The Purple Penguin

We headed for Beechworth and the breweries. We had two on our list, Bridge Road Brewers and Billsons. The website was not completely clear about the tours, so we aimed to be at Bridge Road by 11am. We were in Beechworth early, through heavy smoke, and stopped at Tourist Information for a map and to find out where the best place to park was. We also asked about the fires and were assured they were still quite a way away, just it was very smoky! Turns out you can park along the side streets all day for free. So that was good. We also discovered this was Ned Kelly country.

We headed for Bridge Road Brewers and got there a bit past 11am and asked if we could have a tour. A very nice man came out and introduced himself as Donald and said if we’d wait a minute he’d give us a tour. So it was just the two being shown around by the CEO. It’s a lovely little brewery in an old coaching station. They do small batch beers that Joe says is very good (yes, Kathleen tried a couple and, if she had to, could drink a bit. But the scrumpy was very good). Definitely recommend going and the $15 tour gets you a flight of four beers. They use Ned Kelly in their branding as well!

Then we headed for the old part of town, which included the telegraph office, the Courthouse, the Town Hall, the Ned Kelly Vault Museum, the Burke Museum and a couple of other buildings, one included information on the forestry service and firefighting which was quite relevant! When we went to the Courthouse they were getting ready to do a talk about Ned Kelly (it’s usually a walk, but they cancel the walks when the temperature gets to 38C and do one as a talk in the Courthouse). So we got to hear about Kelly and a brief reenactment of his trial in Beechworth (the trial started there and was then moved to Melbourne). Everything gets linked to Ned Kelly!

After the museums and looking around the older part of town we headed for Billsons. We got there a bit later so they were getting ready to close. I knew they didn’t do tours but had hoped to get some tasting; however, they had a big group at the tasting bar and didn’t seem to see us. So we carried on and can’t tell you if Billsons is any good!

We got some tips of things to see around Beechworth from the woman at the Courthouse, so we went to see them as we were leaving. First we drove around Mayday Hill, where there is an old asylum (now closed but they do Asylum Ghost Tours) and Benevolent Asylum, where they took in homeless people and orphans. It was an odd drive, but interesting. Then we headed out to the cemetery and then over to Gorge Road.

Everything says Gorge Road is one way and a very beautiful drive, what they don’t say is there are sheer drops as you go up and down the gorge! You go on one side of the gorge, gradually working your way down to the bridge over the stream, then back up the other side. It’s very narrow, twisty, and rocky but paved. Most of the way paved, there is a section that is gravel which has a huge hump in the centre which our little car almost didn’t manage! But it is a very beautiful drive and worth doing.

The area was so smokey we woke up this morning to a smokey room and headaches, so tonight we’ve put a towel across the bottom of the door to our motel room and put on the a/c.

Set the alarm and packed up the evening before. The idea was to get out of Melbourne as early as we could, avoiding traffic. We managed fairly well even though Google threw a few curve balls again. We left Melbourne by a different bridge with some interesting architectural bits. We passed out of the city of Melbourne and started looking for somewhere to have breakfast, or at least a cup of coffee.

The first place we tried was small, historic, and shut. So we ended up at a very modern service station stop on the motorway where everyone was stopping. (K: and by everyone we mean everyone – the place was packed.) After that we carried on the M31, though this isn’t the motorway you are picturing if you’re British. The M31 is more of a dual carriageway. This took us pretty much all the way to our next stop at the Blazing Stump Motel and Suites. (K: Joe keeps calling it the Blazing Saddle Motel.)

As we got near the end, the smoke started to close in. By the time we checked into the hotel the area was definitely smokey. (K: we checked at the reception to make sure we weren’t in a danger area, the fires are about an hour and a half from here.) After putting our bags in the room we decided to have a look at Lake Hume which is a 10 minute drive away. So back in the car.

When we did find places to stop for the lake it painted an eerie picture as the lake level looks quite low, it really being a reservoir, you could see many of the trees which have been submerged, dead and poking up from the water, and the smoke haze surrounding them. Whether due to the smoke or something else, there was very little bird life around. So we decided to head back to the hotel room to have a light snack while we waited for the local recommended restaurant to open.

Just before 6pm we made our way to the Blazing Stump Hotel restaurant which turned out to be a new experience all in itself! The place is very large and was almost fully packed with groups, mainly families with lots and lots of children. They gave us a menu and a table number and a wave in the general direction of where the table was. Once we picked what we wanted to eat we had to go to the ‘Order Here’ bar and pay. The queue for this went past our table and was varying lengths, but never no one queuing, the entire time we were there. You then get a ticket and a buzzer for when you’re meal is ready to be collected. You have to go to the main bar (different area) to get drinks.

