Thursday, May 5, 2011

5 April 2011 - Warrnambool - Nelson , Victoria



A new day - always exciting wondering what we will experience in it.  The scenery has now changed, initially very flat.  We passed through a very Celtic area, settled in the early days by Scots & Irish, so lots of celtic names & can you guess the local produce?  Spuds!  Stands to reason doesn't it.  There are many small 'crofts' & even more modern buildings built in that vein & it was such a grey, cloudy day which coupled with the landscape which had become very rocky & covered with heather, we felt we were in Scotland or Ireland itself.   In the distance on the seaward side we could see lots & lots of wind turnbines which were luckily turning very slowly.  I say luckily, because if they were turning fast it would have meant a lot of wind, which meant cold, & a lot of noise.  Our first 'port of call' was actually Portland, a fairly busy port as there is an aluminium smelter here & I think that is why the wind turbines.  Portland was actually the first settled area in Victoria &  it is a great spot for whale watching though of course it is the wrong time for us.  We drove around a tourist route which took us along the coast of Cape Nelson with it's imposing 1884 lighthouse.  It is perched on the most amazing headland of rocks & clifftops where we stood for ages just watching the immense power of the waves crashing into them.  The water was an amazing colour even on such a dull day.  Further on we managed to avoid a couple of 'roos who speedily jumped across the road in front of us.  Continuing on we came to Cape Bridgewater to witness the blowholes there, but also the 'petrified forest' which is not wood, but incredible rock formations.  I know I have talked about amazing rock formations before in other areas, but there are so many & all different.  There are also a number of caves in the area, one we passed on the side of the road en route to our next stop at Nelson, a tiny little backwater with a lovely river, edged with many little boat sheds - very quaint & very peaceful with gorgeous reflections on the water.    Our camp was right next to it so we did a walk to explore the area before settling ourselves in & I unusually didn't take my camera.  Will try tomorrow morning.    Tonight for the first time we are experiencing one of the 'ensuite' sites, only because there was no other available & we got a discount anyway.

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