Melbourne Places » beach

West Beach Reserve St Kilda – great for taking the air on a winter’s day

Melbourne — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 04:22:49 +0000

There is a little known beach between St Kilda Beach and Middle Park Beach called West Beach Reserve. You can get away from the crowds here. For some reason fewer people walk this way.

It is here that the City of Port Phillip are nurturing some of the indigenous plants of the area . This strip between St Kilda Pier and Fraser Street has all the right conditions for these plants to grow. There is Scrub, Grassland and Saltmarsh, everything these indigenous plants need.

Most of the plantings are fairly recent as you can see and it is to be hoped that they take root and find that this piece of beach is where they want to live and multiply.

This one of my favourites. It is a little silvery, springy type of bush and I am keeping watch to see just how it will take and how big it will grow.

Port Phillip City Council have constructed a walkway through the area and it is a very pleasant place to be on a sunny winter morning. The path winds through the vegetation and there are seats so you can take in the view.

On a clear day the view is spectacular but even on an overcast day the colours can be interesting.

Getting there:-
Tram 96,16 or 3 to St Kilda . Then stroll along Beaconsfield Parade towards Port Melbourne.

Acland Street, St Kilda, buzzes when the rest of Melbourne is on holiday

Melbourne — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:50:17 +0000

Acland Street is a street alive with people and activity. When you’re in Acland Street the vibes are positive and you know that the world is still revolving. Acland Street is a street that brings you alive. That’s how I feel about Acland Street.

My first visit to Acland Street was about 10 years ago. I was a tourist and like so many tourists to Melbourne I made a pilgrimage to St Kilda. The day was perfect, the sea was calm, it was ideal for exploring Acland Street and eating a cake with coffee. The place was alive.

That was the time of the ‘Secret Life of Us’ on TV and St Kilda had an aura of excitement and expectation. It was a place where anything could happen. I still see it like that – alive to possibilities.

Acland Street has changed in those 10 years. I read articles where lovers of the area lament the changes but to me this is part of life – everything evolves.

However some things have stayed the same. The cake shops are still there as they have been for decades and I can’t see that the cakes themselves have changed – the same recipes. Hairroom the hair salon with the wonderful roof – top decoration where once I had my hair styled by a New Zealand hairdresser from Palmerston North has stayed. The book shop still hums but it is now Readings and not Cosmos.

This sculpture is on the roof of Hairroom

Remember to look up! This roof sculpture is opposite Hairroom.

What time does Acland Street wind down? I ‘m not sure but at some time the place quietens and in the early mornings it takes a while to wake up. This photo of the palm trees was taken on the Readings/ANZ corner at 8.ooam

By the mid morning the cafes are full. Some like Vibe and Big Mouth I remember from ten years ago. Others are new. The ice cream shops have multiplied ( and I see there is another about to open) Sheherazade has gone and so has La Porchetta. La Porchetta is a place I miss. The first Pizza I ate in Melbourne came from there. The Vineyard, after a number of battles with council, is still there.

During the quiet and peaceful time in the surrounding suburban street over the Christmas and the New Year break Acland Street has shown that world is still humming. I walked down there to check this out and the vibes can still make me think I am in the centre of the world and there is nowhere else to be.

Acland Street is worth visiting again and again – this is a place to feel alive and to feel that you are part of the pulsating world of action. It give us the chance to rejoice in being a city dweller. And it keeps on keeping on. If one business goes another takes its place – the street stays alive.

Getting there:-
Trams:- 16 and 96 and No. 3 in the weekends

The Beach Bar and Grill at The Stokehouse on St Kilda Beach is a feel good experience.

Melbourne — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:36:48 +0000

Mention the Stokehouse where I live and everyone has an opinion and something to say about it.

The entrance to the Stokehouse.

Its location has to be one of the best in Melbourne. The view from upstairs is spectacular as I discovered during a couple of office Christmas lunches. So good in fact that I wonder sometimes if it is worth asking a prospective employer where they have their Christmas party and grab the job if it is the Stokehouse.

However the view from the downstairs Beach Bar and Grill can be spectacular too. Here you can choose to be part of the beach action and sit outside on the edge of the boardwalk.

A view from the Beach Bar and Grill downstairs at the Sokehouse

A friend and I indulge ourselves at the Beach Bar and Grill a few times a year. It has become our favourite weekend lunch place.

Outside at the Stokehouse Beach Bar and Grill

Our recent visit coincided with a sudden cold snap. We planned to sit with our feet on the edge of the boardwalk, a chilled white in our hands and a beatific smile as we watched the passing parade. Instead we sat inside near the open fire. This was good, not as good, but good. If you angle your chair correctly you can see the cold choppy sea and the passersby bundled against the cold and at the same time get the heat from the fire.

