A flight of fancy

It sounds very glamorous - flying to Sorrento for lunch. Isn't that what celebrities and movie stars do? I picture Angelina and Brad jetting off to Paris for a romantic lunch. Or Nicole and Keith landing on Sydney Harbour for a private picnic.

So, as a new mum up to her eyeballs in nappies, the chance of taking a seaplane from Williamstown to Sorrento for a civilised lunch at The Baths is too good an opportunity to miss. OK, we don't look like Angelina and Brad and neither do we have six kids in tow (just one six-month-old girl) but as we head off on our adventure, we feel incredibly special.

We're met at the pontoon by Rod Gunther who along with his wife, Leonie, operates Melbourne Seaplanes. With his salt-and-pepper beard and crinkly blue eyes, he's the archetypal sea dog. Seaplane flying, Rod tells us, combines his two greatest passions - boating and flying - and after 12 years in business flying Cessna 185s, his enthusiasm is still palpable.

After loading the pram and nappy bag in the baggage compartment and Tom and Ella in the back seat, I climb in the front with Rod and we taxi out to the shipping channel. Williamstown is a working seaport and seaplanes are considered a boating vessel, so any big ships have right of way on Hobsons Bay. Rod tells us that seaplanes actually operated in Williamstown as far back as the 1930s and during World War II there were permanent moorings set up by the Harbour Trust for Catalina flying boats. After the war, however, seaplane use declined as bigger land- based aircraft took over. Rod and Leonie are doing their best to revive seaplane flying, allowing passengers to view Melbourne's skyline and surrounding bays and beaches from the air.

We take off at the mouth of the river and below us we can see the ship-building yards of Williamstown, the local footy ground, a tug pushing a barge and the Rifle Range Estate. While Port Phillip Bay may not have the appeal of, say, flying over Sydney Harbour, we're surprised at just how interesting this vast waterway is. Because Port Phillip is such a big, open bay, Rod says there are not as many places as Sydney, with its hidden rivers and coves, suitable to fly for lunch. Nonetheless, Rod can take you for a private beach picnic, to Half Moon Bay and the Twelve Apostles, or - for the ultimate experience - an indulgent lunch such as the one we're experiencing today.

Before long we're flying over the Bellarine Peninsula and Rod points out Portarlington, a paddle steamer sunk off Indented Head and Mud Island. Soon Swan Bay opens up before us and in the distance we can see the Queenscliff to Sorrento ferry ploughing across the bay. As we fly over the narrow heads and along the coastline where Harold Holt drowned, the scenery is dramatic. Waves crash upon empty stretches of beach, we spot walkers moving through the national park and the homes of the rich and famous along the coast at Portsea.

Rod executes a professional and exhilarating landing on the bay. Within seconds The Spirit of Williamstown is docked at the pier of The Baths, which sits beachfront at Sorrento. As the sun comes out, the waters of the bay glisten and The Baths, which used to house the original sea baths built in 1875, beckon.

Within moments of landing we're enjoying a local pinot gris on the deck and chatting with owners James Gibson and his wife, Helene. Back in The Bath's heyday patrons would arrive from Melbourne by paddle steamer. Picnic parties would visit The Baths and Kiosk and take the steam train to the back beach. Red or white flags indicated separate men's and women's bathing times and the restaurant has some terrific historic photographs of bathers dressed in neck-to-knee swimsuits on display.