Tag:rosebud
If we were disappointed with Saturday’s weather, Sunday was worse! The day was overcast, with a hint of rain in the air and a bit breezy. Of course, today was the day we had planned to go to Cape Schanck Lighthouse, Rosebud. There’s nothing like a walk in the rain and the wind when you are right on a surf coast. An area that’s usually windy on even a nice still day! 🙂
Lighthouse Tour
After breakfast in Flinders, we drove back through the rain to Cape Schanck Lighthouse, Rosebud. They do lighthouse tours there on the hour and even give discounts to seniors 😉 So we booked that and then went for a wander. I have never been to England, but I can now relate to all the books I read where they described wild, windswept, bitterly cold moors and coastlines. When the lighthouse keeper arrived to unlock the door and take us up to the top, our teeth were chattering, and I felt like a popsicle! We had dressed warmly, but nothing could keep the icy wind out.
Interior of Lighthouse
The inside was quite cosy. A small, winding, and very narrow stone spiral staircase led up to the top. This is unusual for a lighthouse, as the usual steps were wrought iron. Â From the top, you could go out the door and view the world from the top of the lighthouse on the top of the cliff ;). On the sheltered side, you had views of the lighthouse grounds. On the other side, open to the ocean, the wind nearly blew you off your perch.
Back inside the little wood-panelled heart of the lighthouse, where we learnt it was constructed in 1879 from limestone, the beam goes out about 50 miles and protects the shipping going past Seal Rocks. The colossal crystal lens is worth 3.5 million. Â
The lighthouse is automated now, but in the days gone by, it was hand-operated by a series of pulleys that kept it turning. Wind the big wheel up 87 times, and it would slowly unwind over the next hour and a half, then wind it up another 87 times for the next hour and a half, over a ten-hour shift that’s 579 turns of the winch. It seems one thing a lighthouse keeper of old didn’t suffer from was weak biceps!:)
The Boardwalk
After the lighthouse, we wandered over to the Boardwalk. This spectacular timber structure hugs the cliff tops and sides as you walk along.
There are several lookout spots along the way to take a pic or rest. We had planned to walk this, then changed our minds when we became popsicles. However, since warming back up from our time inside the lighthouse and with the sun trying its best to peek out, Â we changed our minds once again and decided to brave it.
Pebble Beach
From the top to Pebble Beach is 1.7 km, downhill all the way. Which meant coming back up would be 1.7kms UPHILL all the way. Something we didn’t consider as we set off. We made it down in good time, looked around, and watched the surf fisherman on the rocks and a hardy soul trying to surf. Then, I started the journey back up. We did it in only a slightly longer time than the downward journey but nearly expired on the way. Â
Mental note: next time, pace ourselves and take a bit longer to get back up! We felt very proud of ourselves, though, as we were passed many times on the way up and down by people much younger. And they stopped halfway and turned around.
We would have bought one if they sold an “I Survived the Boardwalk” badge at the kiosk. We wanted our medal!
Mornington
After we got our breath back, we headed back to the apartment. Our legs felt like lead, and we looked forward to an LLD (little lie-down!) LOL
‘Twas our final day. We head back to homes, doggies and family today. And, of course, the sun was out. The skies were blue. Glorious weather. We left around 10 am and headed to Mornington for breakfast. Then, a short stop at the Mornington Boat Harbour and a slightly longer stop at Paper2, arriving back home around 2.30
We had a fab time. We laughed a lot, made fun of each other, ate all the wrong foods, drank too much wine, walked over 10kms on the weekend (we kept track, lol), and still created art at night.