While all this was going on they were holding raffles for various things (K: It was member’s night and there was a ‘here’s how to join’ speech. At least I think that’s what he was saying, the place was very loud!) As we ate our meal minibusses were arriving dropping off more people – most of these were large groups! And everyone knew everyone else. Management was opening extra spaces (so the function rooms) and seating people there.

After dinner we fled to the quiet of our room. Tomorrow we’re probably having lunch/dinner at one of the local breweries in the area.

So out to Southbank last night to board our boat for our new year’s cruise. We were early, as always! But soon loaded on and we had what we thought was the best table on the boat – we were on the lower deck but right at the bow. We could just step out on the bow to see things. Got our pre-dinner drink and waited to leave the dock.

We got a safety briefing and the Captain also pointed out that as the tide was unusually high we probably couldn’t fit under one of the bridges, in which case we’d do doughnuts. We did end up going back and forth between, we think, the Evan Walker Bridge and Swan Street Bridge, very slowly back and forth. Dinner was leisurely with gaps between courses so we had plenty of time to get out and see the city drift past.

We didn’t see much of the family fireworks as they were behind trees, but what we did see was good. We also made it past the Swan Street Bridge late in the evening and got to see more of the river. The Captain had us positioned in the middle of the river with a view of the city and Joe heard the countdown start – so we had a view of all the fireworks in the city (well, there may have been some behind buildings).

Melbourne doesn’t have a central focal point, like the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the London Eye, so they do fireworks off the top of the buildings and in several parks all over the city. It is spectacular and we had one of the best views in the city. Definitely recommend the new year river cruises! Though when we got back to shore around 12:30 it was packed with people leaving. We were luckily needing to go perpendicular to where everyone else was trying to go, so we got through fairly quickly (and it was better than when we were in the centre of London a few years ago!) So we back in the hotel room by 12:45.

So a very late start today (made later by doing laundry). We went for a walk down the river the opposite way from our boat trip last night. Another lovely day. We had an early dinner and are planning the last week of holiday! Trying to avoid the fires.

Slept in a bit this morning. We’d had a fantastic meal last night and a bit of a walk in the rain (yay rain) so slept in. We really haven’t done much today. We confirmed our reservation for tonight – we are doing the new year’s dinner cruise on the Yarra River tonight. We also walked around the shopping district of Melbourne. And we went into the Koorie Heritage Centre and looked at the art show. Now we’re resting for tonight.

Lazy start to the day, up late sorted and out. Drove up to where we’d had dinner and found a 2 hour parking lot and went to have breakfast. Wandered back by the library which had some nice sculptures, though Joe wouldn’t let me go in. Decided to head into Geelong to see what the waterfront looked like, with the understanding that if we couldn’t find parking we’d head somewhere else.

Found parking easily (seems people would rather park down by the beach than up on the hill). Finally saw a cockatoo (but still only in the air, still haven’t seen one landed on something! Seen plenty flying though.) We walked along the waterfront, which has a nice swimming area. Had a lido for children which was shallow, then an enclosed area in the sea surrounded by decking with floats and diving platforms.

We then walked up to the pier, passing some nice old houses and looking at the bollards (Geelong is known for the bollard walk). We went in to see the 126 year old carousel, which is now enclosed to protect it (Joe thought the protection wasn’t done very sympathetically, but probably due to cost). We didn’t ride but had a look and at the older pieces. Then we walked down the pier. It’s mainly parking with a bar/restaurant at the end which was closed. There is some nice sculpture around the waterfront and children play areas.

From the pier we headed to the Wool Museum and the Tourist Information centre. We didn’t go into the Wool Museum (Joe was probably worried about allergic reactions!) but we had a look around. They also had the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition showing there. But we wanted to get on to Melbourne, so we headed back to the car, along part of the town then the waterfront.

The drive to Melbourne wasn’t too bad, a bit of traffic on the West Gate Bridge, but otherwise rather easy to get to the hotel. The car is now parked until 2 January! Hooray! We rested in the room – it was nice to just stop for a bit – and learned that Australian game shows are very snarky! Then out for dinner. We found a place that had Jambalaya for 2 on the menu so we went in and had that. It was really good.

Tomorrow we have a look around Melbourne!

