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After a great 4 days with Andy (and it was his suggestion to meet here rather than tow the van into busy Melbourne; a great relief!), we had a long but reasonably peaceful drive down to a little town called Gellibrand (population 210) in the middle of the Otway Ranges. It was a good place to base ourselves for a bit of Otway exploration.
The reason for the '(u)' in Harbo(u)r is that it adopts the US spelling. This spelling, found in several geographical names in South Australia, including Outer Harbor, is the result of spelling errors made by an early Surveyor General of South Australia. :-)
<Above> What grows in dark damp rain forests? Delightful to look at, but there was no way we were about to make Cream of Mushroom soup with this lot.
<Above> 'Ther Beast' in its element. Wet gravel and dirt, and the chance of meeting very large logging trucks coming the other way.
<Above> Surf's up! This is a very rough section of coastline to the west of Cape Otway and the final resting place for probably hundreds of ships from the early settlement days until recently. I guess the name 'Shipwreck Coast' sort of gives it away. In any case, on the day we were here, a rescue helicopter was searching up and down looking for two local fishermen who had ventured out to go diving for abalone.
<Above> A fun place for an afternoon stroll?
Fortunately the snakes were absent that day.
<Above> The entrance to Loch Ard Gorge. Named after the wreck of the Loch Ard in 1878, there were only two survivors from the 54 souls on board. The beach (off to the right above) they were washed up on is shown below.
<Above> The beach at the end of Loch Ard Gorge, in a lot calmer state than the day it sank in 1878.
We managed to avoid the tourist trap that it seems the Twelve Apostles has turned into, and continued on for a walk around the Swanport Wetlands on the Murray River.
<Above> An Australasian Darter looking for a slow fish
<Above> Bird hides seem to be getting the minimalist treatment here
<Above> Victor Harbor on Encounter Bay
We decided that it might not be the best idea to arrive at the ferry just in time for its departure, so we arrived a day and a half early so we could do some grocery shopping in Victor Harbor (above) and have a quick look around Cape Jervis. There is very little at Cape Jervis (pop 260) - a caravan park, a few holiday houses and a pub/general store/fuel station. It also has a decent wind farm.
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