After an early start, twelve of our members boarded a mini-bus and headed to Melbourne, on what turned out to be a fantastic Autumn day. First stop was the Kettle Black Café in South Melbourne for an eagerly awaited coffee, paired with a lovely cake, Muffin, or Hot Cross Bun for some of our members.
On to Frankston, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Cheeky Squire Hotel.
Next, we had the main event – The Australian Sand Sculpting Championships, which conveniently was right next door to the hotel. We enjoyed a guided tour by one of the sculptors, who happened to be a local from Frankston, in Peter Redmond. Peter had been sculpting for over 20 years, and his narrative was fantastic. His explanation regarding just how long the sculptors are given, (39 hours), to transform 15 tonnes of (Brickie’s) Sand, into the sculptors final design, was in depth, and very informative. It really is hard to fathom where, or even how, you would start such a project.
It was a long drive, but worth every minute seeing these finished sculptures before your eyes.
A lovely, scenic return drive along Port Phillip Bay to Ballarat, that also involved another coffee stop!
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