Talented singer songwriter Andrea Robertson tells Justin Flynn why she loves Ocean Grove and the Bellarine Peninsula.
What’s your connection to the region?
I was born and bred in Geelong and aside from some travelling I was fortunate to do in my 20s. I have lived in the region my whole life. I grew up in Bell Post Hill but have lived on the Bellarine Peninsula for almost 30 years, calling Ocean Grove home for the last 17 of those.
What do you like about where you live?
There is so much to love about where I live, but I’d have to say the ocean is the main thing. And all that comes from living near it; the fresh air, the beautiful skies, the sounds of the waves, the changes in seasons, and having beautiful towns and destinations in every direction from my home.
What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
It’s not very multicultural, so that would be one thing. Public transport could do with a fair bit of improvement too. That seems to be an ongoing issue that just never gets resolved. And although I know development is necessary, I really hope development on the Bellarine is capped very soon. Infrastructure hasn’t kept up with the pace of development and although Ocean Grove is still a beautiful coastal town, its identity has changed a great deal. At the moment I think we’re hanging onto our coastal town feel despite all the development, but I’m not sure how long that will last if the pace doesn’t stop.
Where is your favourite local place to spend time?
Anywhere along the coastline, and usually walking. I regularly walk the tracks or beaches along Ocean Grove or between here and Barwon Heads, sometimes I head down to Lonnie (Point Lonsdale) or Clifton Springs if I’m catching up with friends. But I never tire of walking our beaches and feel so thankful to have them within such close reach. It was a bit of a lifesaver during COVID actually. Ocean Grove beach was within my 5km radius and I think I only missed a handful of days walking during all of the lockdowns. It helped my headspace a great deal.
Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you.
I lived in a village in Malawi, Africa for six months. My husband David and I first went to Malawi in 1998 at the end of an around the world trip and fell in love with the people and the place. Malawi wasn’t very well known back then, and it consistently ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, but it is accurately known as ‘The Warm Heart of Africa’. We came home at the end of that first trip, worked our butts off for 10 months just to save up and go back again for a longer period of time and we lived in a tent in a rural village on Lake Malawi the whole time we were there. No electricity, no running water, no phones (definitely no mobile phones). It was life at its simplest and it was one of the happiest times of our lives.
