'On the road to nowhere' - exploring Wilsons Prom

---

Day 346 (7.3.08)

We couldn’t wait to finish work today as we were off to Wilson’s Promontory, a National Park in the most southerly tip of Australia, so we were chuffed when we got let out at 4.30pm. We’d been waiting for a long weekend so we could see as much as possible whilst we were there and Labour Day fell on the following Monday giving us a three day weekend (see - another public holiday!). We were being joined by Rob and Bevan from work and Bevan’s friend Amy would be coming along too.

Having packed all our stuff into Nora we hit the road and made slow progress in the city rush hour traffic until we got out to Cranbourne where we hit the supermarket and bottle-o to stock up on provisions for the weekend. We cracked open a couple of beers (all except Mark who would have to wait until we arrived to catch up), got the i-pod blaring to fully got into the holiday spirit.

With the light completely gone we drove the pitch black and windy roads narrowly missing our first wombat of the weekend. The little fella looked like he was just about to take his first steps into the road causing us and the ute behind us to swerve.

We’d booked a week prior but all the spots in the park were taken and we were lucky to get this plot around 40km from the park. Arriving ready for a couple more cheeky beers and a weekend of fresh air we checked in and found our pitch.

Despite the dark, the tents were up in no time and the stove was on to cook up a few sausage sangers for dinner. A great evening was spent chatting, sinking a couple of sociable shandies and gazing at the incredible display of stars that could clearly be seen now that we were so far away from the city lights until it got too cold to sit out any longer and we all went off to bed.

Day 347 (8.3.08)

We woke to realise that our camp plot was right on the beach which, although rocky rather than sandy, was a beautiful sight to start the day. After a proper cooked camp breakfast we transformed Nora from bed to bus and made our way towards Wilson’s Prom for the day.

After queuing to enter the park we wound our way through the park with everyone keeping their eyes open for the local wildlife which had been promised to us by every ozzie we had spoken to about the trip. Unfortunately with it being the heat of the day the animals must have been hiding in the shade with the only sightings being animals that had fallen fowl of the traffic.

We had a quick stop at a lay-by on the way through the park with an amazing view of the coast. After soaking up the vista we carried on to our first planned stop at Picnic Bay. Deciding to act on the name we took our lunch down to the beach - well it seemed sensible at the time. The fellas set up an excellent game of cricket, the girls read their books and we all tested the water with a little paddle in the sea before we settled down to a feast of a picnic.

After lunch we had planned a walk and jumped back in the van to make it over to its starting point. Unfortunately in an attempt to cut down on traffic around the park the road we were aiming for had been closed so we had to park up and catch the shuttle bus up to the start of the trails.

Arriving at the start of the trails we realised that the walk we had planned was longer than we’d thought and we wouldn’t have time to fit it in before the last shuttle bus left at the end of the day. We changed plans to a shorter walk, opting for a climb to the summit of Mt Oberon.

The path started to climb and climb and climb. After a great walk keeping an eye out for koalas (unfortunately not spotting any) we neared the top. The final climb took us up some steps and a rocky path and we were there. It was well worth all the effort as the view was simply stunning. We spent a little while soaking up the 360 view as we dodged the infestation of wasps that had chosen the summit as their home. We were all a bit more chatty on the way down than during the climb and arriving at the bus stop where we had a bit of a frisbee game before catching the bus back.

Jumping back in the van we made our way back to the camp where we hit the beer and goon whilst tucking into a great camping four course meal - garlic bread, followed by sweet and sour chicken and chocolate biscuits all chased down with some cheese and biccies and a whole bottle of port!

Day 348 (9.3.08)

Another excellent camp breakfast began the day on Sunday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We made the drive back to Wilson’s Prom park and our first stop of the day, Squeaky beach, so called because of the fine white sand which squeaks as you walk over it. Yet another stunning beach, however, as it was the long weekend this time we were enjoying it with plenty of other fellow beach goers!

We kicked back with another game of cricket (we were getting much better at it by now), swimming in the surf, catching some rays and enjoying a picnic on the beach! Stunning!

After an extremely ‘stressful’ morning we thought it about time to stretch our legs. Piling back in the van we drove to the start of a walk in Lilly Pilly Gully. The 5k round trip promised a scenic valley walk with a rain forest board walk.

The walk did not disappoint in terms of the scenery. With all of us keeping our eyes out for the local wildlife, we were rewarded by spotting a little snake slither across the path. Amy had been keen to see a snake on this trip so that made her day!

After a half an hour walk along the path which gave us great views across to Mt Oberon which we’d scaled the day before, we entered the wooded region of the park. It wasn’t much further when we reached the start of the board walk loop where we had a bit of a rest. The board walk turned out to be a little less exciting than we had thought but it was quite an eerie open track brought to life by the sound of birds rustling about in the trees.

