Millionaires Walk, Sorrento, VIC

This stunning cliff top walk has historic significance as it was the first time the Union Jack was used to claim possession of Australia. On the 9th March 1802, Acting Lieutenant John Murray, commander of the 'HMAS Lady Nelson' took possession of Point King, later to be renamed Port Phillip Bay, in the name of His Sacred Majesty George III of Great Britain and Ireland. 

You can start the walk at either Point King Road or Lentell Avenue. Limited parking is available at both Point King Road and Lentell Avenue.

Although there are gates at both ends of the track and at points along the way, there is a public right-of-way along the easement. The undulating track is well-maintained, on mostly natural surfaces, which makes it an easy walk for all ages.

The walk allows you to gain an insight into how Melbourne's elite spend time at their summer mansions, and the chance to quietly peruse some highly-priced private architecture.  

At certain points it feels as if you may be trespassing, due to the intimate nature of walking on front lawns which would usually be hidden behind high fences.

On one side, there are elegant houses with beautifully landscaped gardens; on the other, a low shrubby cliff dropping down to rows of boat houses and private jetties that stretch out through the shallows of a bay.

The water views across Port Phillip Bay to the Bellarine Peninsula, Melbourne and Mount Dandenong are breathtaking.

The Sorrento-Queenscliff passenger and car ferry makes regular trips multiple times each day.

Millionaires Walk makes up a small part of the Sorrento Portsea Artists’ Trail, with four of the fourteen sites that comprise the trail located along Millionaires Walk. Paintings by Sir Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Ray Hodgkinson are displayed along the walk.

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A Quiet Walk by the Water

How often do we take for granted the beauty of the world around us?

Sometimes a nice quiet walk down near the water is just what the doctor ordered --

A seat to sit and take in the serenity...

And to end the day -- This!
It is well with my soul.

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Storms and Sunsets

Sometimes a passing storm can deliver a lovely subdued sunset.

We can also experience this in the journey of life -- although 'storms' may hit us and toss us around, there is always something positive that comes from these experiences.

Whether we learn from them, we grow as a person, our character is tested and strengthened or our courage increased.

These storms serve to shape us, to make us the best version of ourselves -- if only we are humble enough to allow it.

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." - Helen Keller

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PRINCES PIER, Port Melbourne, VIC

As a photographer, one of the places on my photography "bucket list" for quite some time was Princes Pier in Port Melbourne, Victoria. While in Melbourne in 2014, we visited there on 2 separate occasions in order to gain some images that I had in mind -- but the weather was a little moody both times. It was certainly worth the visit though!

Princes Pier is a 580 metre long historic pier on Port Phillip Bay, in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The pier was constructed between 1912 and 1915 by the Melbourne Harbour Trust to supplement the adjacent Station Pier (originally the 'Railway Pier'). From completion in 1915 until 1969 it was also a major arrival point for new migrants, particularly during the post-war period. In addition to a pier, there was a gatehouse and barriers, terminal building, amenities rooms, goods lockers, ablution blocks, railway sidings and passenger gangways.

With the containerisation boom the pier became unused, being closed to public access in the early 1990s due to the poor timber condition, and squatters caused a fire in the late 1990s that destroyed the store structures. In the three years to 2004, 14 fires occurred.
A refurbishment estimated to cost $14 million was announced by the State Government in April 2006, with the first 196 metres of the Pier fully restored, beyond that point the decking would be removed and the original pylons preserved. A full restoration was estimated at $60 million. A contract for the work was awarded in June 2007, and work began in October of the same year. The pier reopened to the public in December 2011.

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