Brighton Beach

The weather on first day of the Easter holiday was quite good, rumoured to be the only 30 deg day we will have for the next 6 months. We took full advantage of this by going to the beach. To Brighton Beach to look at the bathing boxes and for a general stroll.

Believe it or not, I have not been to see the famous bathing boxes of Brighton Beach before this. These iconic, brightly painted little sheds have graced many a brochure on the highlights of Melbourne yet I have not seen them in person. Not difficult to understand why since I am not into the beach culture like many Aussies here are. I am afraid of large bodies of water, and am not particularly fond of sand between my toes.

Every now and then though I do visit the beach and cast my eyes over the large expanse of the sea and find it soothing to the soul. The ebb and flow of the sea, so steady and inevitable provides a sense of certainty in this world of uncertainties.

But I digress. We got to the beach at about 12pm and was astonished to find that we have to pay for parking in the public car park. Even on public holidays like these. In the city, when it is a public holiday, parking is free. Every hour costs $3, which is exorbitant. We were lucky enough to be provided a half used ticket so we got some free parking yeay!

We took a good long walk along the beach and stopped by several bathing boxes to admire the vibrant colours. Each box is painted in different colours by their owners. Did you know that some of these boxes cost about the same as some houses? Yes... the record price for a bathing box was $260K in 2011, and owners pay the council $600 pa for the right to have a box on the Brighton Beach. Not bad for a 2.4m x 2.0m x 2.0m wooden structure eh?

After the walk, we sat for a while on a bench on top of a hill overlooking the beach with the city skyline in the background. The scene looked so peaceful, enough to forget the troubles of the world. If just for two minutes.