If you go for lunch and want a special seat get there at noon when it opens. It fills up quickly. Of course there is no need to eat you can just call in for a drink but be warned The Bar is a popular spot.

I have found the food consistently good. The menu changes often and on this visit we missed the polenta chips which had proved a great hit last time we were there. However the steak sandwich, the special was good; the steak tasty and tender the aioli sauce delicious and the chips were crisp and golden. We washed this down with a carafe of Riesling. I like the size of their carafes.

A lunch special – Steak sandwich with aioli

The Beach Bar and Grill downstairs at the Stokehouse is a good place to check out the bayside ambiance. If you take the location and the pleasure of dining on the edge of the beach into consideration it is good value.

View from the Stokehouse to the St Kilda Pier

Lunch is my favourite time to go but if you go in the evening you can watch the sun set as you relax, eat and sip your wine.

Where:-
The Stokehouse
30 Jack Blvd
St Kilda
Phone 9525 555

Opening Hours:-
Beach Bar and Grill
Noon until late.
Food is served all day.

Getting there:-
Trams:,96,16,3 to Acland Street, then walk to the beach.
Car: There is a public car park opposite. It is pay and display.

St Kilda and Sunday with the Busking Festival at the Sea Baths

Melbourne — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:33:09 +0000

For the next few Sundays life in St Kilda and particularly on Acland Street is going to get more vibrant. St Kilda is in the middle of holding the Busking Festival. The actual location for the buskers is being shared by various street venues.
Fitzroy Street have had their turn and last Sunday, April 18, it was held at the Sea Baths, 18 Jacka Blvd.

That Sunday was the ideal day with the beach and the boardwalk in front of the Sea Baths crowded with people taking advantage of the warm autumn weather. The buskers also entertained patrons at the Beachcomber and Republica restaurants.

Next Sunday and for every Sunday until 23rd of May the buskers will jostle with the usual crowds for space in Acland Street as the street becomes a live stage.

If you are heading to St Kilda for the Esplanade Market or to indulge in the Acland Street cakes remember the festival. The buskers are entertaining from 1.00pm to 4.00pm.

There is a very good human statue, too I found the statue outside Luna Park on Lower Esplanade. As he is a ‘statue’ he may be fixed in that spot and not move with the timetable.

Getting there:-
Trams 16, 3A, and 96 ( the light rail) to the corner of Acland and Carlisle Street

Where:-
Acland Street, St Kilda: 25th April, 2nd May, 9th May, 16th May, 23rd May.

Finding out more:-
www.stkildabuskingfestival.com.au/

Christmas away from Melbourne.

Melbourne — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:09:49 +0000

I had the luck to find myself at Blairgowrie Beach on the Mornington Peninsular for Christmas. On Christmas Day it was amazingly quiet there. I expected the little village to be filled with Christmas revelers.
It wasn’t. It was closed and empty.

All these photos were taken on Christmas Day – when the lack of people was slightly eerie but very relaxing.

It is good to get out of Melbourne occasionally and this is a beautiful place to spend time. For those of us who were in Blairgowrie it was a Christmas to remember.

It changed as the year drew to a close – the town seemed to open and the cars and people rolled in.

Blairgowrie is a small ‘ village’ nestled between Rye and Sorrento and for that reason there is a friendly village atmosphere. This was part of the pleasure when we wandered to the now busy village on Boxing Day for a wine and an hour or so to check out the locals from one of the cafes.

A number of cafes in Blairgowrie have good cafe food and there is the best IGA store I have ever seen – it is a gourmet feast for the eyes just to wander around.

The beach is perfect for children with a very gradual decline into deep water.

I am back in Melbourne, now, enjoying the city in its holiday mode. As I drove back to Melbourne I could see a large percentage of the Melbourne population headed in the other direction – towards the sea.

Getting there:
The quickest way to get to the Mornington Peninsular and any of the seaside places down there is to drive. It is about 90 minutes from the CBD, so it’s possible to take a day trip.

Public transport is easy – it just takes more time. Take the train to Frankston ( Frankston Line) from Flinders Street station. At Frankston buses leave from the station and head along the peninsular . Many of these buses meet the train.

To work out a time schedule ring Portsea Passenger Services (03) 9586 5666 for information on the buses and to confirm the trains they meet. The first bus leaves Frankston Station for the peninsular at 5.40 am – should you want a bus that early and the last one at 11.05pm.
Accommodation can be arranged through the Visitors information centre at Federation Square

St Kilda Beach Night Market – Thursdays

Melbourne — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:22:50 +0000

The St Kilda Beach Night Market has become an annual event on the St Kilda calendar.

