BadgeIsBack

So the first week of Spring and I am suddenly too hot in my car in Melbourne on a blazing sunny morning after spending an hour running errands, and yes, turn on the AC..

I know I am still here when the same old people are complaining about their cities when I feel Melbourne is just the right place to be..

curiously there is coast in Melbourne : a coast that runs right down to the peninsula..starting at Port Melbourne...passing some quite adequate beaches like Black rock and Mentone.

Beoz

And you can still ski on some rare good quality snow.


Please. That's embarrassing.

the troubadour

Vulgarity regarded by some (too many) as something akin to a cultural norm......Just for the record it isn't really. Usually, but not totally it is the blokes. What it does make the speaker sound though is something of a uncultured philistine.

BadgeIsBack

you what, there are beaches in Melbourne.

I confess to maybe having mixed them up.


Skiing...you can ski on the Main Range in NSW to October. I am going 3rd week in Sep.

the troubadour

Nothing wrong with a dip down at St Kilda on a warm day. Lots to do post beach in the vicinity, not often so available in other localities.

Beoz

Melbourne doesn't really have any compelling beaches which are in easy access of Melbourne. It's not something to do in Melbourne.

I would get in quick on the ski front. Its warming up. I think last weekend was about it. Still cold enough to keep the snow nice.

ozzieeagle

The back beach at Williamstown is pretty passable actually, especially compared to UK ones. Below par compared to most Aussie ones I will admit...only because it's in Port Phillip bay.. But it is close to Melbournes North and local to Melbournes West. Decent restaurant and bar about 15 meters from the water's edge as well.

It's actually worth checking out if you find yourself over that way Beoz..... Manly without the surf in some regards. In fact Williamstown as a whole is a much better 'burb IMO than Manly.

Beoz

Doesn't look great in the internet photo's, however if I do drop down that way, which is unlikely that I will ever travel to that part of Melbourne, I will be sure to check it out.

ozzieeagle

Its worth the 35-minute drive from our place, to have a beer on the deck here on a weekday summers eve. It's about the closest bit of passable beach we get.

paulry

After a night of possums clawing they way up and down the wood burner chimney.

BadgeIsBack

A beach is a beach. Stacks down the peninusular. Bondi looks awful in photos and in real life.
Snow: there is better cover outside the resorts which is why October is viable in good years. This weekend will be my last hurrah.

the troubadour

Why some go on about beaches, as if they are the signposts in confirmation into what constitutes a decent city, is a bit of a mystery. Bondi sucks big time. Who needs ocean beaches with bone crunching surf, anyway, if not a surfer? Far nicer IMO are those cove beaches in Sydney, but they get ever so crowded on a summers day.
A beach is fine in addition to the 'other stuff' that makes a city vibrant and interesting, not the main focus unless living in an other wise dull city.

Beoz

Cover is good. Good snow depth. It's just the snow quality. It remained cold for a long time however its warmed up now. Got cold again, got warm again, etc. Either way, you are in the mountains. Enjoy ..... should be good.

Bondi is one beach of many. Very urban. Great for people watching. If I were to choose a beach for scenery and tranquility Bondi would be way down the list. It differs greatly from Tamarama (next beach south) so a beach is not really a beach.

ozzieeagle

The horizon even in the cities, seems much much further away. It feels like we have so much space to breathe here in Aus, compared to anywhere else I've been at least. It's hard to go back from.

In fact, the horizon is so bloody enormous along stretches of the Newell in NSW, I began to understand what agoraphobics feel.

the troubadour

Horizon in cities? Doesn't that just confirm the horrific urban sprawl?