After a pretty rough night, we packed up and quickly left the dump. It was a rather grey start to the day as we headed north and we weren’t quite sure how to fill the time. It was only an hour or so drive to Toby but we’d arranged to arrive around 15:30 to fit in with afternoon nap etc.
So we decided to go back to Kennett River as it was en route. As the cafe were so obliging yesterday we had breakfast there (poached eggs on toast for Ian and I had the healthy option of a strawberry muffin.
Very close to the track we’d driven yesterday was a very active koala, unfortunately accompanied by many squealing tourists (I know I sound harsh but why oh why do they have to shout and exclaim so loudly when there is wildlife around?)
I’m actually surprised as to how fast they move as I’d likened them to sloth speed. We’d been warned by someone a while ago to remember to keep our mouths closed when staring up into trees and we were glad we had our hats on too as this fellow was happy to drop and wee anywhere.
There were also a couple of King Parrots in the nearby trees.
Then we walked along the river bank hoping to spot some more wildlife. We thought at first we’d seen kookaburra but when we looked at the bird descriptions we realised it was white fronted cormorant again.
As we were walking back past the rather grand holiday homes, a lady called out asking us to pass her a fallen branch which was lying on the ground. She then mentioned she had a tiger snake on her patio (tiger snakes are one of the most deadliest in the world) and showed us phone footage of a rufus whistler bird defending its nest against the snake. We presumed she wanted the stick to help evict her unwanted guest but, as she chatted to us she absentmindedly broke it into small pieces, so we really don’t know. I’d have like to get a shot of said snake but it was right at the top of her drive and there was no access to her property from the river bank.
Having spent far longer than we meant to koala watching, we reluctantly continued north towards Geelong and with improving weather stopped at the famous Bells Beach to watch the surfers.
We didn't have time to walk down to the beach so these few pictures are taken from a great height and a long way away. Hopefully we can come back and see the surfers a bit closer.
Spot the surfer
We arrived at the agreed time and our grandson Edmund Joseph is a real sweetie and I’d love to show him off but unfortunately his parents are anti social media (and for them my travel blog falls into this category) and therefore I can’t post any pictures of him/them. A shame, but of course I respect their wishes.
It was clear from the first night staying that our constant
coughing and Edmund’s very strict daily schedule would render it impractical
for us to stay the 10 nights as planned but luckily the holiday park were able
to accommodate us for rest of the time, although it would mean changing chalets
half way through.