Another lovely day weatherwise despite the forecast. In fact a typical lovely English summer day - hot in the sun but a bit chilly in the shade!

View from our walk

We did the same walk as a couple of days ago first thing this morning - having our coffee at the jetty cafe at the half way point. We saw not one but two metallic skinks in the same place going and coming back! This time one posed for us to take photos!

Metallic skink

Where we had coffee

We had our lunch out at a nice cafe in Merimbula and then did some shopping. Then we went back to Short Point beach for a paddle in the surf and in the lake at the back of the beach. We spotted some crested terns while we were doing this. It is a beautiful beach and guess what - another squeaky sand beach!

We also stopped off at another beach on the main lake side. The tide was out and it looked quite different from high tide. We got some good photos of a white-faced heron. They aren't quite as showy as our herons but I guess it's only fair that some of ours are better. It's hard to compete with rainbow lorikeet though!

White-faced heron

Late afternoon we decided to try out the pool here at the apartment. We go past it all the time when we go out and come back in and we have never seen anyone in it. Of course today when we wanted to go in there was a family there!! We gave them a bit more time and then went down and they didn't stay much longer. We enjoyed our swim and sat in the sun for a little while - too chilly to sit in the shade!

Steve is now putting himself through the nail biting process of watching England play cricket in Adelaide! Easier to watch here than at home I suppose!

This morning we were up earlier but the weather was not as good as yesterday - dry but cloudy. Having skyped with Sarah and then ogled the photos on facebook of our new grandnephew, we set off on today's morning walk.

We had seen an event advertised called Eat Merimbula, which was showcasing all the best food of the area and was only just across the bridge from our apartment. We could see it all being set up over breakfast too! Even at 10am, when we arrived, it was quite busy and became increasingly busier as the morning progressed. We walked the length of the stalls and tried to decide what we might buy. Then we walked on from there and round the peninsula and onto the nearby beach, where there were lots of surfers. We were surprised how close we are to the sea - we can just see it from our balcony but it is less than half a mile.

A view across to our apartment

Then we walked back to the food fair and had a cup of coffee, quickly followed by a shared peach, passionfruit and mascapone crepe, which was delicious! It was very difficult trying to limit our purchases but we stopped at a pulled pork roll and some taster dishes of prawns and bugs (which are like crabs)! It was all very interesting and punctuated with musical items, including a seniors ukelele band!

Prawns and bugs

The seniors ukelele band

We walked back to our apartment for our pulled pork roll lunch, which, like all our other purchases, was great! The weather was hot and sunny by now. Later in the afternoon we took the car out locally and walked down to Long Point. On our way back we spotted a huge and complex spider's web, which on closer inspection turned out to be spiders' webs! There were at least 9 spiders in the consortium and they were all pretty big - though maybe not so big by Australian standards! We also took a look at Short Point but as it had begun to rain slightly we didn't leave the car. It overlooked another lake and a lovely beach so we may return when its fine!

One of the large spiders

The bird below is a rainbow lorikeet, which posed for us on the balcony rail this morning. As you can see they are very gaudy and although quite common, we are always amazed by their colouring. They can become quite tame too. Joan puts out seed and nectar in her garden in Melbourne and they are regular visitors, demanding food by calling when there is none out for them!

Rainbow lorikeet

We had quite a lie-in this morning - the first of our holiday! However we still managed a 3 mile walk and some shopping in town before lunch. We were delighted to hear the news this morning that we are grand uncle and aunt as Phil and Max's daughter, Laura had a baby boy yesterday!

It was a beautiful morning. The lake in front of us was glassy when we got up. It is known as the lake but strictly speaking it is an estuary with a river flowing into it and an exit into the sea. Our view is across the lake towards the sea but we can't actually see it. There is a bridge across the lake just to our right.

View from our balcony with road bridge on right

To our left there are oyster beds, which are very important not only for the food industry here and up to Sydney but also they need clean water to grow well and therefore the "farmers" make sure the lake water is kept clean.

Oyster beds laid out beyond boats

A novel way of not taking your dog for a walk!

Our walk took us to the right of the bridge and onto a boardwalk which ran literally above the lake for most of its way up to a jetty. It was just over 1.5 miles and we were accompanied for most of the way by the sound of bell miners. These are quite gaudy birds but difficult to spot in the foliage. They are green with orange beaks and feet and have a piercing bell like call - hence the name! We also saw a yellow robin and several brown thornbirds. Further on we saw a metallic skink, which is like a shiny lizard - about 20cm long.

The boardwalk on the lake

At the jetty there was a cafe and we were able to have our coffee before returning! It was quite hot and we were glad of the refreshment. The lake is quite shallow and there were lots of tiny fish as well as some larger ones which jumped out of the water from time to time.

White ibis

For only the second time on this holiday we have found ourselves unable to drink the tap water. This is not because it is not drinkable but because it tastes really horrible in tea! The only other place we drank bottled water was in Wilson's Promontory where we were advised to because their water supply was rainwater.

So after buying bottled water we returned to the apartment for lunch and then stayed there for the afternoon! I told you this would get boring! We have been out for a lovely Italian meal this evening but that's all! We've got some good photos for you though!

