Mornington and Dandenongs

From Torquay we had a big drive, passing through Melbourne towards our next camp at Balnarring Beach. We’d come to the Mornington Peninsula as way back when we were in Warrnambool at the hot springs sanctuary, we had been told by a fellow soaker that there was an even bigger hot springs sanctuary on the Mornington Peninsula.

We headed to the sanctuary and were shocked at how massive it was!! There were over 70 different “experiences” from hot springs, saunas, Turkish hammams, cold plunges and even a cryo room (basically a big freezer). We spent a few hours here trying all the different experiences until we were just about ready to fall asleep standing!

Our campsite at Balnarring Beach was nice, in the bush with really nice toilet and shower facilities (cheap too!). We were absolutely chuffed with ourselves until a group of four boys, in utes with shiny red P plates attached pulled up next to us. We sighed as we immediately knew that there would be not a lot of sleeping that night (despite the relaxing spring). However, instead of sleepless, we found ourselves quite entertained. The boys were fresh 18 and clearly this was one of their first camping trips. They had headed off to the pub in the afternoon and work us up as they stumbled back into camp around 11pm. It wasn’t long until one of the boys had their head in a bush throwing their guts up while the rest of the boys sat around having a D&M, asking each other for advice on girls and dating. Me and Rein were beside ourselves trying not to laugh out loud as these young men attempted to work out life. It was very endearing. It reminded us of just how far we have come and how your early 20s really are just for figuring it all out.

We would have liked to stay in the Mornington Peninsula for longer, but alas, the area is more of a beachy seaside area and the weather we had was patchy rain a cool, not really ideal for beach hopping.

We next were headed up to Dandenongs for a very special reason, to see my great uncle Joe and Regina! It had been many years since I’d had seen them so it was such a treat to be able to visit. We met at the botanic gardens for a walk before headed out to lunch and then a visit (and hot choccy) on top of Mount Dandenong. The hours went by far too quickly and it was so great to catch up. There was a promise to visit WA in the near future so hopefully it won’t be too long before another catch up!

Next on our trip we are headed up to the Alpine area to tackle some big hikes and see all the ski resorts.