Day 11 - Mt Schank, Cape Northumberland, Tantanoola Cave, Glencoe Woolshed, Lake McIntyre, Millicent

Monday 16 March 2020 

I’m restless. Every day I spend a fair amount of time wondering if my next stop should be heading my closer to home. I’m in Mount Gambier another night but I need to be making a decision for tomorrow and choose a property. Meanwhile, what shall I do this morning. I check the things to do on TripAdvisor and decide that while it’s still cool thismorning, I’ll head down to Mount Schank and check that out. 

Mount Schank Rim Trail - 1068 steps

The trail up to the rim of the extinct volcano is on the shady southern side of the cone. The sign suggests that the 1 km trail can be completed in 30 minutes one way. Seats are provided along the way to give a break from their count of 1038 steps on the limestone track. The track is interesting. It’s easier than steps, but the limestone blocks alternate in thickness so that you get a good grip as you walk. Mount Schank, is a refuge for native grasses which have almost completely disappeared from the south east of South Australia.

The views from the rim of Mount Schank are as impressive as was promised.  I speak briefly with a couple who arrived earlier and are now heading back down. And another friendly chat is had with a nice young man I’d spoken with in the parking area. I guess it’s not surprising that viewing the crater puts me strongly in mind of Lochnagar Crater in France. After procrastinating and wasting time for a while, one half of my mind saying I don’t have time or physical resources to walk another hour (2.4 km) around the rim and the other calling siren like that I may as well while I’m here, I just set out for a bit of a look. Before I know it, I’m committed. 

Rim and Crater, Mount Schank

I’m half in South Australia, half in France as I walk along the rim track. At places the track is comfortably broad and in others it’s a narrow picking of footsteps on the edge of a drop off between ragged volcanic rocks. In France, our little group of four walked around the slippery clay rim path (as it then was) in driving sleet. A very memorable experience.  Mount Schank is much larger of course and rather than being associated with the detonation of many tonnes of ammonal under crowded trenches of soldiers it is one of the camp fires abandoned by the Giant Craitbul back in the day.

Rim Track narrow section, Mt Schank

Scientists reckon the volcano erupted only about 5000 years ago. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient if it suddenly decided to explode again while I’m walking. I’m not walking very quickly and I’m watching the young bloke, easily identifiable in his hi vis shirt complete his rim circuit and pick his way down into the crater. He’s down and back and long gone by the time I get back to the track back down to the car. My visit has taken about 1 ¾ hours, so add a little loitering using facilities and procrastinating, I’d say the signs have it about right for a leisurely visit.

Next I waver. I’m super keen to get to Tantanoola Cave having read that it’s the most highly decorated cave on the Limestone Coast. I was planning to get there for the first tour, but now I’m called by Cape Northumberland. I didn’t stop there yesterday because I was getting a bit tired and just wanted to get to Mount Gambier. I’m halfway back there now, so I figure I’ve got time for a quick squiz there and then still time to get back to Tantanoola.

Wow. I’m surprised by how much I enjoy Cape Northumberland. I wasn’t going to worry about walking out to the point but a man whose knees are pretty much stuffed, and who walks with a stick, sparks up a conversation with me as the rest of his party heads up the path that has some steps. It’s brilliant he says and it’s an easy walk, don’t miss going down there!  OK, that’s quite a recommendation so I head out, with the old road to myself. It’s a very impressive spot, as is the viewing platform closer to the car park. I’m fairly hard to please for coastlines really but this, like the Bay of Martyrs, encourages lingering. Does everywhere have a feature they name Camel Rock? This one's even more camel-like than the similar feature at the Giant's Causeway. 

Camel Rock, Cape Northumberland

I should start heading to Tantanoola and I start the car with that intention, but the spirit of this place takes control and turns my steering wheel the couple of turns to head down along Surfer’s Way. I could easily spend all afternoon exploring along the coast. Sense prevails though because I like caves a lot and I REALLY want to see the Tantanoola Cave today.

