Blogs from Victoria, Australia, Oceania

In the early 19th century whalers and seal hunters used the coast in this region. The crew of the sealing cutter The Fairy captained by James Wishart reportedly gave the bay its current name in 1828. Whatever its origins, the name "Port Fairy" had come into general use by 1835. In 1843 James Atkinson, a Sydney solicitor, purchased land in the town, draining the swamps, subdividing and leasing the land, and building a harbour on the Moyne River. He named the town "Belfast" after his hometown in Ireland, and the names of prominent buildings either bear the name Belfast or Irish names. The town reverted to Port Fairy in 1... read more

Leaving Aireys Inlet, we headed for the popular tourist town of Apollo Bay, stopping off to see a koala in a tree (along with busloads of tourists) at Kennett River, which is a known habitat for koalas. We were disappointed that the koala seemed disinterested in us, perched high up in the tree, hiding behind eucalypt leaves. Arriving at Big4 Caravan Park at Apollo Bay to check in, Kim spied what she thought might have been a large bird in a nearby eucalypt tree. On closer inspection, it was a koala, who kindly climbed down the tree to meet us at eye level. We were literally no more than half a metre away from this wild and free iconic Australian marsupial, who was happy to accommodate snaps from our camera phones, turning his head to offer ... read more

Leaving Traralgon, we were faced with a choice of driving to Sorrento and taking the car ferry across the mouth of Port Phillip Bay to Queenscliff, or driving through the centre of Melbourne and across the Westgate Bridge towing a caravan. We elected to drive through the centre of Melbourne, and despite the persistent rain, the journey to Torquay via Geelong went relatively smooth. Torquay is the start of the Great Ocean Road, and is known as the home of Australian Surfing. Ripcurl and Quiksilver were founded in Torquay, and are based here. There is a Museum of Australian Surfing in the town, along with several surf factory outlets, which we visited in order to purchase some extra warm weather clothing as we start to head into winter. After setting up at Ingenia Caravan Park, we ... read more

It was finally time to put on our Mexican Sombreros (not to be confused with Eastern Suburbs and their salary cap) and head south of the border into Victoria. Lakes Entrance was our chosen destination, located near an artificial dredged channel that connects the Gippsland Lakes to Bass Strait. We were surprised that Bass Strait lies offshore, as we were under the impression that it lies between Melbourne and Tasmania. With the Gippsland Lakes having the largest number of inland waterways in the southern hemisphere, it is no wonder that this area is the summer playground for Victorians. On our first morning we drove to Nyerimilang Heritage Park, to visit the historic homestead and walk around the property perched on acreage high above Lakes Entrance. Our walk of 5.25 kms took in stunning views of wetlands ... read more

In our final couple of weeks, we have focused on a few areas not yet visited. St. Kilda’s Beach is on the south east side of the city centre and a short tram ride (assuming you get off at the right station) from the main railway station at Flinders Street. There is a nice board walk with a few restaurants and a well maintained beach. We were there mid week and the weather was “coolish” so it wasn’t busy, however, it was easy to imagine the area would be packed in prime time. The surrounding area was a little tired and disappointing. A promenade close by was lined with 2nd and 3rd tier retail shops and a carnival facility with a Ferris wheel and roller coaster was somewhat distracted from a reasonably nice waterfront location. The ... read more