Comfort Inn Richmond Henty Portland

PORTLAND (continued) Sa*************ed out to Cape Bridgewater, and it just beautiful, as was the weather - over 30 degrees all day. We are certainly getting a mix of weather. Did a tour in a "rubber duckie" out to a seal colony as the base of the headlands. We were up close and personal with 600-700 Australian and New Zealand fur seals. Very smelly!! But they are very used to tourists and just continued to frolic and fight amongst themselves. Joe, the tour guide also took us ...

... pub, close to their place and everyone had a fantastic time (that's if anyone actually remembers it)! Kev had some problems the next day! Had an after-party BBQ on Sunday at Geoff & Adele's beautiful apartment in Port Melbourne after which we were all exhausted. Met up with Geoff and Adele again on Monday for a delicious lunch at Sapporo in St Kilda - home of great restaurants and cafes. We love being in Melbourne, particularly the St Kilda area ...

... portable dvd player. Sadly no, it wasn't a free gift, I had to watch a very cheesy 15 min dvd on how to use the campervan. Would have been screwed if I hadn't watched it. The moment the dvd started, it introduced the oldest of all the campers they had! Haha typical. I wasn't complaining though, I got it extremely cheap, $5 a day, just under £2.50! I was also getting most of the fuel I was going to pay for reimbursed. Basically, they needed the van for ...

The twelve apostles are quite impressive, a bit too touristy after yesterday but they are definitely worth the stop (Although it's a LIE! There aren't 12 anymore!). The ramp and walk to the lookout are nicely done, however as all well prepared path, the crowd is there. We were probably lucky that it was a rainy day so there ...

... scenary, we saw a colony of seals, a wallaby, and many different birds. The seal colony here is an "outcast" colony, all the seals are either too young or too old to breed. Being a non-breeding colony there is no tension and no fights for territory, making this a rather peaceful seal community, all they do is feeding, playing, and sunbathing. Our encouter with the wallaby was also quite interesting, when we first approched it hopped away scared , but after a ...

... water lagoons. Drove through the towns of Kingston SE, Robe and Beachport which hug the lagoons. Stopped at Southend to take a look at the impressive sand dunes in the Canunda national park. Also made stops at Cape Buffon, Boozy Gully and Rainbow Beach to take a look at the sharp and rugid limestone cliffs. Parked up for the evening on the outskirts of Portland. I'm now back in Victoria after a couple more days of exploration of the state of South Australia.

... followed the pine plantations all the way to Portland. While in Portland we had a look at the botanical gardens, the foundation wall - this is a wall where you can put a plaque up if your ancestor's first steps on land were in Portland. We watched ships being brought into port with the tug boats. We have also done a bit of research on our family history. It has been a relaxing few days.

So how does little Yve feel these days, well I'm in an enchanted forest and I can't make my way out of it. I guess I'll keep looking.. It's amazing how much all those fancy old timers didn't impress me at all.. even though that one had the prettiest head figure.

... some nice photo opportunities. The next stop was Beachport, a quite little town that has the second longest jetty in South Australia. The has a wonderful scenic drive with gorgeous blue turquoise beaches. Next up was MT. Gambier which is the second largest town in South Australia and is on the slope of an extinct volcano. In the crater of this extinct volcano is a late which turns a stunning shade of sapphire blue every summer (then becomes grey ...

... 45 meters. From there, we drove farther along the coast until we reached the Twelve Apostles. The apostles are giant sandstone rocks that remain standing after being eroded away from the hillside by the crashing waves. There are no longer 12 as some of them have collapsed. Farther along the coast, we stopped again for the London Bridge. The London Bridge is another sandstone rock that ...