Wet, wet, wet

BEACHPORT we called in here after leaving Mount Gambier this morning for Robe, for the first time in 14 weeks Paul had to pack up in the rain. Good for South Australia as they badly need it. It was also raining when we set up at Robe, luckily the weather cleared slightly and we had a drive around the town, see below.
WEOKMINE CUTTING this was along the way, a farmer went to drain his swamp, it took just under 3 years, was 1km in length up to 28-34 metres deep and they removed 276,000 cubic metres using some Caterpillar equipment, bit of an advertisement for them.

CAPE DOMBEY at Robe, really unusual rock layers and to the left in the shaded area you can see some birds sheltering, presume they are pigeons. Weather permitting we will do some walks tomorrow.

The Green Triangle

THE BLUE LAKE one of the most famous lakes at Mount Gambier, the lovely colour at the side is from the limestone base. This lake changes colours at different times of the year. This area called The Green Triangle is the number three crater area in the world.

VIEW FROM CENTENARY TOWER at Valley Lake across to Mount Schank and Port Macdonnell. The lakes in the area are at their lowest on record. In the grounds of Valley Lake they have a wildlife park and boardwalk, Paul thought that the two wallabies had actually broken in - we started to think that we were the exhibits, I won't mention some of his other comments.

Across the Border

PORTLAND Today we left Port Fairy and headed towards Mount Gambier which is across the border in South Australia. Along the way we called in to Portland, it looked very pretty, magnificent old buildings and a lovely bay but alas the eyesore is the aluminium smelter.

UMPHERSTON SINKHOLE Mount Gambier is the city of craters, lakes, caves and sinkholes due to the limestone and underground water. This sinkhole is near the city and the original farmer created this garden within it. We visited one in the city but if you are in Mount Gambier - don't bother, Paul reckons it should be filled in and a car park put there.

VIEW FROM OUR CARAVAN PARK Don't be surprised to see some cow photos from now on as there really are some great photos to be had with their surroundings. If we hadn't had the caravan on board today I would of made Paul turn back as there were some cows beside a church and I could just see the caption "Holy Cow".

South West Victoria

PORT FAIRY We have had three nights in this pretty town, very historical so some lovely old homes and churches. Griffiths Island is a walk at the point and the nesting area for the mutton birds after they have flown all the way from Alaska, saw some wallabies. Went into Warrnambool one of the days, this is the nearest big city with a population of about 30,000. On the way into the city we called into Tower Hill and walked to the lookout which is set on an old volcano, saw another koala and some emus.

"MERRIJIG INN" is the oldest inn in Victoria, if you are after some fine dining this is the place to visit, the chef is Ryan Sessions and he has obtained a 2 hat rating. No, we did not dine there but had the pleasure of dining with his parents, Jan and Russ at a local pub. We met Jan and Russ once before in Tasmania, they have just signed off on their blog after three years and two months on the road, so the start of a new chapter for them. We have caught up with them the last two nights and had a great time, will miss seeing their whereabouts.

Last of The Great Ocean Road

BAY OF ISLANDS Today we left pretty Apollo Bay and followed the Great Ocean Road through to Port Fairy. We called in to the lookouts that we missed the other day. all very spectacular.

THE LOCALS It is very hard to take photos that do the area justice. A few bods wandering around, but not many when you consider it was the last day of the Victorian school holidays and only part way through the South Australia school holidays.

From here on we shouldn't have to book ahead, have three days here at Port Fairy and will then head on to Mount Gambier.

Back to the Bush

HOPETOUN FALLS Near Beech Forest in the valleys behind Apollo Bay are several lovely rain forest walks leading to waterfalls which are all flowing quite majestically. The rain forests are the same type as ones we visited in Tasmania.
APOLLO BAY View from Marriners Outlook, Apollo Bay is very pretty and in behind it before the rain forest are rolling hills with cattle and sheep, all very lush land.

We have been on the road 13 weeks today and have seen and visited some amazing places, we are just so fortunate.

More of the Great Ocean Road

KOALA On the road into the Cape Otway Lighthouse which is the oldest lighthouse in Australia we spotted three koalas, they look so cute, have an easy life as you only ever see them sleeping.

TWELVE APOSTLES Some of the remaining Apostles; there are now only six left, when we saw them in 2000 there were eight of them, easy to see how they are eroded away with the pounding surf.
ISLAND ARCHWAY from the Loch Ard Gorge lookout, the gorge is named after a boat that was wrecked in the area, this section of the Great Ocean Road has taken a few boats.

ANOTHER GREAT VIEW from the Loch Ard Gorge viewing area, all very spectacular with the noise of the waves crashing.