Along Surfers Way, Cape Northumberland

About half an hour later I’m pulling up in the car park at Tantanoola Cave. I’ve just missed a tour but they run every half hour so to kill time the lady there encourages me to do the walk up onto the ridgeline. It doesn’t look that exciting and by the time we’ve chatted for a little while I’m thinking it’s too late, but apparently 15 minutes is enough for the walking so I set off. And the walk really isn’t terribly exciting except for a couple of things 1. Wallabies hang out along there and 2. There’s and abundantly flowering bush. 

Wallaby, Tantanoola Cave Reserve

Now lots of native shrubs are said to attract insects and that’s nice but this is the first time I’ve seen just how attractive to insects they can be. This thing is alive with buzzing insects and butterflies. I have an interest in native bees so this is really pretty exciting. They are so active and fast I can’t get a good image or a good look at them to look up what they are but I am none-the-less delayed by simply standing there in wonder. One eye on the time, I drag myself away and get back just in time to take this tour with just myself and the guide.

Pillar in Tantanoola Cave

Access to the Tantanoola Cave is easy. REALLY easy. It’s just a short walk, say 15-20 metres from the door of the ticket office, then you open the door to the cave and step inside. That’s it. It’s that easy and the whole cave is visible. There’s some path where you can move around without steps and a small area where there’s a couple of steps but it’s completely accessible. Tantanoola is one of 1300 registered caves on the Limestone Coast. Being to close to the surface the rate of growth in the crystal is erratic and much dependent on rainfall. The crystal is an unusual colour in places. This is due to the difference in the minerals captured, this being a dolomite cave. After about 10 minutes of presentation by my guide I have some time to just wander about admiring the formations in complete wonder. This must surely be as spectacular a cave as exists anywhere on earth and certainly one of the quickest and easiest to view. I can't believe I never heard of it before. As the time for the next tour approaches, I make my way out, spend a little more time on the displays in the visitor centre and get on my way.

Glencoe Wooshed with Truman Windmill

Along the way to the cave, I noticed a sign to Glencoe Woolshed. I like a good woolshed so I’m inclined to wander back there for a quick look next. It’s about 35 minutes back to Glencoe Woolshed, a bit of a false start as I find that I need to go back to the general store in Glencoe to get the key. This is a very unusual woolshed indeed. I have never even heard of a stone woolshed before. In many ways it is typical in it’s overall facilities, central race and pens with swing doors for the shearers to claim their next beast, long rows or stands for the shearers and shutes for the sheep to be scooted back outside. At the far end are the wool tables where the fleece is classed and the rough dirty edges are removed and of course baling facilities. 

Pens and the board, Glencoe Woolshed

But what I don’t understand is the underfloor ventilation or lack thereof.  The floor of woolsheds is slotted so that as the sheep drop their pellet like manure or urine, it just goes through the slats in the floor onto the earthen floor beneath the shed. An active woolshed us usually powerfully pungent as a result. But most sheds I’ve seen have been raised on piers with open sides and good air flow to the under floor. Here, being stone, this is obviously not the case. None of the information panels seems to address this issue. What the information does cover includes the roles of various shearing team members and, sadly, a series of quotations from reminiscences or historical records of the gradual demise of the traditional way of life for the Boandik people.

Street Art, George St Millicent by Mimby Jones Robinson

Key returned to the General Store it’s now about 3:30 pm. So what now? I decide to head over for a bit of a look at Millicent and a visit to Lake McIntyre. It’s 5 o’clock by the time I am in town and prowling around trying to photograph some of the street art and local landmarks. I’m too late for the National Trust Museum, but it any case it's probably time to head on out to the lake.

Dotterl Hide, Lake McIntyre

There’s not many people or cars around so a nice seat overlooking the lake and its assembled waterfowl is welcome for a short time. Superb Fairy Wrens hop up to catch insects around the stem of a small shrub, constantly piping to each other keeping in contact as the extended family forages in the undergrowth.

Superb Fairy Wren. All you can say from this is that it's not an adult male. 

Ultimately I decide to walk the loop around the lake and check out the bird hides. It’s an easy, level walk and taking my time, this consumes about an hour. There’s a lot of Straw Necked Ibis, a couple of Black-winged Stilts, Australasian Grebe and Pacific Black Ducks. A few Pied Cormorants too. There’s not a great volume of water in the lake at the moment. The bird hides are nicely done.

