There are many homeschooling networking groups across Victoria. Today, we joined up with Peninsula Wildthings — a group of natural-learning families who live on the Mornington Peninsula southeast of Melbourne.

The Peninsula Wildthings maintain current and comprehensive website that lists all their activities. They aren’t a co-op, as the activities are usually free and ad-hoc, but several times a year they camp together as a group.

Birdrock Beach, Mount Martha, Victoria, March 2013
The beach adjacent to Mount Martha features a row of rounded stones at the waters edge and pure sand further out in the water.

As soon as I parked our bus, I was greeted by another mother who was unloading her sons from the car. As I was approaching this group without anyone knowing me, it was lovely to have such a positive introduction.

Brioni at the beach as part of Peninsula Wildthings, Mt Martha, Victoria, March 2013
We set ourselves up at the edge of the beach in the shade of some overhanging trees.

Port Phillip Bay, March 2013
We're playing in the water of Port Phillip Bay — beautiful, clean and warm.

Aisha in the water, March 2013
We enjoy the opportunity to swim in the ocean again. The water here feels much warmer than in Tasmania!

Calista playing with water, March 2013
The kids start to share beach toys, and soon our girls are playing with what's available — making sandcastles and fashioning creatures out of the stones.

Delaney playing at the beach, March 2013
Delaney always loves the opportunity to play at the beach, although she never gets very wet.

Lots of steps at Mt Martha beach, Victoria, March 2013
It's easy to see why locals call this Step Beach. I counted 203 steps after going up and down about six times.

We really enjoyed our day with the Peninsula Wildthings. The parents were very friendly and the children played nicely together or apart. I don’t know if we’ll get back to the peninsula for another meet-up for a long time, but I hope to build on the friendships we started today during the coming weeks.