March 30 2018
Morning exploration of Griffith Island at Port Fairy. Named after a man who built a whaling station here in the 1800’s.
Now a conservation area for nesting mutton birds (shearwater) which we saw none.
Pretty beach with clear water and tiny shells.
Lunch, info center and grocery shopping in Hamilton. Then on to our cabin at Hall’s Gap in Grampians National Park.
It’s rural and not overrun with tacky commercialism like Smokies but the overall geography isn’t much to write home about.
However there are some interesting very loud birds (we think cockatoos and kookaburra) and lots of kangaroos.
You know we aren’t in Kansas anymore.
March 31 2018
Lots of easy hikes and lookouts in this park. We did two short hikes this morning before the Easter weekend crowds arrived.
I didn’t sleep a lot last night. With the 8 hour time difference from the US I had to get up at 4am to deal with some vacation rental issues. It’s both a blessing and a curse to have this wonderful wifi and phone service on our Google phones this trip. But my phone starts singing about 2:30am when it’s 8:30am in the States.
Mackenzie Falls
Reeds Lookout
The Balconies
Afternoon we squeezed in one more adventure – a bike ride on a paved trail parallel to main road ans through forest. Easy one hour ride.
Today is Good Friday and we had an excellent dinner tonight at the Kookaburra Bistro. Surprisingly good food in this little town. Lamb roast and a smoked trout salad. And a very good chocolate something for dessert. On holidays most restaurants charge a 10% surcharge to cover holiday overtime wages. But they don’t expect tips.
Full moon rising as we walked home. Kangaroos are still hopping around. The town is busy with Australian families, many camping in the two caravan parks in the center of town. Everyone is burning a campfire and the valley is hazy with smoke. This has felt like a true Australian experience.