After Luna Park and froyo in St Kilda, we walked to Balaclava station, under a railway bridge with a ship sailing across the top, and took the train down the bay to Brighton.
The bathing boxes
From the station it’s a walk to Dendy Street Beach and the Brighton bathing boxes: a long row of little wooden beach huts, every single one painted differently. Stripes, rainbows, pastels, bright reds and blues.
We timed it for the late afternoon, which turned out to be perfect. The low sun lit up all the colours, and we went from box to box taking turns posing in front of each one.
The boxes are privately owned, so you can’t go inside, and the owners don’t seem to mind a beach full of strangers using their front doors as a backdrop.
Sunset over the bay
Then the sun went down right over the bay, and everyone on the beach stopped to watch.
One last photo of us before the light went, and then it was suddenly very cold.
Army stew for dinner
Dinner was Korean at Da Chang Jin: a bubbling pot of army stew and a spread of banchan. Lunch had been burgers in a train carriage, and you can only do so much Western food in a day before your stomach starts asking for rice. Army stew was exactly right after a cold evening on the beach.
Tomorrow was a 4:30am start, for a hot air balloon over Melbourne.
Postcard from Dendy Street Beach, Brighton
A row of little wooden beach huts along the sand, each one painted differently. They're privately owned, so you admire them from the outside.