So we have travelled on motorways, A roads, B roads, and C roads in Australia. We’ve also done sealed and unsealed (ie paved and unpaved) roads, as well as named and unnamed roads. All the roads.

We left Victor Harbour after a walk about the area. We found a nice bakery with very yummy doughnuts – they also did a ‘whale doughnut’ which is a huge flavoured doughnut. We did not get that one. Just plain ones. With coffee. From Victor Harbour we headed out to go around the coast. This meant going inland (yes, I know, but it did). We hugged the coast as much as we could and were making good progress until we found ourselves at the end of a stopped queue of cars, vans, campervans, and caravans. A long queue. Leading to a ferry we hadn’t realised was on the route (going inland began to make sense). So we backtracked a bit and took another road up to the A road and over the river, and back down to the coast. We didn’t see any cars coming from the ferry road, so not sure if the ferry was even running!

As we got onto the A Road for the detour I saw a lookout sign and turned quickly up it. May have startled Joe because he may have been messing with his phone. Teach him to pay attention. It overlooked the Murray River, sort of. Between the trees. The Wellington Ferry probably would have been more interesting, but that was a very long queue.

We got off the A1 and onto the B1 rather quickly and went back to following the coast around. To be honest it wasn’t that interesting a drive. There were some interesting marshes and pink lakes, but for the most part it was farmland and no overlooks to the sea.

We’d struggled to find accommodation for this section of the trip, so we had to head inland for our hotel. It was in Coonawarra off the A66 in the middle of wine country. You want to see wineries and vineyards and cellar doors and tastings, drive up the A66 – I think they are all there. The hotel is lovely, Coonawarra Units, looks like an old stable with lovely rooms and a lovely garden in the centre. I think most of the people staying were doing wine tours. That may be a place to do a longer stay! (Joe may disagree.)

We were so tired we just headed out to the nearest supermarket (IGA). We’d planned to get a cold meal or something we could microwave in our room but they had roasted chicken (they called them BBQ Chooks), so we got that and some salads which we had in our room. Very relaxed! Then the next morning we had a relaxing breakfast in our room as the hotel puts the makings for a light breakfast in the rooms. They supply coffee (instant), tea, orange juice, apple juice, milk, cereal, and bread, butter and jams. It was really nice to sit and have a quiet breakfast.

Today’s drive was better. We started out heading for Mount Gambier. I wanted to see the Umpherston Sinkhole (Cenote) – a sinkhole in Mount Gambier which had been turned into a garden in the 19th century, then redone in the 20th. We got there early enough that it was quiet with just a few people around and we had a nice walk down into the hole. It’s a beautiful spot.

We then decided to head for Port Fairy and go to any of the lookouts. Joe had named a couple the night before. We tried one but it was down a dirt road was that was narrow and all the roads to the side were closed due to fire danger, so we decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to continue. But then I saw the turn off for The Crags which I remembered Joe mentioning (though he didn’t remember it!) So we went down to that which gave us a lovely overlook. There also weren’t many people there.

We went through Port Fairy. Had thought about stopping to eat, but didn’t see much we wanted so we carried on. At Warrnambool we decided to continue on the Great Ocean Road. We had thought we’d turn inland and take a quicker road to the hotel, then come back out to see the bits on the Ocean Road, but instead we did it today.

So off onto the B100 and along the coast. It took a while to actually see the coast but when we did it was spectacular. For most of the bit we drove, you can’t get down on the beaches. There were a lot of bird prints and it looks like there may be little penguin nesting sites down there. We stopped at The Bay of Islands, The Grotto, London Bridge, through Port Campbell. At each stop it got more crowded, with more people. So by the time we got to Loch and Gorge the car park was full and we only just managed to get back out, so we didn’t see that. The Twelve Apostles was a zoo – bit less than the Gorge though as the parking was better organised with a huge overflow. But there were so many people going to look at the stacks that it was ridiculous and you could barely see anything. So we quickly went back to the car.

With the crowds we decided to head inland and head for the hotel in Geelong. I had said I’d continue on the Ocean Road, but Joe said no point, especially with the crowds. We would discover that the decision to see the Ocean Highway and the decision to turn off when we did were very good decisions indeed!

We drove through more rolling farmland until we got to Geelong and the hotel. Another lovely little motel, Rose Garden Motel. When we checked in the woman on reception asked us if we’d come by the Ocean Highway and when we explained what we’d done she said that was a good thing. Apparently a large music festival in Lorne (Falls Festival) has been cancelled and the Ocean Highway and roads around are blocked!

