(and Fergus)
After being in Australia for over three weeks, we finally got to visit our first winery.
Stopped at Lake Breeze Winery for some tasting and a spot of lunch. Food was great, wine delicious.
Now we are plotting a trip to the famous Barossa Valley. Not only does the wine taste lovely (at least the ones I tried so far) but it has German roots. Definitely needs to be investigated.
Weren’t prepared for the size of them …. Melting away quicker than one can eat … unless your name is Paul (you know who you are 😏)
Bought in the shopping centre of Badenoch …
Driving over the state border from Victoria to South Australia (close to Nelson), we saw the impact of recent bushfires.
Miles and miles of forest burned and huge signs warning to keep out.
And a few miles later, it’s back to lush green forest.
But seeing the huge areas of forest / timber one can start to understand how difficult it is to keep fires under control.
Luckily do far we have not really been affected by the recent bushfires. There is one Buji Bim National Park in Victoria which we would have visited which it’s closed following the fires. And there is Kangaroo Island which we planned to visit. Unfortunately, it’s badly affected by the fires too. So still have to make up our mind.
It’s an easy but long walk from the blowholes at Cape Bridgewater to the viewing platform for the seal colony – apparently the largest one on the Australian mainland. Walking such a distance, you can only hope the seals are there. Guess what …
Literally, they have gone fishing
Love walking through nature reserves – and there are plenty of them – and spot the odd wildlife
Had to go and buy some drinks for sitting at the deck tonight while dinner is being prepared (by Fergus)
Drink (the alcoholic variety) can only be bought in special shops aka bottle store or liquor shop. Some with rather funny names, e.g. Thirsty Camel
It’s not only the name of the shop one wonders about but also the products. Labels speak for themselves
The 2020 Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic taking place today and us in the midst of things
Not taking part of course as you have to have a valid Cycling Australia Race membership. Even more, riders wishing to race in the Elite Mens category must hold an ELITE race licence … that’s certainly not us!!
Day 2 of travelling along the Great Ocean Road, an abundance of things to do, sites to explore and plenty of ‘must do’s.
Started the day with a visit to Otway National Park and Lighthouse station. A place to get close to history and nature: Be it Cape Otway Telegraph station connecting Tasmania with mainland Australia through submarine cable in 1859, stories of the ships trying to ‘thread the Eye of the Needle’ (the 90km gap between Cape Otway and King Island) in the 1800’s and in lots of cases not making it, the life of the lighthouse keepers or the site being used as a WWII radar station.
Can’t miss the iconic golden cliffs and crumbling pillars of the Twelve Apostles despite having to share them with lots of other tourists.
Very impressive sight but didn’t have the same feel as other places linked to historic events like Loch Ard Gorge (more of that in our picture galleries in a few days).
As a contrast we walked through the rain forest at Melba Gully State Park. Known as the Jewel of the Otways, it’s one of the wettest places in the state of Victoria. The gully has prolific plant growth and is a dense rainforest of Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Tree-ferns, with an understorey of low ferns and mosses. A very atmospheric place
It’s also famous for most unusual inhabitants – glow worms – which can be seen at night along the walking tracks. Unfortunately, we are not staying close enough to go back in the dark.
Driving along Great Ocean Road you need you have your eyes peeled. If you do you can spot fantastic wildlife.
Number four is sitting here …
A beautiful waterfall some 9 km behind Lorne. With the weather being rather grey and low clouds we weren’t sure if it will be worthwhile to get to the waterfall.
Glad we did as it was rather spectacular and atmospheric, particularly in the misty weather.
The Travels of Birgit 