Mostly Straw Necked Ibis

Lake McIntyre

Back in Mount Gambier I’m not ready to call it a day just yet, tomorrow’s a pretty full day so I’m keen to tick off the remaining essentials here this evening. I have read that there’s illuminations on the wall by the Cave Gardens, so I head over there and take a wander until those commence. Close to where I’m parked there’s another sign from the Admella Discovery Trail. There was another of these in Millicent. This trail has its own website and from my experiences today, I’m keen to include exploring this whole trail when I get back this way again.

Roses at the Cave Garden

The Cave Gardens are pretty with lovely roses, as perhaps one might expect in South Australia. The water features so prominently promoted are not operating. Am I too late or are they switched off for other reasons? I wander the street down past the art gallery and along Commercial Street East and loop back via Watson Terrace and the Gardiner Fountain, admiring the beautiful streetscape created by the large number of beautiful buildings. The Gardiner Fountain is also not running which is disappointing. Interestingly the Gardiner Fountain was donated to the community by Sir Robert Helpmann’s grandfather.

Abelia at the Cave Garden

Back at the sinkhole I spend a little time walking down along the path, but stop short of going all the way down. A large bank of flowering Abelia is acting as a shelter for some New Holland Honeyeaters and they flit back and forth across the abyss. Although it is not a native plant, Abelia is certainly beloved of honeyeaters and other nectar loving creatures.  

The light is failing, and I get to the point of not really wanting to hang around any longer. Off to collect some take away from Southern Thai Café which was very nice. The restaurant has a very nice ambience but I’m keen to just chill out now. Never did make it to the possums at Umpherston Sinkhole.

Day 10 - Silo Art, The Crags, Bay of Whales Gallery, Princess Margaret Rose Cave and more

Sunday 15 March 2020

My negligence is brought to my attention this morning as I set the satnav to take me to Portland and get on my way, pure luck takes me past the Warrnambool Water Tower that features the Our Story Mural profiling the journey of three local migrants and former refugees, and celebrating the rich and diverse social tapestry of the Great South Coast. I really should have been checking the Silo Art interactive map online.

The objective today is to reach Mt Gambier via Portland. That will only take about 2 ½ hours driving so I have some time to spend on things that take my fancy. I’ve got my eye on the heritage tram in Portland and a few tourist sites around there. This idea is pushed back as a brown sign points me towards the coast at The Crags, promising me a war memorial 3 kms beyond the flat grazing land bordering the highway.

At the end of the road there’s a small parking area with a sign explaining about the Crags as Aboriginal Homelands of the Peek whurrung people whose population was around 8,000 before Europeans arrived (and brought smallpox epidemic to which Aboriginal people had no resistance). The island off the coast is Deen Maa. It and the Crags are special spiritual places connected to Dreamtime and the creation of humans, the land and sea and all creatures and plants. Information about the local middens and what they tell us about Aboriginal life and occupation fills the rest of the board.

The Crags with Deen Maa island in the distance

A walk of a further 100 metres brings me to the memorial site. There’s no access to the coast itself, but in compensation there is, I think, probably the best rehabilitation zone signage I’ve ever seen. I was impressed by the Keep Out Rehabilitation Area signage we saw in Scotland but this goes further. It explains enough about the processes of erosion, the work that has been done to stabilise the area and slow the erosion and preserve Aboriginal middens. Aboriginal uses for local plant species round out some further detail. It’s a very persuasive sign.

I turn my attention to the memorial sculpture and the information about its placement here in such an isolated spot. The crew of four were lost when they attempted to land their Avro Anson on Deen Maa during what is thought to have been a submarine patrol in 1944.

Another sign tells of the geology and the changes to coastline and climate over the millennia. Local birdlife is discussed with emphasis again for the Hooded Plover and Pied Oystercatcher. An offshore stack houses a colony of Silver Gulls. You need to look closely at the dull brown photograph on the bottom of the sign. Apparently this is one of the best places in Australia to see a rock formation called a rhizomorphs. A rhizomorph is pretty much as the name suggests. Roots through the earth rot away and leave tubes which form funnels for rainwater enriched with calcium carbonate. In a process similar to the formation of stalactites, casts of the roots are created which are harder than the softer limestone rock called calcarenite which surrounds them. Over time the calcarenite erodes leaving these ghosts of the ancient vegetation.