You may remember that I said we had been in paradise in a previous blog - well today we have been in Eden! Not only that but we are now in another beautiful place and another great view from our balcony! As I write a big yellow moon has just risen and is shining across the water in front of us.

View from our balcony this evening

This morning we decided we could spend some time exploring Mallacoota before leaving, as we didn't have a long drive to Merimbula, where we are now. It was a beautiful morning - still breezy but not quite as wild as yesterday! We went down to Bastion Point, where the sea was powering in against the rocks, as it was at Betka beach, where we went for a walk. We tried to follow the coastal path to start with but soon realised it went across the beach and the tide was coming in! We beat a hasty retreat without getting our feet wet and discovered at the same time that this was another squeaky beach!

Bastion Point

Betka Beach

The walk we did take was on the cliff top but in native bush and then looped round along the river. We saw a tiny lizard at one point - only about 5cm long. A little later in the day we saw something at the other extreme but more about that when we come to it!

We stopped off briefly to see the kangaroos near the golf club! There were 30 or so of them and they were some distance away so no photos this time - we are getting a bit blasé about kangaroos! We had a coffee in Mallacoota before saying our goodbyes. This is definitely a place one could return to and we thoroughly enjoyed our brief time there.

On our way back to the main road we took a detour to Gypsy Point and no sooner had we got out of the car than we saw a lace goanna! It must have been at least 1.5m and it stayed around while we were there although it wasn't easy to photograph.

Lace goanna

We went on to the main road and soon crossed the state border into New South Wales. The first major town we came to was Eden! Here we had lunch and admired the views of the double bay in which it is set. There was a huge P&O cruise ship in one half of the bay - so big it couldn't dock but small tenders were ferrying people back and forwards.

P&O cruise ship in Twofold Bay, Eden

It was just a short hop from there to Merimbula and our beautiful apartment. We are here for five nights so we have done something we haven't done for nearly six weeks - unpacked! We decided this would be our chill out time before returning home and so far it seems the perfect place for that. I think you can expect to hear that we have done nothing much for the next few days!

We were woken in the night with a lot of loud bangs and a continuous noise which I thought was heavy rain but turned out to be wind! A quick check assured us that the bangs were just bits coming off the trees but it took us a bit of time to get back to sleep. When morning arrived the wind was still blowing a gale but it was quite sunny and not too cold!

We checked out (reception was open this time!) and went for a walk along the boardwalk next to the inlet/lake. Then we set off for the next place along the road which is called Lakes Entrance - it being the place where you can get from the sea into the Gippsland Lakes! We stopped at a lookout high above the town and the lake and sea were being whipped up by the strong winds and the sky was looking a little stormy by now giving the whole landscape a very dramatic look.

Rough sea at the entrance at Lakes Entrance

Down in the town itself, we did a little shopping, had a cup of coffee and set off to walk across the pedestrian bridge across the inner lake to the outer beach. It was incredibly windy and we clung onto each other to get across! Once at the beach the waves were pounding in so we didn't hang around for long. On our return it rained on us but we had our macs and didn't get too wet.

We continued to travel eastwards until we got to Orbost and then turned south to take a scenic route via Marlo. Here we had lunch to the sounds of a little wattlebird and the sights of the rough tide coming in. The scenic route took us on to Cape Conran. On the east side the beach faced the full strength of the gale and the sea was churning up the sand to make an amazing maelstrom! The west side was much calmer as it was leeward of the wind.

Little wattlebird

Pounding waves churning the sand

After this we only stopped for petrol until we got to Mallacoota, which is where we are staying tonight. We are back on track with our accommodation as we have a lovely room, with all we need including a dishwasher which we don't really need! Items for breakfast are also included! Our host has been most helpful in giving advice and has convinced us we really need to stay here much longer! More than that, he was here when we arrived!

The Narrows at Mallacoota

We immediately took him up on his advice about local walks and walked along the local inlet, which is part of the Croajingolong National Park. We saw a sea eagle and lots of pelicans sitting artistically on a jetty!

Dancing pelicans?

Tonight we have been to the Chinese restaurant in town - again on the advice of Dave, our host. It was quite an experience! The poor servers were run off their feet as it was busy. We were given a table and then a lady came in who said she had booked our table so we offered to move and went into the semi-outside bit which turned out to be rather cold! We had great food though!

Here in Mallacoota, we are very close to the state border and tomorrow we will cross over from Victoria into New South Wales. However that won't be until we have seen a little more of this lovely town and its setting. Oh and hopefully we will get a good night's sleep tonight! By the way the WiFi is much better too - we are able to use it in our room!

It was always going to be hard to live up to yesterday, especially as we had to travel quite a way, and today has certainly been a bit more ordinary but with one or two highlights.

The weather wasn't quite so perfect this morning, though latterly it has improved and is cloudless now. We had thought we would go back down the Prom this morning and do one of the many short walks and the cloudy weather didn't deter us, though it did rain very lightly at one point.

