About Phillip Island Balcony

My name is Marie and my husband and I own a holiday house at Smiths Beach on Phillip Island, Australia.

This is when my passion for Phillip Island started. And later I decided to use my knowledge of the island to help visitors discover more and enjoy their stay more.

During summer we spend most of our time there (except during the Australian Open tennis!) and visit at least twice a month in the winter.

Enjoying a Coffee in Cowes, Phillip Island

Many years ago we wanted to buy a holiday house to enjoy with our family of two (then teenage) children.

After looking in different towns on Victoria’s coast and not finding what we wanted, we ended up in Phillip Island.

We were attracted by the beaches and all that the island offered, as well as the village feel of the island community.

Not finding a house we liked, a real estate agent eventually suggested buying a block of land and building a home at Smiths Beach on the south coast, looking over Bass Strait.

The balcony of our home is the centre of our time there – from bird and wildlife watching to warm summer evening BBQ’s, to just lazing in a hammock – it is the hub.

My husband and I are now both retired, although Bernie still does some consulting work. I do volunteer work in the tourism industry in Melbourne – keeping in the same industry with my website! Apart from spending time at Phillip Island, we like to travel overseas.

Having time to spare after retiring, I wanted to set up a website about travelling light as we travel with only a cabin bag.

From Australia that means travelling with no more than 7kgs of luggage! That is a real challenge and our packing regime to some may seem extreme but we love the freedom it gives.

Early 2011 Bernie was researching a trip to northern Australia and discovered Birgit’s website Outback Australia Travel Secrets which is hosted by Site Build It.

He thought SBI, with it's step by step, easy to follow, guidance might work for me to build a travelling light website - especially as I am not tech savvy!

However after much brainstorming I decided "travelling light" would be a very hard niche to crack.

So I decided to go with something I knew lots about and loved, and that was Phillip Island. Phillip Island Balcony was born in 2011.

My website, Phillip Island Balcony, is still a work in progress and there is a long way to go! I try to keep all the information current so visitors can keep up with what is happening.

All the comments, observations and nearly all photographs are my own. I have no monetary or otherwise connections with any organisations or businesses on the island.

Remember that things change and information on opening times and prices can change. I try to keep up any changes but it's always best to double check before you go.

Enjoy the website as it grows and you too can become Phillip Island savvy!

Read what my visitors are saying about phillip-island-balcony here:

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