Theme Day - Up-side-down - Tall ship, Enterprize (7)

Although an experienced scuba-diver, and an afficionado of marine archaeology, my friend, Diane, was hesitant about taking the one hour jaunt on "The Enterprize" on Port Phillip Bay, out of Portarlington. The weather was brewing, and this close to the heads, the waters have a treacherous reputation. The decision made, we boarded and headed for the dead-centre of the deck to mitigate the bluster and swell as nuch as possible.I walk with a stick, and wobble precariously at times, so did not move around for the duration. I did, however, move from the vertical to the horizontal, ie, I lay down on the cabin roof, which afforded some remarkable views of the rigging.

This is my contribution to the City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day. For further contributions to the July Theme of "Upside-Down" please visit the CDP Gallery.

Tall ship, Enterprize (3)

The crew of my tall ship were all volunteers. I guess they are a smidge like railway steam-engine afficionados: dedicated, yet bonkers.

They covered a wide range of ages, but seemed to be mainly older men, yet younger women.

Tall ship, Enterprize (2)

The other passengers ranged in age, including a suprising number of children. It seemed to be only the adults who "fed the fishies", so to speak. I can understand how this is an enjoyable activity for fathers to do with their offspring.

Portarlington is not too far inside the lip of the bay, and so wild and wooly weather at this time of the year was to be expected. The temperature climbed into double-figures - just. We only ventured a few hundred metres off-shore

Goat cheeses from the Bellarine

Whilst in Melbourne for a four-day-weekend, my host and I packed a lot in. One of which was a visit to Drysdale Cheeses on the Bellarine Peninsula of Port Phillip Bay, between Geelong and Portarlington. My friend went into the tasting rooms, but being a country girl at heart, I headed straight for the goats.

There were about 30 of them in this close enclosure, the vast majority of which were in calf ready for a spring drop. The milk production at the moment is miniscule, for obvious reasons. The cheesery sells primarily to restaurants, and from the cellar-door. Is that a term that can be used for a cheesery? I love goat cheese, especially embedded within a beetroot and rocket salad, sprinkled with walnuts, and sweet corn niblets sliced from the cob. A good day's drive from Melbourne is to do the bay anti-clockwise. Go down to Drysdale and chat with the goats, take the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry across the heads of Port Phillip Bay, and visit the Redhill Goat Cheesery on t'other side as you make your return to the big smoke.