Oct 4, Thursday

Oct 4, Thursday

Woke up at 7 am and was ready to hit the road by 9 this morning.  I had intended on heading back on Phillip Island to go take pictures of the beach where the penguins had landed, but really, it would just have been a picture of another beach; no penguins visible.  This time it was the gentleman owner at the reception desk when I went to check out.  His wife had told him that I was from Canada and was heading up the coast to Sydney.  He brought out a booklet of maps and started telling me all the places I should really stop to see; little back roads and al.   Such a nice couple!  And unfortunately the husband is very ill and they’ve had to go to the doctor’s every day for the last week.  They are on their own running the hotel with no one to help them out; I felt really sorry for them.  They live in a small town however so I’m sure that when word gets around the troops will gather to help them out.

So I headed back towards Gippsland Highway, but this time headed east.  I missed the turnoff for the Bunurong Coastal Drive at Wonthaggi, but when I arrived in Inverloch I found it from the other end and drove partway on it to take in the views.

 Stunning views of rolling hills, with tall trees for windbreaks.

 Jaw dropping coast line

 Following trails and boardwalks to get to look out points

 and the views are always worthwhile

 A lone person walking on the beach below

Crashing waves out on the water.

 In one of the spots I stopped to take pictures, there was a nice country house.  It has probably been there for more than 60 years.

The coastal road I was driving on

Back at Inverloch the Hwy was heading inland to Leogathan and then down to Foster and Alberton. I was going in to Port Albert (at the motel owner’s suggestion) since he said that the best fish & chips were available at the wharf.

The wharf at Port Albert
It was only 11 am when I got there, there were a dozen people waiting in line to purchase some food, and I decided to give it a miss (I’ve eaten fish and chips for 3 days in a row now).  I headed back to the highway and had just passed Yarram and Woodside (on the way to Sale where the Gippsland Hwy meets up with the A1) when traffic came to a complete stop.  There was a fire ahead of us and the police had just arrived to redirect traffic.

You can actually see the flames along the branch between the bush and the tall trees.

I guess I could have just waited on the side of the road, but there was a “Rent a truck” in front of me and he had gotten directions from the lady police officer for the detour we would have to make.  I asked the truck driver if I could follow him since I was not familiar with the roads.  He waved me on to follow.  Unfortunately I don’t think he knew the roads either, or the police officer who redirected him didn’t, because within 15 minutes we had to double back the way we came back to the highway.  He stopped at a gas station to ask for directions and waved for me to follow him.  “?? Do I  ?? ,  Don’t I ??“  At least he had stopped to ask for directions which was a good sign;  I decided to follow him.  It turned out to be a really long detour and for the first half hour I really wondered where we were going to end up, but at one of the turn offs there was a sign indicating that we were heading for Traralgon.  Ah ha ! Found it on the map, we were heading north toward the A1; and we would be about 50 km from Sale when we reached it.

Huge agricultural areas with lots of cattle

When we finally reached the A1 I honked and waived my thanks to the truck driver and continued on my way to Sale.  The motel owner  at San Remo had suggested that I might want to veer off at Bairnsdale and go to the coast to see a ferry crossing where it was pulled across the river with cables, but I decided to give that a miss and just head for Lakes Entrance where I was hoping to spend the night.   It was only 4 pm when I got to the motel, but 7 hours on the road had been enough for the day.  I’m still feeling the after effects of this cold. 

 The Marina at Lake Entrance

 a black swan in the lake

 The life size wooden sculptures created by chainsaw artist John Brady made of cypress wood; all in honour of WWII servicemen

 
and women.

Oct 3, Wednesday

Oct 3, Wednesday

Left Melbourne and drove along the coast towards Phillip Island.  The lady at the reception desk at the Brighton Savoy gave me directions but somehow things did not go quite according to plan.  After a few tourist detours however I was able to find an alternate route and made it to the South Gippsland Highway and then on the Bass Highway.  I stopped for gas along the way and there happened to be a MacDonalds there.  I’m not a fan of the golden arches, however they have been advertising a Lamb Burger on TV and I decided to give it a try.  Quite tasty !

Part of the drive was along the coast of  Port Phillip Harbour

The rolling hills on the drive to Phillip Island

As I arrived in San Remo, before crossing the bridge to the island, I stopped in at the Pelican Motel and reserved a room for tonight.  The lady owner was SO NICE !  When I told her I would be going to see the Penguin Parade she not only told me to bring a couple of sweaters and jacket, but gave me a blanket to sit on and wrap up my legs.  She said that even on a beautiful warm day like today, by 7:15 it would be really cold on the waterfront.  Once across the bridge I stopped at the tourist information office and found out that I could purchase a “3 Park Pass” that would allow me to see not only the Penguin Parade, but also the Koala Conservation Centre and Churchill Island Heritage Farm.  With my pass in hand, I drove the short distance to Churchill Island.

