It's great having friends who know places to go to around Melbourne. And it's even better to spend a day with those friends visiting one of those places. Especially when that friend is knowledgeable about plants and which ones are good to eat like the native raspberry that was growing alongside the path or the saltbush berries nestled in the leaves.

Travelling with friends has you doing unexpected things and this list was no different. We climbed the massive rock that was next to the beach and stood on the top of it perilously close to the edge in the strong winds blowing in off the water.

Just in case that wasn't enough to get the blood pumping I then got dumped in the waves and churned like milk into a pat of butter. I loathe being dumped and getting salt water up my nose and down the back of my throat. Nothing like a good dunking to know that you're alive (and thank goodness I still was!).

We'd never been to Bushranger's Bay before and enjoyed the walk to the beach and back along the sandy track. We even saw a wallaby in the bushes next to the path as we walked down to the beach. And then on the way back there was an echidna!

With the pandemic and restricted overseas travel we have been doing a lot more travel close to home and I am falling in love with our own unique Australian animals. It's all too easy to think that all the spectacular and amazing things are overseas and that I have to spend a fortune and hop on a place to see them when the reality is, this country (and any country for that matter) is incredible. All you need to do is have an open mind and a willingness to explore.