Relaxing in Port Fairy

---

After another long flight Kelly and I found ourselves landing in a cold but gorgeously sunny Melbourne - we'd finally made it to Oz! After waiting a couple of hours to get through customs we were met by my cousin Kate who took us back to hers briefly before putting us on a train to Warnambool where we would be collected by another cousin, Dean, to go and stay with him and his family (wife Jo, two boys Finn and Ferris) in the tiny town of Port Fairy.

Dean's house is amazing: with high ceilings and brightly coloured walls, it's an old Masonic hall that they have converted half into a house and half into a second hand book shop which Jo runs. We started our relaxing weekend with take-away pizza getting to know each other - it's been about 15 years since I last saw Dean and I've never met his wife or boys (who are both adorable) Our Sunday was spent walking around the town and along the coast under clear blue skys and then visiting Tower Hill, an extinct volcano where we got to see Koalas (active, not sleeping - a real rarity), Emus and Kangeroos in the wild! In the evening we went to Vicotria's oldest licenced hotel (a mere baby by british standards) which is affectionately known by locals as "the Stump"!

Before heading back to Melbourne to stay with Kate we stopped off at the Warnabool coast to spot Southern Right Whales which come close to the shore there to nurse their babies. We were lucky enough to have a few sightings beofre we had to catch the train!

---