Mornington Peninsula in a place called Sorrento.

I hopped on the Frankston line (catch it from Flinders, Richmond or South Yarra station) and she picked me up at the station just as the sun was beginning to shine.  Taking the coastal route we made our way to Sorrento for one of the famous vanilla slices you can get here.

From what I saw of Sorrento, it seems like a gorgeous little place.  It almost had a Mediterranean feel to me, partly because of the name and partly because of some of the architecture.

 

We browsed a few shops and tried to stop each other from splurging on stuff we don’t need, before heading up to Home Of Sorrento cafe for one of these vanilla slices I’ve heard so much about!  The hype was worth it, it was mouth wateringly rich and delicious.

 

The famous vanilla slices at Home Of Sorrento
And lots of other highly delectable treats
Including these amazing chocolates
The staff had their work cut out with it being the long weekend
The cafe entrance

The slices sell out in minutes, they keep making new batches until they completely run out.  We pre-ordered and paid for ours before the new batch was ready, just to make sure we didn’t miss out!  Also, seats are very hard to come by in this place because it’s so popular, with a bit of patience we got lucky and found one.

Feeling full and energised we got back into the car and headed towards the national park.  Here there are various walks you can do that lead to the very end point of the peninsula – aka Point Nepean.  There are lots of old bunkers dotted about that you can explore, these are from the First World War when soldiers were stationed here on look out in case of attack.

The history of the place was incredibly interesting and the views were just breathtaking… prepare yourself now for a photofest!

The routes are all on these kind of paths making them easy enough for people of all ages
With the sun beaming down and the sea so blue I was itching to get in the water, if I’d had a towel with me I would have definitely braved it!
Just beautiful

 

 

 

 

I literally could have stayed here for hours

 

The terrain of Australia is so similar yet so different to the UK.  You can tell immediately that this is a much harsher environment to live in.  Still beautiful in its own way though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you spot the bunker?

 

 

The first lookout
It’s lovely and quiet on this walk, all you can hear is wind, waves and wildlife
Another lookout to the left there

 

 

 

 

 

The above photo is taken almost at the point.  We took a good hour or so getting here because I kept getting enamoured by the scenery and stopping to take lots of pictures.

 

 

 
Isn’t it just lovely?
We spent a while exploring the lookout areas.  History seems to pop up where you least expect it in Australia, it’s easy to forget that it’s directly linked to so many big events in world history.

 

 

 

Couldn’t resist snapping this loved up couple

There was also a shuttle bus taking people from the car park right down to the point, but I much preferred the walk – especially since the vanilla slice I had was bloody massive.  With a friend’s birthday meal happening later that evening it was now time to head back to the city.  We stopped off at a place called Rosebud for some fish and chips (I much prefer Aussie fish and chips to British fish and chips, sssh!  Don’t tell anyone!).

It was a lovely day catching up with C and was fantastic to see more of what Victoria has to offer, it’s all about mixing with the locals, you get a much richer experience!  I’ll be going back at some point in the winter to make a weekend of it and explore the barracks properly.

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