Yet another sign tells further details on Deen Maa, which is home not only to the spirits of dead Aboriginal people, who have travelled to the island with their firestick after their burial, but to the world’s largest fur seal colony. The sign reckons there’s about 30,000 fur seals there but other sources say it’s less than half that number. Either way it’s tiny compared to the estimated 200,000 fur seals resident prior to predation by European sealers.

Another brown sign prompts a turn towards the Bay of Whales Gallery along an initially sealed road that turns to gravel as you enter the long drive up to the gallery itself perched on a rise with views down to the coast. A pair of handsome and friendly border collies comes over to welcome me, one of them is carrying a small yellow ball in its mouth, but doesn’t seem willing to surrender it for a came of fetch.

Entering the gallery itself, there’s a small kitchen servery by the door and the artist himself (Brett Jarratt) at work. The room is one large space with some tables where you can sit and have a coffee and cake, admire the art and from some tables, also the view. The art is exceptional. Much of Brett’s work is for the purpose of illustration in factual texts and guide books. What a privilege to see the originals. I’ve got time and the treats look nice so I decide to sit for a while by the window and indulge in a lemon meringue tart. The lemon curd filling was nice but unfortunately the meringue was very grainy, which is surprising because it’s not like making meringue is difficult. I can’t afford an original artwork at the moment so I am satisfied by a copy of Australia’s Amazing Whales and Dolphins published by Australian Geographic.

Next stop Portland. I see no sign of the Tram running and to be honest, it’s not such a nice place that I’m tempted to do more than stop for a few photos and take a look at the historic Rock Shed, taking care to keep my distance from others doing the same before me.

By now I’ve set my sights on touring the Princess Margaret Rose Cave so I get on my way, travelling through extensive pine plantations including a section that burned bringing to mind the concern expressed at the time of the fires as to the potential losses if the fires were not prevented from moving through the plantations.

I arrive into the caves reserve within Lower Glenelg National Park at probably the perfect time for the next cave tour at 1:30 pm. There’s a few people here for the tour and we keep our distance from one another as we loiter and wait for the tour to start. I make doubly sure I’m minimising my time in the room by heading back to the car to adjust what I’m carrying. Several times. More luck than good management.

I am surprised at how easily accessible the cave is. Only 68 steps. The easier caves at Jenolan have more like 300 or so. It’s also convenient that the crystal drapes primarily down one side of the cave so it’s easy for everyone to line up against the opposite wall to take their photographs as we move along. The extent of the decoration is impressive. There’s also a very impressive array of formations that I’ve not seen before despite having visited quite a lot of caves. Blanket shawls, saw edged shawls and beyond the crystal there’s fossilised and living roots from trees in the reserve. I am so very glad I made this tour a priority. Time well spent

Princess Margaret Rose Cave

Saw edged Shawl

Back above ground, others clear out. I spend some time watching the birds around the birdbath behind the visitor centre with pleasing results: A beautiful male Golden Whistler, Yellow Faced Honeyeater, Crescent Honeyeater and a Sitella. Curiosity and a desire for some exercise takes me down the path to Bocara (Glenelg River) now in its final approach from Gariwerd, 400 km away in Victoria to the Koonang (sea). This area marks a cross over point, the most western range for some vegetation types from the east of the continent while also within range for western Australian flora. The shrubs along the path are flowering beautifully and it’s peaceful having the place to myself. The Black Duck under the pier doesn’t seem to agree as it flaps madly moving away from my unwelcome intrusion on the jetty.

Bocara (Glenelg River)

I’ve tended to stay on the move a lot during this walkabout and it’s beautifully green and cool in the park so I decide to take my time and unpack a picnic lunch in the shade. A parent Magpie and it’s youngster hang about hoping for some scraps. Other birds fly over, too far away for identification. Eventually, my cheese, crackers and fruit tucked away bellyside, once again it’s time to hit the road.

The route into Mount Gambier takes me along an avenue of European trees with some autumn colour beginning. It’s an irresistible stop when I get to the signs pointing out Umpherston Sinkhole. The park around the sinkhole is green and shady with sculpture and electric barbeques.  One very prominent sculpture is representative of the creation process for cenotes and is explained in detail on interpretive signage.

