New Year at Grossard Point in the golden glow of sundown

New Year's Eve was shared with friends at the Grossard Point light, boardwalk and viewing platform overlooking Western Port Bay and the Mornington Peninsula. When the sun dipped into the ocean at around 9 p.m. there were no crimsons, mauves or purples; simply a deep velvety gold. With drinks and nibbles we sat and talked, with muttonbirds dotting the sky, the occasional burst of fireworks, stars twinkling overhead and a vast seascape before and around us.

Other people came and went: young people, couples with dogs on leads, older people wanting to celebrate the New Year with neighbours and friends. On the cliff's edge and inside a high ring-lock fence, the Grossard Point beacon warns of a dangerous 700 m reef which extends towards the busy shipping channel. Below and to the west, rose-coloured cliffs surround a small, secluded sandy bay which is a popular swimming place for locals.

We didn't wait until midnight, preferring to say our Happy New Year's at about 11 p.m.. By midnight we were in bed, but heard the fireworks announce the New Year. Fortunately our shepherds are not afraid of fireworks, guns or thunder, but one firecracker was so loud and so near that Katie Siamese (who sleeps between us) jumped in fright.

The sharing with friends of the velvety gold sunset was, for me, symbolic of the closing of 2010; of hope for the New Year.