We decided to lengthen the walk and continue on around a loop rather than turning back along the same path. It wasn’t long until the path climbed taking us up and giving us the occasional stunner of a view through the trees over the coast.

Back to the van we had a stop off at the shop for some snacks before making our way back to Whiskey Beach where we had read that you could get the best view of sunset from the park. Pulling out the cooker, crockery, food and beach stuff we lugged our haul down the path to the beach. Before we had to start dinner there was time for more cricket and another swim (more fun in the waves).

Setting up kitchen at the back of the beach Mark knocked up a feast of corn-on-the-cob for starter and pesto pasta for main. With all of us stuffed we were packing the plates back in the box as the sun was starting its descent. We were lucky to witness the most amazing sunset as the colours in the sky were reflected in the thin layer of water that had settled on top of the sand at the water’s edge. We took a walk along the shore and watched as the last sliver of sun fell below the horizon before wandering back up the beach to join the others to see the sky continue to get pinker and pinker.

Now it was starting to get dark we thought it wise to get back to the van and start the journey back to the camp. Aware that dusk is a prime time for animal spotting and a risky time for hitting the critters with slow reactions, we steadily started for the gate. We were amazed by how much we saw. It all started with a kangaroo or two, then a rabbit, a deer butt and a wombat butt disappearing into the undergrowth, and that was all before we reached the park gate. Leaving the park, we were all still keeping an eye out for locals and nearing home we had to swerve again as a smallish wombat strolled across the road. This made Chrissie’s weekend as she had been desperate to catch sight of a wild wombat whilst we were here! We tried to reverse to see him go into the bushes but were too late - he’d gone! Another couple of wallabies were waiting for us before we arrived back to our site.

Cracking open couple of tinnies and goon we sat around the camp and chatted until it got too cold.

Day 349 (10.3.08)

We were pretty sad to leaving our little spot at the camp site but all determined to make the most of our last day. After packing up the tents we made our way not far down the road to a beach called Sandy Point. It turned out to be more like Windy Point and as the swift breeze of the morning picked up the sand from the long, broad bay and whipped it around us. As we tried to play cricket or lie and read, the sandblasting effect wasn’t very pleasant. We didn’t stay long before deciding to head slowly homewards stopping at various places on the way.

Somehow we’d managed to find ourselves in yet another wine region and we felt it would be rude not to visit at least one. We stopped in at two wineries and liked Lyrebird Hill, the second one we visited, so much that we ended up buying several bottles between us including one to share over our picnic lunch in the winery’s pretty garden.

Whilst we were chatting to the guy who ran the cellar door at the winery he mentioned that there was a jazz festival on in nearby Inverloch so we decided to drive down and check it out. The stage (or trailer) was on a green just by the beach and there was a great atmosphere so we joined lots of locals and sat in the sun to watch a couple of the bands. We stopped off at the beach before leaving for our last dip and Frisbee game of the weekend and then hopped back into the van to plan our route home.

As we checked out the map we noticed that we’d have to pass Philip Island to get back to Melbourne. Philip Island is famous for its penguin parade where you can watch as hundreds of tiny fairy penguins make their way from the sea to their burrows in the dunes beyond. It’s something we’d wanted to do at some point and so we decided to squeeze it onto the end of our weekend jaunt. We made our way to Cowes (all the places on Philip Island are named after places on the Isle of Wight) for an excellent slap up fish and chip supper before heading over to the penguin centre. We first visited The Nobbies and Seal Rocks where a large colony of Australian Fur Seals hangs out and where we got a sneak preview of the penguins to come when we spotted cheeky little fella peeking out of his burrow.

Just before sunset we all wandered down to the beach to wait for the little chaps to arrive. We took our place at the front of the big stands placed behind the beach for spectators and tuned our eyes in to look out for small dark shapes emerging from the water. As it started to get dark we saw the first penguins appearing. The ‘safety in numbers’ approach seems to be an inbuilt penguin motto as they hang around in the surf until they feel they have enough support to make the long waddle up the beach and into the dunes to find their burrows. It was so amusing to see as they all huddled together and eventually made a break for it. Sometimes the group would set off and then change their minds and head back to the surf to wait for a few more! Once we’d watched a few groups head into the dunes we walked back over the boardwalks to see the penguins at much closer range and to hear them calling to their young to locate their burrows. It was absolutely magical!

Our incredible weekend finally over we made the drive back to Melbourne and by the time we’d dropped everyone off at their respective homes fell into bed exhausted at around 1am.

---