Cenotes and Other Encounters by Ivo Tadic

The sinkhole itself provides a beautiful canvas for floral artistry. With drought and climate the water table has reduced since the garden’s creation in the 19^th Century so there is no longer a small lake. The garden is green but I’m a bit disappointed by the horticultural selections. The ivy is obviously thriving and hydrangeas in rows down on the floor of the sinkhole are hanging in there. It’s not meticulously maintained but it’s tidy. It’s a bit “meh” to be honest. A sign promotes a visit at night when possums come out to play and the Lady Nelson ship at the information centre is illuminated.

Umpherston Sinkhole

Next stop, is to take a look at the Blue Lake while it’s still sunny. At this time of year the colour is not such a “crazy blue” but it’s still an intensely blue experience. The water level rises and falls in the crater of an extinct volcano, fed by flows from the limestone aquifer which is in turn replenished from infiltration of local rainfall.

The Blue Lake

Time now to check in to my accommodation and get some dinner.  Having enjoyed my stay at the Olde Maritime in Warrnambool I’ve gone for Best Western again this time at Southgate. The guy on the desk makes some stupid joke about how he’s been happy his wife has been away. I’m tired, but I’m not sure that really makes any real difference to my attitude to his banter. “She’s probably had a good time too.” I say with lots of meaning in the tone and delivery. Is this why he allocates me to a noisy room with a door to the room next door? A complaint soon has me allocated to a better room. The rooms have been refurbished recently and I’m comfortable inside, but the property as a whole feels a bit like an institution. I guess they haven’t the water to waste washing the grimy windows. The pool area looks like what you might find in the internal courtyard of a poorly maintained block of units. Very basic.

A Mount Gambier local innovation. Delicious.

Dinner is takeaway burger and Mozzarella Sticks from Born to Grill. Very nice but probably would have been even better with a little less of the house sauce.

The Birdhouse Burger from Natural Born Grillers, Mt Gambier

Day 9 - Around Warrnambool and Port Fairy

Saturday 14 March 2020
Today, there’s a lot of things I can do. But seeing as I’m here in Warrnambool, lets knock over things here first. The immediate priority is to explore around Thunder Point Coastal Reserve and get some exercise. This plan is briefly delayed as I navigate the roundabout outside the Warrnambool RSL and decide to pull over and pay respects at the War Memorial. Warrnambool has two war memorials. The ubiquitous WW1 memorial that’s in the centre of the roundabout and a second memorial between a small dedicated car park and the RSL. This second memorial is rather noteworthy. Usually you see communities adding to the WW1 Memorial for subsequent wars, this is especially common for WW2.  

Post WWI Memorial, Warrnambool

In Warrnambool, their newer memorial is comprehensive and includes a touch screen where visitors can learn more about the various conflicts, peace making and peace keeping operations in which Australians have served. I’m very impressed at this memorial. It appears to have been installed in 2018 and I don’t think I’ve seen another in a regional area that takes such pains to recognise everyone who has served. There’s even dedicated bronze plaques to draw attention to the service of women and Aboriginal people, which historically has tended to be overlooked. I am really glad I stopped.

Thunder Point Coastal Reserve

Moving on to Thunder Point, I enjoy the cool and breeze, check out a couple of information signs and the view of the coastline from behind the wall, which is somewhat limited other than the more distant sea and sky. I follow a lady setting off with her dog along a well-constructed path through the coastal heath. It’s a pretty dull walk but I’m aiming for what looks like some sort of broken-down survey or navigation marker.  The view from this point lets me see the subtle sculpting of the heath by the network of paths. I decide to head back and move on to Pickering Point.

Pickering Point is where I should have come for my walking. It’s got an interesting network of paths and boardwalks and the landscape also seems more interesting. The weather is looking threatening. There’s a colony of penguins protected by Maremma dogs in this general area and it looks like an enjoyable walk, but I figure, I’ve got other things I want to do now and maybe I can come back in the evening, so I move along.

Norfolk Island Pines in Warrnambool Street

Next stop Warrnambool Botanic Gardens. My route takes me back along streets lined with thriving Norfolk Island Pines. Magnificent specimens.

