Peninsula Travels Archives - Page 3 of 3

Cycling along the Rye Foreshore

I can’t recall since when the local cycling scene was dominated by the lycra wearing, leg shaving bunches. I have been one of them, hiding in the slipstream, “sharing” the Point Nepean Road with the locals.

Rye foreshore beach access — Beach access from the Rye foreshore trail

Frankly this is not the only way to enjoy your time on two wheels. There are more than 30 bicycle tracks along the peninsula for all abilities. You can cycle along the foreshore from Dromana to Point Nepean. Some paths are strictly for bikes, but many are shared with walkers and even horses; so ride responsibly.

There is a good bike trail along the Rye foreshore. It suits cyclists of all abilities. You can enjoy this trail with mountain bikes and leisure bikes. For road bike with thinner tires, it should be fine as soon as you pump them up to 110 PSI, and bring spare tubes for the gravel sections just in case. I did fine on my road bike and not yet had a puncture. The trail is very scenic and it passes through many shops and attractions along the foreshore.

The The Mornington Peninsula Tourism website already has good information on this trail, parking and supporting facilities. I won’t repeat them here, rather, I’d highlight some attractions and good cafes along the way.

1840 Rye Lime Kiln Replica

If you make it to here, well done. You are at the west end of the trail. You may continue along the Pt Nepean Road to Sorrento however you will share the road with other cars, please be careful.

Set just behind the sand dunes at the base of Whitecliffs lookout, a replica Lime Kiln has been built by the Rotary & Lions Clubs of Rye in 1989. It has been sited where once the historic ‘Devine Kiln’ stood, as well as an old loading point where bullock teams would drag wagons loaded with bagged lime into the shallow waters, transfer it to barges, then to small sailing ships, to be transported to a special Limecraft Dock which was constructed c 1849, near King Street in Melbourne. This is nonetheless an important history of Rye, describing lives of our early settlers.

A Mini Kitchen

One of my favourite cafe in Rye, a short walk from our cottages and the perfect way to end your ride. Small in size, big in heart, the name actually comes from owner Amy Minichiello. Fantastic cakes and good coffee, refill your sugar intake here.

Flat White Coffee Banana Bread Toast A Mini Cafe Rye Foreshore — Flat white coffee and banana bread toast with butter from A Mini Cafe

Lazy to Pedal? Rent an E-Bike

The Rye Bike Shop offers rental of bicycles and batteries powered e-bikes. They also provide full bike services and sell cycling accessories.

The Rye Bay Trail is an easy ride suitable for cyclists of all abilities. It is a flat trail along the foreshore, which connects Rye to Dromana through Rosebud. The closest access point of this trial is just 250m from our Rye cottages.

Rye Yacht Club

The sport of sailing is an easy sale, the sparkling water, cool gentle sea breeze (unless you’re into racing), and the occasional visit of dolphins swimming next to you …

What people may not realise are many more benefits, especially for the development of our younger ones. One of my friend’s family have been learning to sail at the Rye Yacht Club for a few summers now.

“How do you sail back against the wind?” I asked. “You go zigzag.” My friend replied. “What happens if the wind and current bring you far out into the open blue waters?” … “Well, you’d learn to work the situation calmly, one step at a time, and you make it back to the shore a better man/woman.”

Well said indeed. At the Rye Yacht Club, they teach you more than the skills of sailing, but to be determined and self motivated towards problem solving. Every Sunday morning during the warmer months, you see kids as young as seven, dragging their little sail boats out, with a smile on their face, ready for their challenge ahead.

Learn to sail port phillip bay rye yacht club — Australian Instructor of the Year 2017 teaches children to sail

The Club ran courses for children, supported by safety boats, and taught by the Australian Instructor of the Year 2017. The second time the Club had won this recognition. People may be mistaken that sailing is a sport for the riches. I was amused when I heard about the costs. The Club is very noble in promoting the sport, and ran by many volunteers. They are a strong community who have supported each other and the sport since 1970s.

You don’t have to be the strongest swimmer nor a dare devil to get into the sailing. It can also be a family sport, about a good morning spent over the calmer waters of the bay.

Come visit the Rye Yacht Club at the Rye Foreshore, just a short walk from the pier, or from our cottages; smiles await.

Treasure Hunting

The Tyabb Packing House is an antique its own right, it is one of the largest antiques, old wares, art and craft market in Australia.

During the summer days, you may find the tin and cladding structure hot, and the humble shed a bit rusty and run down. However, don’t let your initial impressions fool you. You will soon appreciate it as you step through its collections. The location itself is a piece of the peninsula history. The peninsula was mostly consisting of fruit farms in the old days. The packing house was where the goodies were once stored, packed and sent to markets elsewhere. The site has gone through many renovations and expansions, and it now includes an old train carriage brought from their Moorooduc site.

Besides antiques and histories, you can also re-discover your childhood memories. This can be your favourite movies, cartoon figures, or your grandpa’s film camera.

The i-gadget generation will be amused with lives in the older days. What is a QWERTY keyboard, or should I say typewriter? A dial phone?

One of the Packing House’s star tenant is Andrew Fildes, who runs his camera emporium there. I would rather think it is a museum of his personal collections, and perhaps his autobiography. Andrew is a former commercial photographer who is also a writer, technical journalist and teacher. He is well known as a feature and review writer for the Australian Photography website. A film enthusiast of coz, Andrew also collects anything with a lens, including a a strike recording camera that was fitted into he Stuka JU87 dive bomber.

Young Instagram population new to film shooting can get some good tips from Andrew, and of course buy a quality and checked camera there.

The Tyabb Packing House is run by people who appreciate old wares, the memories they help keeping and the old style in person trading. You can buy online but you may not get the full stories and quality assurance behind each item.

The Tyabb Packing House is opened Thursday to Sunday 10 am – 5 pm, and public holidays. It is located at 14 Mornington–Tyabb Road, Tyabb, Victoria, with over 5000m2 in space. It is about a 30 min drive from our cottages in Rye. It would be a great day trip visiting the Moorooduc township and its winery. There is plenty of free parking, located opposite Tyabb train station, with free entry, licensed café and over 30 dealers specialising in antiques, deco, old wares, retro, vintage and specialty items.