Daily Photo – The Esplanade

I had a good walk along the St Clair Esplanade and along the beach, enjoying the combination of a slow mid-morning amble and sun-splashed water, unsurprised that many had the same idea. On the way back to the car park, I passed the busy cafés and restaurants doing a brisk morning trade as people soaked up the spring sunshine outside the various buildings that line the sea front.

The newest of these establishments is a three-storey apartment and retail complex that opened earlier in the year. While the upper floors are apartments offering splendid sea views and the chance to watch the tops of people’s heads as they stroll past, the ground floor features a wine bar next door to an authentic artisan gelato shop. The whole complex gives the area a more complete, polished feel – especially since the section had sat empty since the old St Clair dairy was pulled down in 2001. The place was alive with people eating, drinking coffee, walking dogs, carrying surfboards, and generally carting every sort of thing one might take to the beach on the first day of a long holiday weekend.