My objective at the Botanic Garden is primarily to check out their Lone Pine. This is a tree that was grown from seeds extracted from a pinecone brought back from a veteran of the Gallipoli Campaign. The original lone pine for which the famous battlefield slaughter was named was destroyed by artillery during that campaign.  

On my way to find the Lone Pine, I follow the path around past the fernery which looks authentically Victorian in design because although rebuilt in 1985, it is a reconstruction of the original built in 1888.  Just outside I am pleased to recognise two red paint brush lily flowers glowing against the bare earth. I’ve been trying to kill a white one since I found it at a plant collectors fair last year.  Of course I have to get a photo of the stone bridge before I leave too. The chatter of the local colony of Flying Foxes adds to the smell and sound of the gardens.

Long Billed Corella

My visit with the lone pine concluded, I head back to the car, delayed by a flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Long Billed Corellas. Well that’s the morning gone. My next stops are out of town but first some housekeeping. I need petrol so that’s the first thing. I’ve been eyeing off the laser car wash nearby, procrastinating.  I’m going to have to rename Pretty Red Baby Filthy Red Baby if something isn’t done and the dust and dirt every time to touch her or brush against her is driving me nuts. Let's do it. Some advice from the nice young attendant and in now time I’m done and on my way to Allensford to check out Cheese World.  That’s 15 minutes in the wrong direction but my curiosity has been peaked.  

Cheese World Museum, Allensford

A quick walk through the Cheese World Museum, there’s a fair bit here but I don’t have the patience for it today.  Inside, I nose around the cheeses and other products. Marvel at the price of the tiny bottles of Timboon Whisky. Sheesh it would want to be good. There’s not really anything here I want, some nice cheeses but I can buy them in the supermarket at home. That’s good. I can get straight over to Port Fairy.

On my way through yesterday I was intrigued by the signs for a scenic lookout in a spot where There doesn’t appear to be a clear viewpoint. Anticipating the turn I quickly turn in. This layby is next to the river but the view is largely obscured by vegetation.

Straight through now to Port Fairy and on arrival my first agenda is to find a spot for lunch. I don’t fancy eating in so I figure a bit of bakery sampling is the way to go. Parked outside Cobb’s Bakery, I duck in and find they are sold out of French Vanilla slice. Hmm. Oh well, if they’re calling it French Vanilla, it’s probably a hybrid. Not to worry. They also have very large lamingtons and jelly cakes filled with a large amount of cream. They pass visual inspection so one of those lamos comes with me and is carefully stowed in the esky for ron.  As I’m coming back outside a car has parked in the space next to mine and a young woman is has been taking instructions from a very elderly man who’s going to wait in the car. He’s after a vanilla slice but is learning they don’t have any.  Heading across the street to the other bakery doesn’t seem to be under consideration. Hmm.  

I should have known better. Double layer on an otherwise traditional looking Vanilla Slice isn't really a good sign. It's not terrible, but it's not first class either

I am keen to make a comparison so I go across to the Village Bakery and grab a couple of party pies and yep, a vanilla slice seeing as they have one. It passes visual inspection so we proceed to the next step. I’ll cut to the chase and report that the little pies were pretty standard product. I wasn’t fussed with either the vanilla slice or the lamo to be honest. My current rule is only first-rate product should be consumed, especially as I'm on my own. I don’t know how they made that lamo only reach a bin-worthy standard, but that was its destiny later in the afternoon. They need to go pay a visit to Waack’s in Stawell and see what a perfect lamo is like, this one isn’t even playing in the same league.

Port Fairy Wharf

I explore down to the wharf area where charter boats moored along a quiet waterway a fair distance in from the ocean protected from violent seas.  There’s nothing going on at the moment. It’s cool and the weather looks a bit threatening but I decide to go for a little bit of a walk down the street to take some photos. 

