I was heading back from breakfast in South Melbourne when I saw a guy on a Spyder behind me. At the next lights he pulled along side and I asked him about it. He said there was a demonstration of them going on down at the beach so I headed there to give them a go. I managed to get a spot in the 11:30 group but had an hour and a bit to kill while I waited so I went for a walk along the beach and pier.
I had to go down to Phillip Island to drop off a motorcycle jacket with busted zippers to get it fixed. It was a gloriously sunny day and so I explored a little on the way back. I visited the Nobbies, an easy 14km from Cowes, which is a coastal rock formation and tourist attraction. There are ramps to walk along to protect the foreshore from which you get great views of the Nobbies and the blowhole – a cave in the rock face at sea level which thunders when the sea rushes into it.
Shortly after leaving the island I passed a sign saying “Grantville Cemetery – U turn ahead”. Not being one to pass up a visit to a cemetery I decided to get out of the bumper to bumper traffic and check it out. It’s a small cemetery on a hill overlooking the ocean. The ground was alive with chirping, jumping crickets and there were some great gravestones to check out.
With no specific destination in mind I headed out along the M1 on my motorbike yesterday to see what I could see. I hadn’t planned to take photos and wasn’t even sure I had my camera in my jacket pocket. It was an overcast morning with a little rain but not enough to make the ride uncomfortable. I stopped after a while outside Gumbaya Park, a wildlife park and another place I’d like to go someday to take photos, checked that I did indeed have my camera and decided to see what I could find.
My first stop was in Warragul where I visited both the Old and New cemeteries.
My next stop was at Yarragon where I had a chat with the fellow edging the lawns with a lawnmower. He told me a lot about the cemetery and specifically this gravestone which had an American Civil War gravestone on it. Apparently, the gravestone was commissioned without sufficient research. Not only was the name mis-spelt, it was not the same person and there is no evidence that the John Graydon of Yarragon ever fought in the American Civil War or indeed spent any time in America at all! More information about this can be found here
After three hours riding I ended up in Walhalla, somewhere I’d wanted to go for many years but had never had the opportunity. Walhalla is a small town in the Baw Baw ranges in Victoria which you get to after many kilometres of excellent winding roads through a rainforest. Unfortunately my battery ran out before I could take more photographs of the area. I guess I’ll just have to head back someday to finish the job.