Cape Schanck

Cape Schanck is a favorite spot of the Thomas Family.  It is located at the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula and is only 20 minutes from the house.  We enjoyed showing off its beauty to our Heinz friends that have visited and I thought I would share it with the rest of our family and friends.

(Gary is not in this picture because he was back in Pittsburgh at the time.)

Obviously, I’m going to start this blog off with a little bit of history.  In 1859 a lighthouse was built after several shipping disasters happened between the waters of Western Port and Port Phillip Bay.  The lighthouse was the second one built in Australia therefore making it one of the oldest in Australia.  It is known for its stone, spiral staircase instead of the usual wrought iron staircases you normally see.  The lighthouse and the cape are named after Captain John Schanck, who was an officer of the British Royal Navy. 

Cape Schanck is now a state park.   There are several walking tracks, tours of the lighthouse, a lighthouse museum and picnic facilities. 





One of the walking tracks is a boardwalk that descends from the clifftops to the rocky beach below.  There are several lookouts along the way that offer stunning views of the rugged coastline (made of basalt, which is igneous volcanic rock) and the rough waters of Bass Strait.  At the bottom you will witness waves crashing over the rocky beach, rock pools full of marine life and Pulpit Rock, which stands at the tip of the cape.

The air at Cape Schanck is said to be the cleanist in the world.  Gale force winds blow pure, uncontaminated air directly from Antartica.  With that being said, it is always windy and a few degrees cooler at Cape Schanck.    

We have yet to catch a sunset at Cape Schanck, but it is on our to-do-list.  Hopefully with daylight savings time over and the evenings coming much sooner, we will be able to catch one.