Week 4 Sun 11 Mar - Sat 17 Mar

Week 4 Sun 11 Mar – Sat 17 Mar

Willows Park, Rosedale – 11 Mar 

Sunday was the usual bacon and eggs start and then pack up heading for a free camp, Willows Park, just outside of Rosedale.   We left Lakes Entrance around 10.45am and got about ½ down the road, and decided to take a detour to Paynesville.  A very picturesque place on the Lake with yachts, boats, cars and people everywhere.  There was a yachting regatta on and they were coming back in, taking masts down etc.  A very busy place apart from the amount of people with children playing and walking dogs.

Dove into Bairnsdale where Tony was feeling peckish for a cake.  Not too much open being a holiday Sunday but we found one Bakery that was very busy and got our cakes.  Very indulgent, I had a Toblerone cheesecake and Tony having a Mars Bar slice.  They were huge – in fact I had to leave a bit of mine till we arrived at Willows Park of which I then polished off. Yum!

We arrived at Willows Park early afternoon – went for a 1.5km walk along the historic walk into the edge of town and nearly stood on a snake (copperhead) sliding across the path.  Free camp tonight, getting a bit chilly these days in the evening.  Coats have definitely come out.  Off to the Prom tomorrow. 

Looking forward to getting in a bush walk.

Wilsons Promontory – 12 – 13 Mar

 After bush camping overnight we headed off to Wilson Promontory via Yarram.  Our first stop was the Taralgon Power Station – with its chimneys of smoke and coal.  Quite impressive when you get up close to the towers of smoke billowing from those huge chimneys.   The drive to Yarram was a very windy road up over the mountain and down again, but much more pleasant than taking the highway.  We lunched just the other side of Yarram and were greeted by a local who had been shopping in town.  Quite a yarner and we had his life story by around the 20 mins, but a pleasant enough chap nonetheless.  Then onto Turro (where massive wind turbines rolled around endlessly), they can be seen from the hills everywhere. The Promontory here we come. 

As you came around the bend heading towards Tidal River, you start to take in the enormity of the beauty of this place.  We were in awe of the scenery as we wound our way eventually around the mountain to the campsite.  The place is enormous, basically a town out on the peninsula.  It has a helipad, a cop shop, a medical centre (if required), a take away, a small restaurant, a shop for general supplies and even an outdoor cinema.  The facilities were great and very clean as was the entire park. (Not bad after just having some 800 odd occupants over a long weekend.  We were all settled by 4pm and then decided to investigate by going for a walk.  Well this turned into a 5km trip out to Pillar Point.  The floods of 2011 are still evident here with lots of landslips everywhere and devastation from so much water.  Many of the tracks are still closed and only the smaller walks available.  This didn’t deter us.  I was also looking forward to seeing a wombat, but as of yet they elude me.

Tuesday we set off to do the Darby Saddle to Tongue Point walk, a 12km return trip ranked medium to hard.  Always up for a challenge we headed off relatively early with the sun shining and the weather not too hot.  The walk was fantastic, the views along the cliffs were breathtaking, but the walk was very very hilly.  We were hot and bothered after the first lookout and it was up yet again to the next lookout, then it was all the way down to the Tongue Point.  Wow, wow, wow – I can’t say anymore than this.  The walk took up just on 5 hours return and it was really tough going, the hill was very high and it just went straight up.  We were admitting that this was a tough walk and that we definitely needed more water than we had.  We were exhausted by the time we completed the walk, but of the rewards of the spectacle outweighed the pain. We took so many pictures that I filled up my camera card just in this one walk.

Tonight I was duly rewarded by seeing possums and 3 different wombats.  The last visitor of the night, I got so close to that Tony took a picture of me with him.  They are not bothered by humans and just seem to ignore us and going about their grazing quite merrily.

Tuesday we decided to walk to Pillar Point again, and then decided to do the circuit via Tidal Overlook and Lilly Pilly Gully. Again breathtaking scenery and one that you just absorbed each time to saw it.  Reluctantly we packed up, after having lunch and at 2.30 pm headed off to Phillip Island.

San Remo – 14 – 16 Mar

After keeping to the coastline, we stopped off at Wonthaggi at the Information Centre to collect some brochures around Phillip Island.  We wanted to stop at Kilcunda but the caravan park was fully booked so we found another place called the Foreshore Caravan Park at San Remo.  A funny caravan park, with the majority of sites being for what they call "Annuals", people that pay for most of the year but may not necessarily be there every week end.  The place was deserted and also closed.  When we arrived the owner (luckily) was in, but it was their day off – so for the confusion we got a free clothes wash.  This did come in handy.  We were right next to the facilities, and it was like our own private little facility.

 

We had met a couple at Lakes Entrance from Indooroopilly and we ran into them again at Wilsons Prom and as we drove through Kilcunda they were looking for somewhere to stay.  I jokingly said to Tony – “what’s the bet they end up at the Foreshore”- and sure enough as we had just finished checking in and they rolled in.

 

We ended up being next to each other and so had dinner together and then watched a DVD outdoors, “the Kings Speech”- as no one was around – it was like having our own outdoor cinema – it was great.

The weather changed again and the next day – rain and showers and a little cooler.  The washing got deposited into the laundry – Chinese style all over and then off shopping we went.  Kilcunda has a small Trestle bridge and a great rock formation – which we walked all over and around. Heaps more photos taken, off home for lunch, but not before going to Phillip Island to another island, called Churchill Island, a heritage farm, which had great highland cattle and geese that were enormous.  More photos and off home to have a roast dinner with our neighbours.

Friday we headed off to Phillip Island (a tour in one day), not before more washing and Chinese laundry hanging, as the weather was still a bit drizzly and showery.  First stop, Churchill Island where we headed off to do the walk around the island, not a very big island, but a half island walk of about 4kms. Next we found a great burger at Surf Beach’s local shop (which I had all over me by the time I had finished), then off to the Koala Sanctuary.   Next stop, Phillip Island race track for a view and saw a car on the circuit going around (no events on today- so pretty quiet). Off to Cowes to see the town and walk the esplanade before ending up at Nobbies Point to do the boardwalks and see the magnificent coastline.  Just about got blown off the mountain, it was very windy and quite cold.  Saw two little fury feet under the boardwalk - which was exciting. 

Then to cap the whole day off, we drove down to the Penguin Parade, to see the fairy penguins.  We saw heaps and they are so tiny.  We stayed until they basically told us to start back up the boardwalk.  They were nesting everywhere - preening, calling to each other, feeding young - wonderful.  Both Tony & I were ecstatic to see them in their natural environment going about their business.  And the weather held for us.  So I came home really happy and glad for the experience.

Melbourne (Spirit of Tasmania) - 17 Mar 

Saturday and we are off to Tasmania on the boat tonight.  So after getting organized and out of the caravan park, we took a stroll around San Remo for the last time and at midday slowly made our way along the coast to Melbourne to the Port of Melbourne.  We stopped off at the Marshlands at Koo Wee Rup with a suspended stair lookout, interesting.  And then we found this tiny little town, that had a lovely boardwalk and walk along the creek at Cannon Creek, where we lunched and put the generator on to cool the fridge before the 12 hour journey to Tasmania. 

We arrived dead on 5pm at the dock going through security and then waiting to be boarded.  It is all very coordinated and orderly, going through security a number of times, getting our boarding passes and then parking before getting on the boat heading out of Port Phillip Bay at 7.30pm.  Very prompt and engines moving at departure time.  Now heading to Tasmania, the seas are relatively calm and the weather is fine.  But just in case we took our sea sickness pills, better safe than sorry.  But we are doing ok and didn’t need to worry.