French Island April 2024

I tried camping French island for New Year's Eve but a camping stove failure cut the trip short. Time for attempt 2. This time just me and my new toy, an e-bike.

French Island is in Westernport Bay. It's quite close to the greater Melbourne area, but in many ways a world away. It's about 174 square kilometres with a population of around 140 people. It's unincorporated which means there is no council, so the local inhabitants look after everything themselves. Roads rubbish, water, sewerage and electricity. The locals are a self sufficient bunch.

The island's landscape is relatively flat. The highest point is Mt Wellington roughly 96 metres above sea level. The coastline features rocky shorelines, shallow sandy beaches, mangroves, salt marshes and wetlands. It boasts rich biodiversity with around 580 indigenous plant species including more than 100 native orchids. There have been roughly 230 recorded bird species including the white bellied sea eagle, king quail and the orange bellied parrot. The coast has around 30 species of waders that forage during low tide. You'll also find the long nosed potaroo and a significant koala population. Critically endangered eastern barred bandicoot's have also been released into the island's bush. Most of those species a very rare all the nearby Mornington peninsula.

In 1967, the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) requested the Lands Department to reserve 400 acres (1.6 km²) of French Island for the potential construction of a nuclear power plant. This proposed plant was expected to have a generator capacity of 350-500 megawatts (MW) and would likely have been built in the 1970s. The site was chosen because of its proximity to Melbourne, its isolation, and its access to cooling water from Western Port. Fortunately,the proposal was abandoned in 1971 due to the lack of demand for electricity and the availability of coal-fired power stations.

French island has quite a good campsite right on the beach. The ground is sandy and soft so you'll either need a freestanding tent or some tent pegs that will work well on the sand. The site is free but it needs to be booked through Parks Victoria.

I left home catching the train into the city. It was quite full with football supporters heading down to the MCG for the blockbuster AFL Collingwood versus Essendon game.

I got off at Southern Cross and caught the lift up to the concourse to change to the Frankston line train. The lift going down to the Frankston line platform was a tight squeeze with the bike but I managed to get in. The train had plenty of room for the bike and I sat down and relaxed for the journey.

After about an hour arrived at Frankston with about 40 minutes until the next connection. So I sat at Frankston and ate my lunch waiting for the Stony Point train to arrive. The train arrived and I sat on it for half an hour because it was much warmer inside than out. The train pulled out and rolled its way down to Stony point.

Getting off at Stony point, I had a 40-minute wait for the ferry. Getting on the ferry is relatively easy even with a fully loaded bike and they had places to strap the bike on the boat.

The journey over was a quick 15 minutes across a relatively flat western Port bay although there was a slight swell halfway across. The ferry only had a handful of passengers on it.

Getting off the ferry was a matter of manoeuvring the bike up some steps and then I was on my way to the campsite. THe roads on French Island are gravel and can be quite bumpy. Not the place for high speed racing. The bike handled the road really well. I wish I could say the same for the panniers. They were cheap panniers designed for commuting not so much for bike packing. The corrugated road caused one of the clips to break and the pannier fell off and hit the road.

Setting up the tent was a breeze. I've had this tent for over 30 years so I should be able to put it up by now. The campsite was fairly busy. Almost every place was taken.

Going to The Pinnacles

Day two was a lazy wake-up. Leisurely breakfast and coffee and then ready for today's adventure. I rode back down the road and turned off up the Pinnacles track. The track had a quite steep bit at the beginning but soon settled down into gentle undulating track mainly formed from sand.

The sand made it a bit tricky particularly the loose bits which caused the bike to slide around a bit. Getting up to The Pinnacles look out was a killer combination of medium steep grade and very loose sand making it almost impossible to ride up. I had to push the bike up parts of the track but made it to the top.

Coming back down was a bit easier but still had some treacherous patches of loose sand to look out for. Made it down to the road. I spoke to a couple of cyclists on the way who we're looking at a koala fast asleep in a tree.

Then I turned onto one of the main roads and made my way to the French island general store. Stopped there for lunch and ordered a coffee and a chicken parmigiana. The parmigiana was enormous. They say never eat anything larger than your head. So ignored that advice but didn't manage to finish it. Head to wait for it to settle before heading back to the campsite.

The Day Of The Sloth

Day 3 was a day of sloth. I woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast.

The ranger came around to check on the campsite. He was a friendly guy and we had a chat about the island and the wildlife. The conversation went from getting rid of wees and feral animals to park toilets to where Kylie Minogue used to live. He said that the island was a great place for bird watching. Be on the lookout for a sea eagle. There were a lot of koalas around. The French Island koala population is chlamydia free and has been used to replenish the population elsewhere in the country. He also said that there were a lot of snakes on the island and that I should be careful when walking around.

I went for a walk along the beach and then sat down and listened to music. I had a nap in the afternoon and then went for a walk along the beach again. I had a simple dinner and then went to bed.

The Return

The night had been cool. It had dropped to 7°C overnight. Cold by Victorian standards. I had a good sleep. The sleeping bag and tent held up just fine. The only problem was condensation on the inside of the tent made everything a bit damp.

I was planning on catching the 9:30 ferry back to Stony Point but I had to dry everything out before I packed up. That delayed me a bit, so ended up making the 11:30 ferry.

Being a Sunday the ferry was quite busy. It had come over from Phillip Island and was full of day trippers. The bike was a bit of a squeeze but I managed to get it on board.

Getting off at Stony Point was a bit of a challenge. I only had 5 minutes to get to the train station. Otherwise it would be a 2 hour wait for the next one. Passengers were crowding the gangway and I had to push my way through while carrying a laden bike. I made it to the train with seconds to spare.

I managed to get a seat and sat down for the journey. Another man with an e-bike got on and we compared notes.

The train pulled into Frankston and I got off. I had a 8 minute wait for the next train to the city. I sat down and relaxed for the journey. The train pulled into Southern Cross and I got off. I had a 10 minute wait for the next train to home. I sat down and relaxed for the journey. The train pulled into the station and I got off. I rode home and unpacked the bike.

Tip. Try to time the ferry crossings with high tide. It makes it a lot easier to move a bike and bags when you don't have to take it it up so far.

Fairhaven Campsite

• Facilities: Long drop toilet, water tank, picnic tables

• Places: 10

• Cost: Free but must be booked through Parks Victoria https://bookings.parks.vic.gov.au/book

• Bookings: Required. Bookings can be made through Parks Victoria.

• Water: Tank water. Water supply can't be guaranteed during dry time. It is not potable so you'll need to be able to treat it to bring your own.

• No Campfires: No fires allowed. You'll need to bring a portable stove if you want to cook.

• Beach: The beach is shallow and subject to strong tides. It's not great for swimming but it's a great place to watch the sunset.

• Access: There is no vehicle access to the campsite. You'll need to walk or cycle in.

Getting There

• Ferry Westernport Ferries run several times a day between Stony Point, French Island and Phillip Island.

• Train the ferry terminal is easily accessible from the terminus of the Stony Point line which you can catch from Frankston.

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