I love night markets. The first one I explored was in Yogyakarta in Indonesia. There was magic in the air with the music and colours but I felt uneasy being in such a crowded place with so many dark corners. That evening was fun with fascinating things to buy and no harm came to us. The memory of the light–filled night and all the buzz has given me a strange nostalgia for outdoor evening markets so I turn up every year at the St Kilda Beach Night Market.

It is held in O’Donnell Gardens where a shady corner is not threatening – it is part of the evening ambiance. Of course with summer and daylight saving it is a long time before it is dark and there are any shadows to create murky corners.
The Market starts at 5.10pm. Last Thursday the first one for the year and stalls opened on time and the cooks fired up the food.

The market is held on Thursdays and last Thursday was rather grey and overcast with rain later. The market prides itself on opening rain or fine. It was just bad luck that last Thursday brought some rain. If you planned to go and it looks like rain – still go everyone else will be there.

Woxwaste shows ingenious ways to use waste – the waste paper baskets are wonderful. There is something rather satisfying about putting our rubbish in a container made from rubbish.

It’s an eclectic market that shows off the St Kilda area and Melbourne’s diversity of cultures This mixture makes for a friendly warm and comfortable browse, and nosh. There is music too.

The food is interesting and unpretentious the stalls fascinating and the crowd interesting. Remember the music.

I will be back this Thursday to try the Argentinean barbecue.

Getting there:-

Trams 16 and 79 to stop 31

Tram 96 to stop 138

Times-:

From 5.10pm

December – 17th, 21st, and 28th

January – 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th

February – 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th

A touch of France on Park Street, South Melbourne

Melbourne — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:18:24 +0000

The head office of a company I worked for was in Park Street, South Melbourne, across the road from Chimmys.

Chimmys was the place to grab a coffee before racing to a meeting or a training course. The Head Office moved and I forgot about Chimmys until recently when I was in Park Street and wanted a coffee. I remember it always being busy on those work-day mornings and it was busy on the recent Sunday when I popped in.

The flat white doesn’t have any pretty designs but it has the silkiest milk I’ve tasted for a while and the coffee is the best.

To me the cafe has a French feel, and the man who makes the coffee a Gallic charm – you need to experience this charm for yourself. Perhaps it is just European ambience and charm but I like to think of it as French. The filled baguettes reinforce the French ambience .

The interior says, “It’s all about the food!” That is, it is not decorated. There are two large rooms with a wide doorway between them, dark brown tables, pale cream walls and sort of orange/brown lino tiles on the floor. Relaxing? Not particularly. The best place to be is outside under the veranda .

Most of the first room is taken up with display cases and one end is given over to the ovens with a row of tables along the remaining wall. The second room is the cafe area with tables spaced so you feel separate from your fellow coffee drinkers.

The cafe is popular with locals. This is a breakfast and lunch place. By mid afternoon most of the food has been sold. This is a good thing because you know everything is made the day you buy it. The baguettes with egg and bacon are just as good at breakfast as they are for lunch and if you just want a coffee try a raspberry shortbread with it. Delicious.

Then there is the bread. I bought some bread ‘pain de campagne’ and I will be back for more and I’m told the ’seven grain’ bread is delicious.

For a Francophile this tiny area of Park Street, South Melbourne is a good place to hang out. Manon is at 294 Park Street and then further towards Clarendon Street on the other side there is Le Metro, Byoux et Accessories, at 231 Park Street. The shop is a French experience. Check it out here

Getting there:-

The number 1 tram goes past Chimmys on its way to the South Melbourne Beach. You can get off, buy a filled baguette and a pastry and perhaps a take away coffee, get on the next tram and picnic at the beach.

Chimmys info and opening hours:-

They serve a cooked breakfast from Wednesday through to Sunday.

They open from 7am every day of the week. In the weekend they close at 3pm and during the week 4pm.

You can confirm hours etc:- Chimmys phone 9696 7418

Cafe Racer, St Kilda Beach

Melbourne — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:28:55 +0000

Weekend biking around the Eastern Bays is a Melbourne tradition. On Saturday and Sunday mornings hordes of bikers, in the very best lycra and helmets, form packs and peddle furiously along Beach Road to Marine Parade in St Kilda and then on to Port Melbourne.

Those of us who drive have to keep a keen eye for them. One of my nightmares is that I will park and open my car door into a bunch of cyclists. And the cyclists may well have nightmares of somebody doing just that and knocking them under a passing vehicle.

For the lycra clad the place to stop for a breather is Café Racer, 15 Marine Parade, St Kilda. In the weekend Café Racer is all about bikes, cycling and breakfasts. If you ever wanted to learn what cycling is about pop along for a chat. The place is heaving with people to talk to. Perhaps you should wear lycra, too.

