The streets of Cowes were busy over the weekend, with traffic in Thompson Avenue at summer holiday levels.
Cafes, restaurants and bars across the island were filled with visitors happy to escape the Melbourne lockdown.
It was slow progress off the island on Sunday afternoon, with traffic bumper to bumper. People reported taking an hour to travel from Cowes to San Remo.
The car park at Woolamai’s clubhouse was busy with surfers making the most of the warm temperatures.
Visitors from Melbourne converged on Phillip Island over the weekend, enjoying their first weekend away since lockdown ended.
The island was abuzz with activity, with local businesses reporting a massive increase in trade.
The IGA supermarkets in Cowes and San Remo were both extremely busy.
“It was flat stick for us, we noticed a lot of extra people,” said Konny Behre from IGA Cowes, describing it as on par with a busy long weekend.
Shayne Crawford, manager at IGA San Remo agreed.
“On Friday, it went mental. Saturday was our busiest day, and it was equivalent to summer or Christmas sales.”
As soon as the “ring of steel” officially disbanded from midnight on November 8, visitors and homeowners started arriving.
Konny said customer traffic built up across the week, although there was a definite increase before the end of lockdown.
“It started well and truly before the Monday,” she said.
Shayne described it as a gradual incline, before exploding over the weekend.
“There were flocks of people everywhere. There was not a car space in San Remo all weekend. Our sales have been consistent through Covid, but now it’s gone to the next level.
“We’re going from the busiest winter we’ve ever had to what’s probably going to be our busiest summer.”
“Insane”
Local retailers and hospitality were also run off their feet, with restaurants booked out across the weekend.
Neil Gillin at Rusty Water Brewery Restaurant and Bar said the restaurant was fully booked for dinner both nights by Friday afternoon, with just a few spots left for lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
In Cowes, coffee shop G’day Tiger experienced “pretty substantial” numbers over the weekend, with Jonathan Bentley likening it to the summer holidays.
“Sunday morning was probably our busiest morning ever. It was huge.”
Cheryl Owens from Cape Winds giftware store in San Remo said it was “the most insane weekend we have ever had”, and even with the 10-person limit instore, they had record sales on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The huge demand made monitoring the numbers instore tricky.
“We had to put an extra person at the door to control the 10-person limit. But sales-wise, it was absolutely incredible.”
The only sour note was a confrontation on Friday with a customer refusing to wear a mask when asked.
“She was straight up angry, saying ‘it’s my right. I don’t have to wear it’.
“I explained to her, it was the government guidelines. I’m trying to protect the community, other shoppers, staff and myself,” Cheryl said.
“But mostly people were great. They said how much they’d missed us.”
Traffic
Traffic was busy over the weekend, reminiscent of summer numbers.
Mostly traffic flowed smoothly, although motorists faced delays getting off the island on Sunday night.
Reports on the popular Phillip Island Traffic Check Facebook page showed travel time between Cowes and San Remo on Sunday afternoon was over one hour.
Another person reported traffic was banked up to from the island to Bass.
The heavy traffic was the first real test for the new roundabouts at Woolamai Beach Road and Back Beach Road, which they passed with flying colours, making life easier for drivers trying to access Phillip Island Road.