Hélène,  I thought of you when I saw these long horns; not quite as big as in Texas, but still impressive

The farmhouse dates back to 1872.    { Hélène: From a note on the wall in the house, about one of the owners: “Samuel Kirkby Pickersgill (1826-1902) came to Australia as a result of the stories told by Lt. Richard Pickersgill, the navigator and charter for Lt. James Cook on his voyages to Australia.” I wonder if they were related to your Mr. Pickersgill ? ! ! }

 The farm yard and corals

 This little guy, a Ghalla, blue and pink parrot, was just strolling across the farmyard.  Same bird as in Alice Springs (birds on the wires).  This is a much better picture of them.

 And speaking of beautiful birds, this peacock was actually posing.  "I'm ready for my shot Mr. DeMill."

And they had a huge wooded enclosure with a family of wallabies in it.

From there I drove on to the Koala Conservation Centre.  They are dedicated to koala research and conservation; they have been pivotal in saving Phillip Island’s koala population with their breeding program.  They have two woodland enclosures as well as walking trails.  I strolled through both on the elevated boardwalks.  The first enclosure was suppose to contain 10 or 12 koalas, but I only managed to spot 6 of them, all sleeping on high branches. 

 I needed to use the zoom, but I managed to catch a few photos of them

 
 These are the elevated wooden boardwalks

 Check out this one, with half closed eyes.  How they manage to stay up on those branches and sleep is amazing.  You can see on some of the pictures that they aren't even hanging on with their claws.
Notice that they don’t build nests, they just find a comfortable position in the forks of trees and sleep. Their thick fur protects them from the cold, and their strong sharp claws on their hands and feet make it possible for them to climb up the branches. They locate the best eucalyptus leaves by sniffing them.

I only saw three in the second enclosure, but the one little guy (or maybe gal ?) was very curious and ended up going walk-about.

 Here's the one that provided us with the best show in town

when he went walk-about.  How cute is he... she...

 There are walking trails beyond the enclosures.  The green barrier at the bottom is the only thing that keeps the koalas from wandering off.

A last photo of our little entertainer before I left.

Phillip Island is very compact, only 26 kms by 9 kms, with about 10,000 residents and 16,000 breeding pairs of penguins.   It only took about 10 minutes to drive to the tip of the island to visit “The Nobbies” at Point Grant.

 Shelly Beach, on the northern coast of the island.

 The Nobbies, at Point Grant, on the south-western tip of Phillip Island

 Point Grant

 The wooden boardwalks at Point Grant

 The southern coast, from Point Grant

 The boardwalks make it easy to get great photos from viewing areas

The Nobbies at Point Grant

 As I walked back to the car, I spotted this Mother Goose with her two little chicks.

I had to be at the Penguin Parade Centre by 5:45, and the owner at the Pelican Motel had advised me that I should get something to eat before, since most restaurants would be closed by the time it was finished. There was a nice little lunch counter at the Nobbies Centre and they had “beer battered fish” on their menu. Sounded good even though it was a big meal and I had eaten a substantial lunch. No problem, just get a “take away” container for half the meal and I was all set.

I can’t show you photos of the Penguin Parade, and not even of the beach, since once you pass the entrance you are not allowed to take any pictures or film. The little penguins are breeding right now and they don’t want them disturbed in any way. At this time of the year, the female has layed her eggs and both she and the male are taking turns sitting on the eggs. The penguins who were coming in had been out at sea for about 3 days and were coming to replace their mate on the nest. They were SO CUTE ! and tiny, about the same size as the sea gulls. 

 I took a picture of a brochure as a souvenir however.  To left are the stands we were sitting in for the viewing.  You can see the Little Blue Penguins coming in on the beach and making their way to the dunes beside the stands, where their burrows are located.

I drove back across the island, following a long line of cars and returned safely to the Pelican Motel in San Remo.  As I was getting ready to take my shower, I noticed this sign for water conservation.  Good idea, we should all do this!


It was a great day; and a memorable one.

Oct 2, Tuesday

Oct 2, Tuesday

I opted to take the car today to go to the Botanic Gardens.  It meant I would get there faster than taking the metro and get back to the hotel faster as well.  My cold seems to be coming back!

 I'm always amazed at seeing Birds-of-Paradise growing outside.  This is southern Australia, it gets cold here!

 A very strange tree from South America:  a cork tree

 Amazingly coloured orchids

 One of the great lawns

 The Ornamental Lake, with the spires of Government House in the background

These funny looking birds were everywhere.

 I had seen these flowers before, but this is the first time I realized that they open up !

After touring the gardens, I crossed the road to visit

 the Shrine of Remembrance

 Great statues adorn each corner

with a beautiful sculpture on top of this monument

Short day, but enjoyable to be walking in such a beautiful setting on a bright sunny day.