Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

G'day from a hideously hot and sticky Melbourne. It's 10 o'clock at night and 26 degrees with 90% humidity. Blurgh!

Anyway, in an effort to take my mind off the horrible weather I thought I'd tell you about my weekend by the coast.

For people who don't know Melbourne I'll explain a bit of geography. The city sits at the northern edge of a massive bay called Port Phillip Bay. Curving round each side of the bay, and with just a narrow gap at the bottom between them, are two peninsulas - the Bellarine to the west, and the Mornington to the east.

I was lucky enough to get invited to a friend's beach house down on the Bellarine last weekend (place called Point Lonsdale, just south of Queenscliff on the map) and had a fantastic time (thanks Will and family). Below are some photos of my jaunt.

Cliff takes to the water. Notice the lovely weather (33 degrees) and my sensibly protected arms (unfortunately the same can't be said for the feet which got a bit burnt)

Cliff on the water. Great fun until the wind changed direction and I had to summon up all my strength (so not much to draw on then) to get me back to the shore.

My first Huntsman Spider. In Will's house. Not dangerous (if you say so), just big and hairy.

Cliff and Point Lonsdale's Lighthouse. Notice how the weather had changed - temperature had dropped around 10 degrees. Behind me (but you can't really see it) is a cave in which an escaped convict spent some time in the early 1800s (allegedly - he did actually escape and spent 30 years living with local aborigines, but whether he actually came to this cave is debateable)

Rainbow over the bush behind the beach house.

So after a lovely time on the Bellarine Peninsula I caught the ferry across the Rip (the small gap at the bottom of the bay) to the Mornington Peninsula and headed for Sorrento, a very posh seaside resort (and a lot busier than Point Lonsdale)

Not having friends on the Mornington Peninsula I'd booked into a very nice hotel for the night as you can see. Not cheap though at around £130 for the night.

Sorrento lies on a narrow strip of land with bay beaches on one side (calmer water) and ocean beaches on the other (a lot wilder - good for surfing, bad for swimming). This is the view along the ocean beach with Point Lonsdale's lighthouse in the distance .

And finally (though it needs no introduction as it's so famous) is London Bridge. Apparently. No, I don't see it either but it's a vaguely interesting rock formation.

And that's it for now - more when I can concentrate properly (in other words, when this humidity's gone). G'bye!