Friday, August 30

.Day 34.       Port Fairy to Port Campbell.

Distance: 96 km in 4 hrs 15 min at 22.6 km/hr.

Distance so far: 3414 km.

Climbed:  1528 ft.

Elevation tonight: 70 ft ASL.

AHR: 97 bpm.

Punctures so far: 0

Out at 7.15am.      In at 1 pm.

The rain promised for today arrived early. Heavy rain and strong winds during the night and we hoped that the clouds had emptied themselves.

Morning.

Evening

 It was dark and dull (not cold) as we set out, first heading in a north-east direction to get around Port Fairy Bay. Wind was generally behind us when we turned south-east and it strengthened during the day. Beautiful. And the rain gear never got an outing either. 

Early on we passed the signs for Killarney and also some tricolours adorned vehicles that had seen better days. Also nearby is Koroit which had a large Irish population in the 19th century and each April this heritage is celebrated at the Koroit Irish Festival.

After 30 km we passed through Warrnambool, a city of 32,000 and it was just coming to life with students making their way to school. For the first time, I spotted Geelong on signposts at 178 km, but that is the direct route along the Princes Highway. We turned right onto B100 for the Ocean Road, the scenic route.

The Great Ocean Road officially begins at Allensford and stretches for 243 km to Torquay. So we’re on it today, tomorrow and on Sunday morning.

We came across a few sets of active roadworks today. So Victoria is doing something about the condition of their roads.

In Allensford, Cheeseworld is across the road from Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, and is a museum, restaurant, has cheese tastings and wine tastings. Warrnambool Cheese and Butter is a large long established plant and covers 17 hectares. Tankers were busy delivering in the milk to be processed by the 480+ workers. Milk comes from the dairy heartland about in central and western Victoria and from as far away as the Adelaide Hills. It's main products are Sungold Milk and cheddar cheese.

 All along the road today were large herds of cows and all were interested in the cyclists. But, I didn't spot any large milking parlours for these herds. There were some handy farmsteads and buildings by the roadside.

As already stated, this area has had more than its usual quota of rain as evidenced in the fields. In one place it had crossed the road ahead. Frogs were in full throat as we passed by large areas of trapped water.

Some other wildlife also today by the roads edge. A black swan was happily hatching her eggs on an elevated nest just a mew metres off the road after morning tea. In another spot further on, a flock of white carellas had taken up residence near one farmyard.

But, the abiding memory of today must be the spectacular views of the coast along the Great Ocean Road. Our first such stop was at the Bay of Islands. Here limestone stacks stand firm (for the moment) against the ravages of those waves crashing in. The softer limestones have been washed away by the waves but also have been eroded by swamp water seeping down through sinkholes

This rugged coastline is still being eaten away at the rate of 2 cm/year.

We also branched off to view the Bay of Martyrs and also to the Grotto. There was a 700m boardwalk to this Grotto and then a series of steps down almost to the water’s edge. A perfectly formed arch, eroded from both ends; from the waves and from weak acid on the top created sinkholes in the limestone. And even down here succulent plants can exist.

We continued our wind-assisted journey along this spectacular trip and then pulled in to view London Bridge; and this London Bridge has fallen down. Originally, it was joined to the mainland but collapsed on Jan 15, 1990. No one was injured but two people were marooned for a number of hours. Spectacular, rugged views anywhere we stopped. And we were so lucky that the day was clear and dry.

And yet another stop to take in a fabulous arch. How long more will these features successfully stand up to the forces of nature.

Shortly after 1 pm we pulled into our Caravan Park in Port Campbell, a small cove of 500 resident souls (at this time of the year). We three, Paul, Woody and self checked into Waterview Cabin 8 - but we can’t see any water. Had to go down to the town beach to enjoy that. Town was quiet but had one small supermarket to supply the necessities.

What a lucky day we had - dry, sunshine, tailwind and some massive scenery. Let’s hope we are as lucky tomorrow.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

Thursday. August 29.

Day 33.  Rest Day in Port Fairy.

Our last Rest Day on this Perth two Melbourne trip. There had been some heavy rain last night and the morning was overcast but dry. Some drops came and went but didn't develop into anything. In the afternoon a strong wind blew, a wind that would be a headwind had we been cycling.

Had a good lie-in in my bunk till about 9.15 and then looked out on a murky day. No big rush at breakfast..regretted not buying a few eggs at that place yesterday.

Shortly after 10.30 I started on my tour of town and hit across the Moyne River for East Beach. All was quiet here on the beach and in the holiday apartments. All along the coastal road on both ends of town were plenty of new recently built holiday homes and yet more in construction.

I passed along the walking/cycling path and had a great view across to Griffiths Island and its lighthouse. Charlie's on East was open for business, but queues hadn't yet formed. It was a bit early for ice-cream.

The canons that were in use to protect the port are still in place. These 80 pound cannon were installed in 1877 to replace smaller ones. To operate them it took a crew of 10 for each but were decommissioned in 1907.

Port Fairy has a long sea-faring tradition going back to a whaling station on Griffiths Island in 1835. Whalers worked and lived on the island but within 15 years the supply of whales was exhausted. Starting in 1850s it developed as a port trading in wool, gold and wheat. The wharf is in a sheltered part of the Moyne River and presently is the home of an active fishing fleet whose main catch is crayfish, shark and abalone. A local rod-anglers told me that he’s happy catching anything but generally it's pollock or salmon (’Australian salmon...not as good as Canadian salmon’)

Tarried around for a while at water's edge watching the sea birds - seagulls and cormorants.

I cycled out the causeway to Griffiths Island and did the 3km circuit. Most of it was hard dirt track but about 500m was along the beach and I carried the bike. The island is a sanctuary for shearwaters (mutton birds). From Jan to April they lay and incubate their eggs here and on April 16 (I’m told) they leave north for Alaska and then return in late September.

A bluestone lighthouse adorns the outermost point of the island. It was manual till 1952 but is now solar. 

Back on the mainland, I cycled west along Ocean Drive for a while. Plenty of bathing beaches and some were out surfing. And again lots of holiday accommodation.

The town itself has quite a number of historic buildings. Over 50 buildings from its boom era have been listed by Australia’s National Trust and are still in use.

My moving about brought me to lunchtime and I returned to base and prepared lunch of pasta with a drop of wine. It was total relaxation after that.

Tomorrow I start the last few days of this section  and the forecast is 80% chance of rain.

......and thank God for a lovely day.