A trio of galahs outside our cottage

We walked down to Millar's Landing through banksia bush. We saw several wallabies and had what I can only call a close encounter with one! We obviously disturbed one and instead of jumping away from the path it jumped into the path, almost collided with me and jumped back into the bush, catching my walking pole as it went. I'm not sure who was more surprised - me or the wallaby! I just hope it hasn't got a sore leg as a result! Steve took the lead after that!

Kangaroos seen on the drive down the Prom

One of the many wallabies we saw

The owner of the cottage we stayed in last night recommended a scenic route for part of our journey so we decided to follow his advice. It was a longer route but it took us up into the Tarra Bulga National Park. It proved a very quiet route - we stopped for lunch at the side of the river Tarra and only one car passed us in the half hour we were there! It was also very narrow and twisty but took us through some beautiful rainforest. We stopped a couple of times to view a waterfall and walk into the rainforest. The trees and ferns were huge!

Some huge tree ferns

The rest of the day was spent travelling to Metung, which is where we are for the night. It is in a very difficult place to explain. It is on a peninsula that sticks out into a lake that is connected to the sea but there is land directly opposite us on all sides! It is part of the Gippsland Lakes area of Victoria. I think it is probably very beautiful but we haven't had much chance to look round yet. I also think that to get the most out of the place you probably need a boat!

We didn't get off to a very good start here as when we arrived reception was shut and a note on the door said we had to ring a number. Now this is easy if you have an Australian phone but of course we dont! We knew the code for Australia but it took some time to get the correct combination of numbers. When we did get it to work we then got an answering service and we had to wait for several minutes to get someone to answer and tell us what to do. All this on our UK mobile! We were not amused - especially as later on we realised they had emailed us to give us the information about the key. Of course we can't get emails until we get WiFi and we can't get that till we get the information in the accommodation! You see where this is going!

We weren't particularly late arriving - about 5.40 so I think we were right to be annoyed! However we were tired and hungry so I guess it seemed worse than it was. The cottage is ok but nothing special and seemed rather dark on entering as the blinds were down. Not one of our better choices but we are only here for the night. You can just about see the sea from the lounge!

To kick us when we were down, the restaurants we thought would be OK to eat in were either closed or didn't exist! However we did find a nice little place and have had a good meal. Equilibrium is now restored and we only have to walk partly down the drive to get WiFi so that's OK!!!!!!

I can hardly contain myself tonight at what we have seen today but I won't spoil it all for you by telling you just yet! We have had an excellent day - Steve thinks it is the best day of the holiday so far and I think I agree as it is hard to beat wildlife sightings!

We had one more place we wanted to visit before leaving Phillip Island, which was The Nobbies! These are a set of rocks off the far west point of the island, just beyond the place we saw the penguins last night. It was a beautiful day weatherwise and a beautiful bit of coast. The sea was crashing onto the flat topped rocks and pouring off in waterfalls. We walked along the boardwalks and as we did so we were surprised to see some of the boxes which the penguins use as burrows. We hadn't expected to see them there for some reason, though it is only a little further along the coast. Anyway we were also delighted to be able to see some of the penguins in their burrows and to photograph them!

The Nobbies

Little Penguins under the boardwalk

We spent rather longer at The Nobbies than we intended and so we then had to get a move on to our next overnight stop near Wilson's Promontory. This is a National Park and wilderness area on the south coast, further east than Phillip Island. Our accommodation is a delightful little cottage, just outside the park and with lovely views across to the sea and beyond to the Prom - as it is known. We are in the middle of nowhere and it is very quiet and now very dark!

Having settled in we decided we must go and explore the Prom, given the excellent weather and our short stay. We drove down the 25 miles of road to the only settlement in the park, stopping at several beaches on the way. The first beach was Whisky Bay - a beautiful sandy beach with huge boulders at each end, making for good photo opportunities! It was almost deserted too. We walked from there to the next beach and back again. Then we called in at Squeaky Beach. Now you may remember we went to a beach in NZ which was supposed to be squeaky and it was a little bit - but this one was really squeaky! Not only that but it was beautiful too!

Whisky Bay, Wilson's Promontory

After this we stopped and had an icecream in Tidal River, the settlement at the end of the road. I say settlement because really it is only a campground with a shop and visitor centre. It was just as well we had something to eat, because on our return journey back down the Prom we decided to stop and do the Wildlife Walk. Despite having had a great day, this proved to be the absolute highlight!

Our walk started with close sightings of kangaroos just near the car park and eventually we must have seen at least 30. That was good but kangaroos are not difficult to spot and we have seen them in many places in Australia. About half way round the walk we spotted some emus in the distance. We were thrilled by this as we have never seen them in the wild before. Eventually, as we watched, they came a little closer - probably close enough, as I'm not sure I'd want to be too close to these enormous birds! To crown everything though, we disturbed a wombat a little further on! He beetled off fairly quickly but we got a good view and some video! You can imagine how pleased we were with all this! Australian wildlife is great!

Eastern Grey kangaroo

Two emus

Another Eastern Grey

As we finished our walk, a flock of black cockatoos flew over. Appropriately enough we are staying at Black Cockatoo Cottages! It was gone 7.30 by the time we got back for our dinner and we have since been doing our best to get our blogs up to date with WiFi only available down the drive!