For Those In Peril On The Sea

Cape Nelson Lighthouse, Portland, Victoria

One of my side project mono's... With added wires for Dave! ;-)

Another wet one in Victoria today.

After singing the praises of my GPS receiver the other day, the battery only went and died on me yesterday. I didn't bring any replacement rechargeables with me because they would have had to go in the hand luggage and it was too heavy as it was so I headed off into town this morning with the intention of buying some more before taking a wee wander round. I noticed last night that there was a bag check policy so I decided to leave the camera and just collect it from the car when I had bought the batteries. As I crossed the road, sleepy Port Fairy hadn't really wakened. There was a lot of smoke coming from the cafe next to the market. Early morning breakfasts on the go. I was 10 mins early for the shop opening at 8 so I just took a seat on the bench in front of the store. Next thing a bloke walking up the street called out that someone needed to call the fire service. Apparently the smoke I'd seen wasn't from the cafe after all! Looking round the corner, an external fuse box was on fire. Eeeek! It must be a part time service in Port Fairy and similar to the one that used to be back home where we stayed when I was a kid, the firemen are called with what can only be described as an old air raid siren. Brilliant! Took a bit of time to respond, but the three man team arrived just as the box started to give off a nice wee fireworks display. Within seconds though, they had things well in hand. As they were going to be a while checking things out, I asked if there was anywhere else about I could get them. The garage. Two birds than as I had to top up the tank anyway. What an exciting start to the day! ;-)

It was pouring down again this morning, but I decided to still head down to Griffith Island as planned for another lighthouse shoot. The lighthouse is situated about 2kms from the mainland and since the rain didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon I just decided to head across. By the time I got there I was soaked. By the time I finished shooting, so was the camera, but it got dried off a lot quicker than me! :-) It was worth it though. I saw my first kangaroos since the group I'd seen in Melbourne while walking out to it and I also saw my first pelican as I walked back along the causeway. Boy, are they big old fellas!

Back in the car and off to Portland I drove. A quick word about the roads here. They are amazing. I'm three days in, on the road, covering a little under 700km and I can count in single figures, the number of potholes I've encountered. I don't know how they fund or control maintenance here, but it works. If I didn't think they'd take the taxpayer for a ride in a multi-grand junket I'd get the roads people out here to see how it's done.

Anyway, I digress. It was to Cape Nelson I was heading and another lighthouse. Of course it was still raining when I arrived but it had eased off enough for me to shoot it. Afterwards I went into the cafe for a bite of lunch. Had a wee chat with the bloke in there who picked up on my accent immediately. Turned out his family on his fathers side were Campbell's and Ferguson's from the old country, freemen who had come to Australia to start over. Apparently so were his family on his mothers side, although from less favourable backgrounds. Both had been convicts . An English soldier sentenced for absconding the Dragoons and an Irish mother sentenced for stealing some calico. Pardoned, they married and settled down. The sun had briefly shone and the sky cleared a little. I did think of reshooting but you know what, these buildings were put there for a purpose and seeing them in the weather they were designed to do their job and save lives for... One concession was a shot I'd seen as I arrived but waited to see if I could get on the way out, the shot you're seeing above. I wandered up the access road a few minutes to get this.

Back in the car and off to my final stop before heading inland, Bridgewater. The sun decided finally to show face for a short spell (I actually felt the need to put on some lotion). As I rounded the bay, I was greated with a sight I hadn't seen so far. Sun kissed golden sands and deep to turquoise blue waters. Wow! Now this was the Australia I'd seen in the travel brochures! The sun makes such a difference and it was beautiful. I stopped off to take in the sight before continuing on to my destination, the blowholes.

There's something about the raw power of the sea that is difficult to describe and almost impossible to capture in a still image. You have to be there and experience it. You could see the swells form in the water far out to sea gathering strength and pace. To watch these mini tsunami draw the water away from the base of the cliffs as they formed their crests and crash over themselves and onto the rocks was a sight to behold, the spray climbing high into the air and over the headlands above. They weren't finished though as the pulling cycle on occasion caused them to form peaks out to sea as they crashed against each other. I'm not sure my shots do it justice but I did shoot some film which I'll post sometime. It was just breathtaking. On the other side of this park, lies the petrified forest, hollowed out sections of limestone, eroded from centuries of rainfall. They were amazing. Unfortunately the best examples were fenced off and away from the lookout so you couldn't get to view them up close, but they were amazing all the same.

Finally I had to say goodbye to the southern coast of Victoria. It is a beautiful and rugged landscape. While the weather has not been ideal for the tourist trade, it has given me a wonderful perspective into its true nature. In days gone by I can imagine this would have been an unforgiving place to ply your trade on the sea. In fact, at several of the lighthouses there are memorials for losses at sea not so long ago.

There were no stops as I headed northwards. No stops that is until I sighted Mount Sturgeon and Mount Abrupt as I approached the Grampains from the south. My first sighting. I mentioned before about the lack of places to stop, so I kicked myself at not stopping in front of someone's driveway so I could shoot them on the approach road. It was several kilometres down the road before I came to a scenic stop. I had been warned about the possibility of encountering kangaroos on the highways and the numerous signs posted along with contact numbers just emphasised that, but nothing is as vivid as seeing the poor animals by the side of the road. I counted no less than 6 as I travelled along Jimmy's Creek Road on the southern perimeter of the Park. Definitely a real and present danger in these parts.

I arrived in Halls Gap after dark. First stop was to the grocery store to pick up supplies. Just decided on beans on toast since I'd gorged on chicken leg pie for lunch. Except it wasn't. My first, and so far only breakdown in communication with the Aussie accent. When I cut into my delicious lunch I had discovered it was in fact chicken and leek pie! :-)

Thunderous rain through the night, I headed off to bed around 11pm.

Continued appreciation and thanks for your lovely comments on my adventures.

Sorry this is a day late, but the only wifi access is up near the reception. I'm writing this as I... Do the washing! Eeeeek!!! :-) I only have until 8pm before I loss even that so today's blip will have to wait I'm afraid. Might not be a bad thing though as I'm not sure shooting is done for the day. Walking to and from the cottage with a torch as there is no lighting and I appear to be the only guest. The sky is just beautiful so I might just have to take some night sky shots to end the day. In spite of the gorgeous weather and spectacular vistas, the southern sky might trump the lot... If I can do it justice.