Point Leo, Victoria

Point Leo is on the south-western side of Western Port Bay and has one of the closest surf beaches to Melbourne, as it is only about 75 km away and can be reached quite quickly by Motorway and good roads, some of which have only recently been upgraded and completed. Point Leo is part of the Mornington Peninsula, well known as Victoria's favourite playground.

Point Leo, being about two thirds of the way down the Peninsula is a great place for a holiday as other popular places are never very far away, including Merricks and Flinders on Western Port, Arthur's Seat with its lovely views, Mount Eliza and Rosebud on Port Philip Bay, and right around from Rye to Sorrento with both Front' beaches on Port Philip Bay and 'Back' Beaches on Bass Strait on the narrow part of the Peninsula.

One of the nearby places to visit is historic Flinders with its picturesque Golf Course on the point that overlooks both Western Port Bay and Bass Strait.

I was staying with an old school friend whose holiday home was in Point Leo Road. We reminisced about how we had made the journey from there to Point Leo many years ago. We were three friends staying with her parents and family in the summer holidays and there was one bicycle between us, so we took it in turns to ride or run alongside up and down the hills to the beach. After a great time in the water, we made our way back for lunch the same way and arrived back hotter than we had been before our swim. Now we did it by car.

There are beaches all along the coast here, but Point Leo is in an especially good position to have large waves coming in from Bass Strait. Although it was winter and only about 12 deg. C. when we visited, there were surfers out enjoying the waves. We were well rugged up and enjoyed a brisk walk along the windswept beach.

Point Leo beach towards the north is edged by a cliff and rocks that are fun to explore, and are a favourite spot for fishing with surf rods.

There are also quite a variety of shells and driftwood to be found along the beach, especially after a storm, and as can be seen in the photos, there is a lot of seaweed in the winter.

The foreshore is mostly a series of unspoilt sand dunes covered with scrub and this provides a sheltered home for a variety of small birds; there is even a small creek that provides wild life with fresh water.

My friend told me that although there are quite a few houses, the permanent population of Point Leo is less than two hundred, but it certainly expands in the summer holiday season.

In times past there was no lifesaving club, boat club or general store. The beach was much wider and the place unspoiled. Now there is a lovely camping area, barbecue and picnic areas, and holiday houses are mushrooming, but there is also a fee to enter.

During the summer the beach and the Life Saving Club are hives of busyness as volunteers man the lookout and various activities take place. The volunteers do wonderful work keeping watch over the holiday makers and rescuing those in difficulty.

Now it is winter, the Club is closed and only the hardy surfers venture into the water.

As we went back to the car park, one of the surfers came up to us and told us how much he loved going down to Point Leo as often as possible. With almost all the holiday people gone, the rain had turned the grass a brilliant green that sparkled in the momentary sunlight. The sudden, sharp showers meant that much of our visit we had lovely views of a brilliant rainbow. We promised ourselves that we would return in the summer to enjoy those waves.