It's a place that sings of the Australian summer: lemon-scented gums, the trill of cicadas, sand underfoot and a sliver of navy ocean on the horizon.
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Hussein Haraco and 35 other men from Melbourne's Somalian community had driven down for a weekend at an Anglesea holiday camp.
They were there to talk leadership; how to instil a sense of pride, build something solid.
But instead the group awoke in this idyllic setting on Sunday morning to the ugly news that US President Donald Trump had decreed that citizens of Somalia and six other predominantly Muslim countries would be barred entry to the United States for 90 days.
And this divisive move has taken the gloss off their special Anglesea trip.
"We are shocked, it's very disappointing," Mr Haraco said. "This is banishing normal, honest people who are trying to visit their families."
Mr Haraco, a dual citizen of Somalia and Australia, speaks from personal experience.
His mother-in-law, Nadira Tabid, raised him as her own after she married his father in Somalia.
Now she lives in Houston and he had planned to visit her in July, continuing the rhythm of trips he has always made to her. From Somalia, to her last home in India, and now Texas, the state that abuts another Trump target: Mexico.
Mr Haraco, secretary of the Somali Australian Council of Victoria, doesn't know if he should book tickets or wait to see what unfolds when the 90-day period ends.
Will the ban continue? When will he see his elderly mother-in-law again? She is over 70 now; he doesn't want to leave it too long.
Confusion and concern among immigrants and refugee advocates has been widespread, with travellers detained or sent home from US airports.
There is confusion, too, among the young men that Mr Haraco has brought down to the ocean to mull over the qualities of a leader.
Some have talked about finding it difficult to get a job in Melbourne because of the colour of their skin, or their religion.
The group also discussed gangs, and young people they know who are dropping out of school, drawn to these groups.
But the bigger purpose was to inspire them, says council member Abdi Aziz, and he remains convinced that Trump's ruling won't quash their enthusiasm for multiculturalism.
"Diversity is mainstream in Australia … but the risk is there. For us it's an important time for our Prime Minister to show political leadership in this area."
Many people he had spoken to that morning were feeling a sense of loss, he said.
