Day 96: On yer bike and mind the bombs!

Bikes on the roof rack and we were off to Point Nepean for a good bit of exercise and an explore. There is a lot of history in this area and it is all to do with defending Port Phillip Bay and everything in it during the wars.

Our first ride took us to the Quarantine Station, which has a number of interesting buildings, such as the fumigation building where all luggage either goes through a steaming process, or is fumigated with formaldehyde gas. This is where many incoming people were quarantined for things like smallpox, influenza, dysentry, etc.

A tree-lined avenue at the Quarantine Station

We did kind of a loop ride from the car, so ended up back there shortly after the drizzle set in. This was an opportunity to have some lunch.

You gotta keep on the track, coz there are bombs everywhere...from the war days.

Post-lunch we headed off to the Point of Point Nepean, riding up and down hills, feeling much fitter than when we started this trip. We ended up at Fort Pearce and Fort Nepean, where you can have a wander in through all the tunnels and see where it all happened during the war. One of the most memorable moments was the gun placement from which the first shot of World War One was fired, and the first Allied shot of World War Two was fired. Amazing. The place is so quiet now, but it must have been bustling in those days.

The barrels that shot the first shots of the First and Second World Wars

The bike riding was very enjoyable, and it was interesting to note that we started our trip with a bike ride (via the Bellarine Rail 'n Ride) up to the Queenscliff Fort (on the heads on the opposite side) at the start of our trip. Here we are, at the end of just over three months, doing the same thing on the other side of the heads. It seems like a fitting thing to have done. We all enjoyed our day immensely, even though we got a little rained on.

Just goes to show - you don't melt in the rain. :-)

This used to be a gun placement. Now, if you stand where the gun was and say something, you get it back in surround sound!

A view back over Point Nepean from the Eagle's Nest lookout. Beautiful.