A Little Taste of Victoria

Short but sweet

Just a few kilometres across the SA border is the little town of Nelson. It’s a picturesque little fishing village, with a population of around 190 humans and lots and lots of birds. I think that the coastline of SA and Vic must be home for most of Australia’s population of black swans. They are everywhere, but you can never see too many black swans, they’re just so elegant and graceful.

So, our second port of call in Vic was Port Fairy. A very pretty name, and a very pretty town. This was the first caravan Park we had stayed in since leaving Adelaide over five weeks ago. We were hoping to bush camp the entire time, but there were no suitable spots in the area. Still, it was a good little caravan park called The Gardens, and we made it our base for four nights while we explored eastward as far as Warrnambool.

One of the things we love about travelling like this, is that we’re always learning something new and interesting. We were walking along the beach at Port Fairy Bay and noticed masses of tiny, little jelly-like creatures being washed up on the shore.

As we walked further it became clear that there were millions of the little things, just drying out where the tide left them. We couldn’t avoid them, in the water or on the sand. So, what are these tiny little creatures? They are called Salps.

Salps are gelatinous, cylindrically shaped, transparent, and a completely harmless sea creature. They can grow up to 10 millimetres in length so I think the one Peter is holding must be fully grown. They feed by sucking in seawater, and ingesting the phytoplankton which live in the water. When they have taken all of the phytoplankton, they then expel the water, and they do so with such force, that they propel themselves through the water. So, their feeding method also acts as one of the most efficient jet propultion systems in nature. Of course there is a lot more to them than that, so look them up if you want to know more.

Between Port Fairy and Warrnambool is an area called the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve. This was a very interesting area. It’s basically an old volcanic crater, with a landmass in the centre, and water surrounding it. So, its like a little island in the centre of the crater, surrounded by a lava boundary. There’s a road that takes you onto the island, and once there, there are several walking tracks to explore. I think it’s safe to say that this is one of the more unique places we have visited.

As well as the’ water ‘moat’ surrounding the island, there were a number of large lakes on the island itself. It really is a great place to walk. There are some easy, and some not so easy tracks so you can take your pick.

Leaving the coast we headed inland, due north, ready to start meandering back to SA. We saw a sign for a lookout and thought…why not. It was a tight, winding road, and we had to take it easy with the van on tow. Peter, as always did an excellent job. At the top there was ample space to park, and after an invigorating walk, we were rewarded with a wide, expansive view with the Grampians in the distance, and…a bird.

Continuing North, we made our way to Glendinning campground on the 16^th of Feb and have been here ever since. A short drive from the camp, we visited Air Terjun Wannon Falls. Very impressive when in full flow. But when they’re not, you can do this.

We swam and kayaked most days, we went wood collecting, Peter made a date damper and I gave my camera a good workout. All the things we enjoy so much and in such a lovely place. So, when Peter said, and I quote.

            “I don’t want to leave here.”

We didn’t. I mean, who am I to argue? Here we are camped a hundred meters from the water’s edge of the Rocklands Reservoir – who could ask for anything more?

As the days passed, we planned to leave on the 22^nd, then the 23^rd but we’ve stretched it to Friday 24^th Feb. this means that we have a whopping 460klms to travel in just two days.

I think we can do it. 😉

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!