Port Fairy, like Warrnambool, has older streets lined with Norfolk Island Pines. Port Fairy retains a more rustic, casual atmosphere that is created by the lack of curb and guttering. It’s amazing what a difference that makes to creating a holiday feel to a place.  I’ve not gone far before I’m standing outside Mills Cottage which dates to 1841. This is a National Trust property and the front door is open. Perhaps I’m in luck. I linger taking some photos and then climb the steps and swing the gate open, not in any hurry. An elderly lady approaches to ask would I like to join the tour she’s about to give. Yes! I would very much.  We settle some confusion about what has brought people here today, there being an out of date flyer circulating that was supposed to have been withdrawn, but it turns out that I’ve just completely fluked being here in the very narrow window of time to see inside the cottage. 

While external conservation work has been undertaken, there is still a lot of conservation work to be done on the interiors. Information is provided to explain the history of how the house came to be preserved.  Probably quite a shock for the most recent private owner, who had sought to build a house and tea room on the rear of the property. Delays for extensive archaeological investigations and then death of the owner and the property was bought by the Victorian Government. 

Mills Cottage, Warrnambool

It’s a tiny cottage so the tour only takes about ten minutes.  Standing outside I’m again invited to come around to see Mott’s Cottage the other National Trust property. A kind local woman offers me a lift with her and our guide and off we go.

Mott’s Cottage dates from 1842 and like Mill’s Cottage has extensions that date from different periods. It is However further along the path of conservation and restoration. With more displays and some very special pieces among the furnishings, our visit over the three downstairs sections and upstairs a couple of people at a time, we’re done in about half an hour. More than one among the visitors comments that they’d be happy to live here.

We aren’t done yet with heritage Port Fairy. Our guide lives in another historically important cottage and it’s just around the corner. We are welcome to come along to see it. As we go we hear about the lengths that local people had to go to, to save these early structures from demolition. At one point, housing desperately needed in the area, the Victorian government agency said that for every house the government built to house those in need of assistance, one of the old colonial cottages had to be demolished. Some people took action like removing certain features from the house so that it was no longer a structure that met the definition that would lead to demo. It’s heart breaking to think of such wanton heritage vandalism on the part of the government. When our guide and her husband bought their house it was just luck that such an important building landed in the hands of people who rose to the challenge and protected it.

I’m now trying to get as quickly as possible back to the wharf to see if there’s enough people still around to make another half hour cruise viable.  No joy unfortunately. It’s disappointing and in some ways I regret my lack of preparation today, but that boat is quite small and social isolating may not have been easy so perhaps this is for the best. I head across to the little museum across the street, pay the $5 entry fee and wander into the nicely designed court room. However, I can’t concentrate and I don’t want to linger reading, so it’s not long before I’m heading back outside.

It doesn’t take long to grab a few quick “tick” shots for the main street. I’m not a shopper at the best of times and that is only more so in these days of the zombie apocalypse.

Killarney Beach, Victoria

I’ve seen on TripAdvisor people report on their visits to Killarney Beach so when the time comes I make the turn and travel the few kms from the highway to its currently quiet parking area. It’s nice to get out and stretch my legs, exploring along seaweed strewn beach. Fantasising about seeing the hooded plovers or pied oystercatchers, realising belatedly I’ve left the binoculars in the car anyway. Never mind. The briefly sampled lamington is binned and I’m on my way again, this time I’m heading for a look at Koroit. Probably wouldn’t have bothered except I’d seen a snippet of the episode of Backroads focussing on the town.

Koroit, Victoria - for some reason they appear to have Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley on the awnings

Along the way I decide I’ll follow a brown sign and this proves worthwhile for the broad vista across Tower Hill State Game Reserve sitting with the surrounding lake in the crater of an extinct volanco. I take the time to pull the binoculars out for a quick look at dozens of black swans feeding. Can’t see much else from this distance.

On another day this would have been a quirky place to explore

Koroit itself seems a fairly pedestrian sort of place on a drive by. Some great bargains for bags of large brushed potatoes on the roadside stalls, but unfortunately I’m not prepared to pop a fifty buck note in the honest box so I head back on my way to Warrnambool with only a quick double take at a strange sculpture garden come shop along the way.  Back in town I stop for a better look at a beautiful and charming sculpture of a seal that is let down by its location and then it’s time to rest. I enjoyed my steak sandwich so much the other day I decide I’ll just get that for room service tonight. It’s good, but not as good as the first time.

Warrnambool