5/6/2022 – Sunday – 216km

Thankfully no rain as we pack camp this morning. During the night there was a fierce hail storm that woke us up rocking the Karavan & hammering on the roof. The campers next to us had to get up at midnight to secure their annexe. The drive from Mount Gambier towards Nelson in Victoria is pleasant with rolling green pastures grazed by lots of fat sheep. We passed a few big pine plantations as we passed Caveton.

Nelson is a small town on the Glenelg River, a sleepy fishing village with not much happening this morning. We pull into Nelson & stop near the Post Office Park so that we could get out & stretch our legs. We chat to some fellow travellers whom also left Mount Gambier this morning. Back in the car we pass seemingly endless pine plantations on both sides of the road. We turn off the Princess Highway at Gorae West towards Cape Bridgewater & drive through rolling green pastures on both sides of the road full of fat sheep again. The looming wind turbines at Cape Bridgewater now start to dominate the skyline & when we get to the small village of Cape Bridgewater we can’t believe our eyes, there is a group of mad surfers in the water learning how to surf in the sheltered bay. The car is reading 8 degrees & the wind is blowing hard.

We drive through the forest of wind turbines to reach the carpark at Cape Bridgewater, the other people there are fully rugged up & hunched over against the strong wind. We rug up & venture first to the Blowhole, we cannot see the Blowhole working but the waves crashing against the cliffs are enormous & there is sea spray everywhere. It is so cold & very windy. We then turn with our backs into the wind & walk along the cliff face to the Petrified Forest. This is interesting, however still very cold & very windy. It is not actually a petrified forest, it is caused by small pools of water leeching down through the limestone, dissolving the limestone then being filled with sand. Still very interesting to see. We struggle back into the wind & quickly turn the seat heaters on in the car, we are cold. The waves are pounding onto the beaches of Bridgewater Bay & the strong wind is picking up the sea spray blurring the view.

The small city of Portland is on the road out & we drive along the seafront to view the large working port. The town ships out woodchips, aluminium ingots & cement, there was one empty ship out at sea anchored & two ships loading in port. We call into the Information Centre/Museum on the harbour foreshore & have coffee & cake before exploring the small museum. Prominent on display in the foyer is the skeleton of a sperm whale that washed up on a beach nearby. Also prominent is the Portland lifeboat that rescued so many survivors from the wreck of the steamship Admella in August 1859, there a few pieces of memorabilia from the wreck plus a stone plaque commemorating those that died, the survivors & the rescuers. There are also a number of interesting personal stories from the wreck. The museum also tells the stories of whaling & fishing that were the catalyst for the start of the settlement of Portland.

As we leave the information centre the small Portland Community Tramway is rolling down the tracks on the clifftop behind with some tourists. We drive around the old port area & admire some of the old stone buildings such as the Court House, Town Hall & Police Station as well as some glorious old restored hotels. It is raining again so we decide to travel on to Port Fairy, rather than set up in the rain & wind on an exposed cliff top at Portland.

The road around the foreshore from Portland was a nice scenic drive, right on the water edge of the Southern Ocean. No rain & even the wind has abated due to the sheltering escarpment next to the road. We re-joined the Princess Highway & followed it the short distance into Port Fairy. We drove around the foreshore to the mouth of the river & to our amazement we saw a man walk on water.  We decided to stay for a few nights in this lovely place. The van park is right on the Moyne River & has a number of great wood carvings from big logs & tree stumps, they look good, particularly the whale. We set up camp for the night & settle in.  Tereza cooked lovely meatballs & vegetables, it just hit the spot on a cold night.  Another great day.