Café Racer is also open during the week when it presents another face to the world. The clientele is different. There are few bikers, more locals, beach walkers and people who sit for hours with their laptops. My favourite place to sit is on the bench looking through the window, across Marine Parade and out to the sea while I read the morning papers. They have the best selection of papers and magazines – lovely glossies like Vogue and Gourmet.

There is Black Board menu that leans toward organic and free range. The food is interesting and good. Their bacon and egg rolls are the best I have had. Lightly toasted, they are slightly crisp on top with a soft bread roll. $6.50. The eggs are soft-cooked and for those of us who are used to chomping through a firm piece of yellow it comes as a delicious shock. If you order one just watch the yoke doesn’t dribble down your chin. You are given a knife and fork to make eating easy. They also have muffins etc from Phillippas . I am not a fan of Phillips cakes and muffins so I am never tempted with my morning coffee.

The coffee is the best. Better than any of the coffee I’ve had along the beach front.

Café Racer is open from 6.30am to 6,00pm seven days a week, 15 Marine Parade St Kilda.
It’s an easy walk from Acland Street. Just wander down to the beach and it is a couple of blocks towards Elwood.

Trams to St Kilda the number 96 to the end of Acland Street or the 16 that takes you to the corner of Acland and Carlisle Streets

Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

Melbourne — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:47:42 +0000

The Hotel Nest in Albert Park is an ideal place for Sunday Lunch. I’m not talking brunch here. This is a place for lunch.

It’s an old Pub on the corner of Victoria and Page Streets that like so many pubs in the area has taken on a new lease of life. It has taken on a new name too. It is no longer the Red Eagle but the Hotel Nest with a rather charming logo. It’s on their glasses.

It’s close to the beach and on a calm morning you can take a walk along the beach, breath in the ozone, watch the locals with their dogs and then wander along Victoria Street to Hotel Nest for lunch.

When you arrive head for the Greenhouse room although somehow it is more a garden room with garden paraphernalia hanging from the walls and pots of flourishing Olive trees.

The room is stunning and worth the trip just to see it. It’s all white and light with a glass roof that retracts. Yes like the Telstra Dome and now Wimbledon. Push a button and some of the glass roof move aside – very classy. The whole make-over is stylish and sophisticated. I loved it.

The food is described as Modern Australian and priced about right for this type of venue. We ate what is described on the menu as Nest Wagyu Beef Burger with blue cheese and fries advertised as a Nest classic. The Wagyu beef was divine but the blue cheese was missing and the chips were McDonald’s. The egg was a nice touch a reminder that’s it’s Aussie cuisine. For $20 it would have been nice to have had hand cut fries and enough blue cheese to get the flavour.

The wine was good. A Glass of Tarrawarra Estate Chardonnay glass at $9.00 was good drinking.

Hotel Nest is a lovely old traditional building and some of the bygone ambiance is retained in the main dining room, the bar and the function rooms. But it’s the Greenhouse that gob smacks. As I said it is worth the trip just to look at it.

Take the Number 1 tram from the city going to South Melbourne and either stay on until you reach the beach or get off at the stop 31, the stop after Richardson Street. Hotel Nest is on the corner you have just past.

Ride the train to Sandringham Beach – Sandringham

Melbourne — Sun, 03 May 2009 06:41:25 +0000

Get away from the crowds at St Kilda Beach and take the train to Sandringham Beach.

The Sandringham Train Line takes you right to the beach. The station is literally two minuets walk from the beach.

Grab the train at Flinders Street, sit back and relax while you gaze at the passing parade of suburbs – inner-city suburbs like South Yarra and Prahran and then on to the Bayside suburbs. Sandringham Station is at the end of the line.

Sandringham beach is 2.5 kms of golden sand. There are picnic grounds at road level then you walk down a flight of wooden stairs to the beach. On sunny a winter’s day it can be perfect there – sparklingly beautiful. Take food from the city or buy at the local shopping strip. The strip is okay for food and there’s a Coles Supermarket.

Recent working being done on the beach – so much golden sand!! I love it

The Sandringham Yacht Club is nearby where you can learn to sail or crew on one of their many yachts.

The Rotunda is a feature of the area and I’ve been told it has been used for wedding ceremonies – the service and the photographs. Romantic but perhaps a little close to the road for intimacy.

‘Windhover’ is a stainless steel statue by the Lenton Parr that stand at the edge of the picnic reserve. It is said to represent the many yacht sails on the bay but to me it looks like an angle watching over the beauty of Sandringham Beach.

If you’re not swimming you can head around the cliff edge…………