Early start as we had to pack up and check out of the hotel before we did our boat trip. We also had a drive up to Emu Bay to get on the boat! We arrived in Emu Bay where there was very little – at least at the jetty where we thought we would get the boat. There was a boat out on a buoy, so we got out the binoculars and had a look and it was the boat, Kangaroo Island Marine Adventures. And of course we were way too early.

We hung around until people showed up to get the boat ready to leave and then walked down the jetty/pier to get on the boat. We were supposed to be a full boat, but some people very nicely didn’t bother to show up so we had a bit more space.

We went up the coast rather slowly and the guide pointed out several things, including the holiday home of a politician. Nice house. He also pointed out the geology of the coast, two sea eagles, abalone farm, and some cormorants, gulls, and other birds. The rest of the trip was spent watching dolphins. They specialise in swimming with dolphins and most of the people on the boat went into the water. Unfortunately we can’t see without our glasses so we stayed on board but had great views anyway due to the clarity of the water.

We had a quick journey back to the jetty, just stopping to see a salmon and having a bit of play at speed.

Both tours were really good and it was nice to see different areas of the island. The guides for both were really knowledgable and happy to share what they knew – we got stories and information about everything we saw, as well as things pointed out that we would have missed on our own. So both are recommended!

After the boat trip we headed back to the ferry port, which was about an hour away, to see if we could get an earlier ferry. We managed to get onto the 14:30 ferry (yay! no nighttime driving!), so we had time for a quick sandwich before heading for the loading area. Again Kathleen drove on while Joe went as a passenger, but when we got off at Cape Jervis, one couple either didn’t understand or ignored the ‘drivers only’ announcements! The reason was that the cars are so tightly packed on the ferry you can’t really get in, not without others moving. And certainly a passenger can’t get in as the passenger door is usually right up against something (another car or a wall). So this woman was just wandering aimlessly around the cars trying to get off the ferry waiting for her companion to pull forward so she could get in! Please don’t do this!

Once at Cape Jervis we headed for Victor Harbour, first stopping at the overlook over the lighthouse and ferry port. Victor Harbour has modeled itself on a British seaside resort, with a small funfair and fresh doughnuts (K: to be honest I think that’s there because there is a festival happening. Joe thinks it’s year round, but there’s a festival on Granite Island and lots of special parking signs for an event.) Tried to do the evening penguin tour, but it isn’t happening because of the music festival. They don’t let people over after dusk so the penguins aren’t disturbed, but they have a music festival there?

For Boxing Day and the 27th Kathleen booked a land tour and boat tour. So Boxing Day was our trip around the island with a professional guide. (K: with Kangaroo Island Wilderness Tours.) We were picked up from the hotel after breakfast; while we waited for collection we watched the glossy black cockatoos have their breakfast. Once we’d been picked up (and the guide had admired the cockatoos – she was thrilled to see them out of the nature reserve and behaving normally with lots of people about) we drove to the airport to collect the other couple on the tour.

From the airport we drove down to Admirals Arch. It’s a lovely walk down a boardwalk, the walk takes you down the steep hillside and you can look down and see seals. It was a bit chilly as the wind was strong and coming straight off Antarctica. It’s not until you’re at the bottom of the walkway that you actually see the arch – it’s hidden from the top. There are also two islands just offshore (The Brothers) with seals and birds. We also saw seal pups (so cute) and watched the seals play. When we were underneath the arch the guide pointed out where they were trying different materials on the boardwalk as the wood under the arch was degrading and they weren’t sure why. The rest of the boardwalk is fine and the structure under the arch is sturdy, but the wood is going all fuzzy.

You can also see Remarkable Rocks from the walk down to Admirals Arch and that was where we went next. We parked in the car park for the rocks and the guide talked us through the different sorts of eucalyptus and other plants that grow on the coast. So we got to smell all sorts of eucalyptus and herbs!

We followed another boardwalk out to the Remarkable Rocks which were remarkable. Heavily weathered volcanic rocks which have been weathered into unusual and beautiful patterns and shapes. You can climb on them – just warning signs toward the edge not to go too far and fall off! The rocks sit on a dome of rock, which clearly shows how the magma bubbled up. We walked among the rocks, got lots of photos (we promise a photo update soon. Ish.)

After the rocks we drove back to the entrance of the park (the visitors’ centre) where we had a very nice lunch (barbecued steak and trimmings and pears poached in wine for pudding). We also spotted our second koala of the day (the first was on the drive down to the rocks).

