Portland

From our travels in December…

We stayed in Portland, Victoria for a few nights.  It was surprisingly cold while we were there given that it was summer.  While there we headed out to Cape Bridgewater to have a look at the views.  There were supposed to be blowholes here but we didn’t see any, just some spectacular waves crashing against the rocks.

It was incredibly windy.  Very, very, very windy.

Which makes it a good location to place some windmills, no?

They are so big.  We tried to get a picture to show them in perspective.  This was as close as we could get to any of them.

They’re also very loud!

After we left Cape Bridgewater we headed down a dirt road…

…and found this view.  Amazing to see how rough the sea was that day.

Then we headed to Cape Nelson.

Um, yeah.  I would not let my children take one step away from me.

We got there too late in the day for a lighthouse tour.  Pity.

This little one amused us by attempting to walk around with his blanket wrapped around him.  It was so cold and windy that he didn’t want to take it off.

I can’t find any other pictures of Portland, which seems strange.  We stayed there several nights at a caravan park and had a look around town.  There’s a big logging industry there.

Sawpit Camping Area

From our travels in December…

Such a great spot in the forest.  This free camp is just outside Heywood, Victoria.  It’s a busy place, and you can see why, barely off the main road and you feel like you’re miles from everything.  There was an awesome thunderstorm there our first night that came in as the sun was setting.  The result was a lovely orange colour in the sky, everything looked like it was glowing.  Beautiful.  We miss those Arkansas thunderstorms we used to get, this was a real treat to hear the rain pouring down on the caravan and the extra loud claps of thunder.

Lovely rosellas looking for some food, they knew just what to do and obviously had been fed this way before.  Jitterbug (7) was especially pleased when one landed right on top of his head and crawled its way down to his hand.

Ladybug (5) had to be very patient as she didn’t get a chance to feed one the first time around, but they came back later and she had her chance.

The real highlight was when we were eating our sausages and there was a kookaburra watching us quietly from a nearby tree.  We left half a sausage on a plate, and once he was sure we weren’t looking he swooped down right in between the kids and grabbed it.  He’d waited a good ten to fifteen minutes for that opportunity and had the kids laughing their heads off!

We went on one of the nearby walks to a whalers’ lookout.  There was a fire in the area earlier in the year and the colour of the black trees against the green ferns was just  striking.

Ladybug climbed up on this tree stump for a picture, as soon as she got down little Turbobug quickly went over for his turn.  :)  Ladybug had her scarf tied around her head and trailing down her back in order to pretend she has long hair like Rapunzel.

Here we are!  This is while the kids were trying to get the birds to come eat from their hands.  The little guy is asleep over there in his pram by the car.

While we were here we had our first campfire of the trip.  A friend had given Skeeterbug a s’mores kit for his birthday and we happily tried it out.  It’s a treat because graham crackers are not readily available here.  We only stayed here two nights but would happily return given the opportunity.

Point Lonsdale, part three

The reason we were in the Point Lonsdale area was to meet up with some of our homeschooling friends.  A family we know holidays here every year after school starts.  They took us to the beach to watch the big ships enter Port Philip.

My toddler wandered up the path so I followed him for a game of hide-and-seek and another view of the beach.

There was plenty to explore.

Someone learned how to hang on to the boogie board, a skill that came in very handy at the next beach we went to!

Later in the day we came back to eat fish and chips on the beach and watch more ships coming and going. 

The tide had gone out some so there was much exploring to be done.  We noticed this seagull with one leg.

The boys all took off to one side of the beach.

This sea snail was the biggest I’ve ever seen, nearly as big as my hand.

The girls explored the other side of the beach.

They came back with treasures which they excitedly showed us.

This little guy gave me a gorgeous smile. 

We stayed long enough to watch a cruise ship leave the port.

Being with friends was wonderful after a few weeks on the road.  You meet plenty of people while travelling but it isn’t the same as hanging out with people you know.  The kids absolutely loved seeing their friends and keep saying it’s been the best part of our travels so far.

Point Lonsdale, part one

Point Lonsdale, part two