Point Nepean

Last week, before our trip to Far North Queensland, we managed to find a part of Victoria we had not yet explored.  The city of Melbourne sits on Port Phillip Bay, a large body of water with a narrow opening, known somewhat ominously as "The Rip."  The heads of this opening are called Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff and Point Lonsdale, and for this excursion we drove as far as we could by car, and from there took a people mover to reach the end of Point Nepean.  

You can see the opening to the bay below.  Navigating the entrance remains tricky to this day, in spite of electronic navigation aids.  At least eighty ships have wrecked near this area since the beginning of European exploration.  Here is what Wikipedia has to say about The Rip:

"The Rip", also known as "The Heads", is a dangerous stretch of water in Victoria, Australia, connecting Port Phillip and Bass Strait. It is the only entrance for shipping into Port Phillip and hence into Melbourne. Because of large tidal flows through the relatively narrow channel from the bay to the ocean, and a high rocky seabed, The Rip has claimed many ships and lives. Geographically, it is the roughly triangular area of water between the land points of Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff and Point Lonsdale, these 3 form The Heads.

Cheviot Beach, shown below, is where Australian prime minister Harold Holt disappeared in 1967 after plunging into dangerous surf for a swim.  Our local swim center is named after him, so we were especially interested when our guide told the story.  His disappearance led to the largest search and rescue effort in Australia's history, but his body was never found.

The people mover dropped us off at Fort Pearce, and from there we walked to Fort Nepean.  The kids were interested in exploring the forts, which seemed to them like dungeons, and examining a couple of the guns left behind.  Katie informed us that we do not take them on enough historical expeditions.  Too much scenery, not enough forts and museums, in her opinion.  We will have to see what we can do to fix that in the future.

 Coming Soon:  Photos from Port Douglas, the Daintree Forest, and the Great Barrier Reef.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Amy Smith]

Very nice post Christie. Fort Nepean is yet another beautiful location. Your photos of both scenery and people are wonderful!

[Shanda Ives]

Hi Christie! The photo of you is gorgeous. You look so good. This looks like a very interesting place with lots of history (which adds substance to the scenery, right Katie?)