Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula Part I

We arrived in Melbourne and were greeted by our friend Rob at the airport who took us to his beautiful home where our kids became insta-friends. They have 3 kids (Amelia 9, Eddison 7 and Oliver 5). This week will be spent with our friends between their place in Melbourne and their place in Shoreham.

The boys immediately went to catch the last bit of a cricket game, and then we all met up for ice cream and some pool time (it’s hot here!!)

Leo learning to play cricket with Oliver

That night we went out for an adults only dinner in Melbourne and the next morning we headed out to Shoreham on Mornington Peninsula.

Shoreham is a small town on the Peninsula where many Melbourne people have summer farms (kind of like our muskoka but with ocean and beaches and way more laid back and casual)

We rented an airbnb a few minutes walk from Sara and Rob’s parents place but mostly hang out with them at their place.

Our cute airbnb:

The next morning we went down to a windy/chilly beach for a very Aussie tradition of watching 100’s of kids ages 6-15 do Nippers. Basically they have to swim a certain length in the ocean, then come and do some running races on the beach, then get back in the ocean and paddle out and around some pylons on surfboards, then kayak…it’s like mini ocean lifeguard training. It was AWESOME…and makes you realize why these Aussie kids are so tough. It looked pretty brutal but there was a very – suck it up and do it attitude and the kids enjoyed it!

On our way back to the airbnb we got to see a koala just napping in the wild

For a little activity post Nippers, we did an ocean cliffside walk with the kids. Stunning barely covers it.

Then it was time for our New Year’s eve festivities. We went to a friend of Sara and Rob’s who were renting out a house with 4 other couples and had a huge Aussie feast and celebration with so many friends. It was such an amazing way to spend New Years!