In the afternoon we drove to two more spots, one to see koalas and one to see kangaroos. They were both former farms, the first is Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and the second is being rewilded and is down a private road, so you need to be on a tour to get into it. (Kelly Hill and Grassdale Road I think). Hanson Bay has bunches of koalas, which aren’t native to the island. There is some thought that they shouldn’t be there as they damage the native eucalyptus. But this sanctuary keeps them and there were loads of baby koalas. The other area was interesting with lots of kangaroos. And lots of birds! Unfortunately, it was getting late so we didn’t stay too long.

We got dropped off back at our hotel. On the drive back we saw a goanna crossing the road. It must have been the chicken’s day off (that was Joe’s joke, nothing to do with me!) I would have liked to have stopped for a closer look but we kept on! Once back at the hotel we had a lovely dinner finished off with a local Kangaroo Island walnut and honey liqueur.

On Christmas Eve we left Port Noarlunga. We had a coffee and danish/toast at the nearby bakery and then stopped at the shopping centre on the way out of town where Joe got some souvenir shirts. Google then took us a bit of a winding route back to the main road but we were happy as it took us along the Onkaparinga River for a bit. We stopped and walked a short way along the river to look at birds – more herons and lapwings.

We drove along the coast to Cape Jervis, but went rather slow taking our time to stop and see things. We drove up to the overlook over Myponga Reservoir which looks over the dam. Also the tourist information centre at Yankalilla. Joe took photos of the decorations. The women there were very helpful, checking the conditions on Kangaroo Island and giving us directions to things to do on the Fleurieu Peninsula. We didn’t do much of them, just stopped for photos.

We got to the Sealink Terminal around 13:30 and went to get our boarding passes for that evening. I asked if we could leave earlier and they got us on the next ferry leaving at 15:00! Hooray, no driving at dusk or in the dark! I then pulled the car into the loading area (first one in the queue) and we had a coffee and sandwich in the cafe. Joe took loads of photos of the ferry coming in – he could because he wasn’t allowed to be in the car when I drove on. Drivers only because they pack the cars in very tightly! I was first on and had to back into a corner. But that meant I was first in the passenger lounge onboard and could grab great seats right at the front!

The crossing was nice, a little bouncy, but lovely. You can see Kangaroo Island from Cape Jervis! When we got near I had to go back to the car so only Joe got to see the area. The car was so wedged in that everyone coming down had to squeeze past it and I couldn’t get in – I had to wait for the motorbike in front of the car and the truck parked next to it to move before I could even get in the car! So of course I was the next to last off and it was mayhem off the ferry, but I managed to find Joe and off we headed for American River and our hotel.

The hotel is lovely and we have a huge room overlooking the water. We had a swim in the pool; it’s a salt water pool so you really just float and bob about. It was nice, though a bit cold at first! And they’d painted the pool so when we got out we had blue feet (and a bit of blue on our hands, arms and legs – wherever we’d touched the pool edge or bottom!) But had a shower and then dinner which was lovely. Joe tried to get a rusty nail, but they didn’t have Drambuie so she made it with a local walnut and honey liqueur which turned out really nice.

We grabbed a torch from the reception and directions for the nocturnal walk and headed to the shore to wait for dark. Unfortunately can’t really see the sunset from the shore (or our hotel), but we watched the seabirds until it got dark, then started the nocturnal walk. We ended up not using the torch at all, but still saw loads of Tammar wallabies. We heard loads of other things, including birds, but didn’t see much else. About halfway through the walk though we ran into other hotel guests doing the walk and they were having a blast – waving the torch around and chatting loudly. So everything we were watching took off! Oh well.

I woke up early Christmas morning – 5am early. So I grabbed my clothes and headed onto our balcony. While you can’t watch the sunset, you can watch the sunrise right from our balcony. It was lovely. And the birds getting started for the day. I then grabbed my binoculars and headed out into the grounds to watch everything waking up.

Joe and I had breakfast, then started for the shore to have a look. The woman on reception pointed out the tree the Glossy Black Cockatoos like to hang out in and said there was a family of four that would sit in it. So as we went out we looked up and there were the cockatoos! So of course we stood there for a while watching them, until they flew off. Beautiful birds.

Down to the shore, then to the room to upload photos and rest before Christmas lunch. Lunch was a large buffet. Canapes were delivered to the table (and they were very good) then you went through the buffet for salad, seafood, and mains. We had a lovely lunch then went for a couple of nature walks. Saw loads of birds, including a sea eagle, but no more cockatoos and we never found the old cannery!