"No matter where you go, there you are."

WARRNAMBOOL

Wednesday 10^th January:
We got away early from Maryborough and drove through to Ararat then on to Warrnambool arriving early afternoon. We are staying with friends who live in Allansford which is a small village just outside of Warrnambool. We set up camp in the middle of their front paddock. It was a very hot day (39 degrees) so Marion and Jon took us down to a local swimming beach, Childers Cove. Wow, what a spectacular coastline. The cove was extremely pretty with giant orange cliffs towering over a sheltered bay. We all had a swim in the icy water. We had dinner with Marion and Jon (Elephant) in the evening.

Thursday 11^th January:
Marion and Elephant left for Melbourne this morning. Ferg and I took a walk and explored Allansford. In the afternoon we drove down to Hopkins River and had a walk along the beach where the river meets the ocean. We drove down to the Warrnambool breakwater then on to Thunder Point. Stingray Bay near the breakwater is very pretty and had lots of people enjoying the early evening on the beach.

Friday 12^th January:
Did a bit of shopping today. We bought ourselves a TV so we can now use the laptop and watch telly at the same time. We spent the afternoon trying to set the new TV up!

Saturday 13^th January:

We played bowls today at the City Memorial Bowls Club. Ferg wasn’t happy as it was fours and a bit boring. After bowls we dashed home for a quick dinner then
headed of to the local speedway for an evening’s entertainment.
We watched the V8 Dirt Car championships. It was extremely
cold but we thoroughly enjoyed the night.

Sunday 14^th January:
Happy Birthday Jess! Ferg and I checked out the Warrnambool markets today, there was lots of second hand gear, not much craft. We stayed home and watched the cricket in the afternoon.

Monday 15^th January:

We took off early this morning to Port Fairy. It’s a pretty little fishing village with lovely old stone cottages and beautiful cottage gardens. We parked at the old marina and took a walk past the fishing boats, across the footbridge and down the other side to Battery Point. We were surprised to see a seal swimming around tossing a half eaten fish in the air and chasing it. The seal kept us amused for quite awhile. We visited a couple of galleries and bookshops before heading home for lunch. After a brief rest we headed east along the Great Ocean Road. What a spectacular coastline, every bend of the road brought another incredible view. We stopped at the Bay of Islands, Loch Ard Gorge, The Arch, London Bridge and of course, The 12 Apostles. The Apostles are very touristy and not (my opinion) as spectacular as some of the other spots we had seen.

Tuesday 16^th January:
We awoke to an extremely hot day, 40 degrees. We had a rest day today and just hung around the van. Ferg packed for his Townsville trip.

Wednesday 17^th January:
Ferg left early this morning with Elephant to drive up to Melbourne. His flight to Townsville left at midday. I spent a quiet day reading and enjoying the solitude.

Thursday 18^th January:
Another quiet day for me. Ferg got to his doctors appointments and all is well.

Friday 19^th January:
I took Twistie in for a haircut today and went to the movies while she was being done. I saw the Will Smith movie, “In the Pursuit of Happyness”.

Saturday 20^th January:
Ferg’s on his way back to Victoria today, Paul picked him up at the Melbourne airport. Ferg stayed the night with Paul and Marilyn and will get the train home tomorrow. It is absolutely pelting down rain here today. Nothing to do but stay inside the van and read.

Sunday 21^st January:
It’s still raining with gusty winds. I picked Ferg up from the train station at lunchtime. It was good to have him home.

Monday 22^nd January:
The weather is still miserable. The laptop is playing up so we took it into Warrnambool for some warranty work.

Tuesday 23^rd January:
Went shopping today, Ferg bought some new boots for detecting. I spent the afternoon sewing while Ferg watched the tennis.

Wednesday 24^th January:
My birthday today, 48 years young! We decided to pack a picnic lunch and drive up to Ararat to do some gold detecting. We spent the morning at various places around the town but didn’t find any gold. We got lots of bullets and musket balls. We did a bit of 4wd driving up a steep mountain track, a bit scary but the views were great from the top. We stopped for our lunch then did a bit more detecting. We gave it away mid afternoon and headed back into town. I had a quick look in the Ararat Regional Art Gallery before we headed home. I cooked my favourite dinner (Lamb Roast) for dinner and we enjoyed a good bottle of wine.

Thursday 25^th January:
We spent the morning at the van. Ferg washed all the dust and mud of the Pajero and we also gave Twistie a wash. We collected the laptop in the afternoon but the part hadn’t arrived so it’s still sick. Hopefully the part will arrive next Monday before we leave. Jon and Marion arrived back from Tassie today. We'd been looking after their alpacas, ducks and chooks.

Friday 26^th January:
Had a typical Australia Day, hanging around the van watching the tennis and cricket.

Saturday 27^th January:
Ferg and I played bowls again today. It was very cold but we enjoyed the game of triples at the City Memorial Bowls Club.

Sunday 28^th January:
It’s our last full day here in Warrnambool. We spent most of the day cleaning up the van, defrosting the freezer etc. We’ll head off lunchtime tomorrow for Melbourne to board the Spirit of Tasmania.