Stony Point to French Island........

After our two weeks at home we were ready to travel again and went in search of some new horizons to explore.

A few years ago while mooching around the Peninsula we discovered a ferry Service that went across to French Island.  Not knowing much about this place we decided that would  be our big adventure this weekend.

We left home on Friday afternoon, picked up the camper and drove down to our home for the next two days.  Stony Point Caravan Park is a lovely grassy little park right on the shore at Crib Point.  As we arrived the weather rolled in with us and it was a race against the rain and wind to get set up and stay dry.  Bill did a great job and soon after we were warm, dry and enjoying our dinner inside.

We woke the next morning to a fine still morning with blue skies and sunshine making it a perfect day for our island adventures.  After breakfast we walked down to the shoreline where we found lots of birds foraging in and on the mudflats while tide was out.  Bills eyes lit up at the many photo ops presenting themselves right in front of him.

We found the Ferry, bought our tickets and soon after were on our way across the bay to the island.  A little chilly on the top deck but only 20 mins so we stayed outside.  Across the bay we found more mudflats and lots more birds intent on feeding at low tide but we passed them to find out where we could go next.

The ferry from Stony Point is for pedestrian passengers only and with no car we were hoping to do the bus tour.  This was not to be as the bus wasn't  running this weekend.  We found the little information hut and checked out the local map and it was here we found that without wheels there was really nowhere to get too.

So where and what is French Island.  It is the largest coastal island of Victoria,  located in Western Port bay.  In 1997 about 70 per cent of the island was declared the French Island National Park.  With only about 60 permanent Residents on the island it is safe to say that it is a very tiny community.  French Island is relatively isolated and undeveloped. There are no mains water, mains electricity, or medical services on the island. 

There is one small general store and post office located on Tankerton Road about 3 km from Tankerton Jetty.   There are more than 40 km of gravel roads and tracks, which are quiet and ideal for walking and cycling.  Last nights rain did not seem to affect the roads and walking was quite easy.  The island is generally flat with the highest point being Mount Wellington (96m).

One of the things the island is known for is that any cars there seem not to be registered.  We are not sure how this works but most of the cars we saw that day were real bombs and all without number plates.  This old truck from the Top End was probably the winner in the dilapidated stakes.  Not sure if it still ran.

Once we had our bearings we walked the 3 km to the General Store where we had coffee, saw a koala strolling across the lawn and then turned around and walked back to the jetty.  We had discovered that with no way to get around we may as well head off and catch the next boat back to Stony Point.  

We had half an hour to wait on the jetty and Bill filled in this time photographing the many birds making the most of the turning tide.  We have since found out that you can take a car over by barge from a little place called Corinella near San Remo.  Perhaps next Spring we'll try that.

We enjoyed the trip back across the bay,  returned home for lunch and then went down to the shore where we spent a couple of hours with the birds.  The Pelicans just love the fish cleaning tables and as we arrived there was a huge group of them waiting patiently for two fishermen to throw them some scraps.

The large Pacific Gulls were fun to watch with a mix of adult (white) and juvenile (Brown) birds.  Both the same size but such different colours.  And of course plenty of seagulls too.

The caravan park is right next to the Crib Point Station which is the end of the line, right across the road from the Jetty and boat ramps.  We saw a few tourists getting off the train for a walk in the sunshine.

We enjoyed our day and soon after Bill had the barbie on and was cooking dinner.  I did the salad and drinks!

A lovely sunny Sunday morning gave us the opportunity to relax over breakfast before packing up once again.  We drove the few km around to Somers and spent a few hours wandering around the Coolart Wetlands.

After our picnic lunch on the lawns it was time to leave once more and head for home.  Once there it was time to get ready for the week ahead and plan next weeks adventures.

until next time.........