Day 16: Portland, Nelson, Cape GRANT & the amazing Biting Fly Dance

Cape Grant, anyone?

Today had it's ups and downs in all senses of the word. On route to Portland the ruddy Princes Highway was closed again because some trucky rolled his truck and it was blocking the highway. (I know I should sound more sympathetic, but it doubled the trip and took us once again on some very skinny roads.)

So, after the detour (Sheila be thanked) our visit to the Portland info centre revealed that whales are not 'in' today (ahhhh) and the aluminium smelter factory only does tours on Wednesdays (double ahhhhhhhh), but that there is much to see at Bridgewater, just up the road (yay).

Armed with a map, we set off to see the Gannet colony (in Portland), only to find that the colony itself was a fluttering speck in the distance, with a high fence and guard dog zone (complete with rather cute and friendly dog) separating the spectator from getting closer to the sight. Oh well.

Weird landscape at Cape Bridgewater.

Off to Bridgewater to see the petrified forest and blow hole. This is where we completed the boys' dance part of their education. We all took part in a liberal performance of the amazing Cape Bridgewater Biting Fly Dance, which is a free form sort of dance, performed by slapping the legs (hard) whilst simultaneously jumping up and down (with both or alternating feet) and yelling out a variety of exclamations designed to keep people from coming too close. Oh, of course the routine is not complete without a liberal sprinkle of profanities (grown ups only) and some dead bodies (fly, not human). It was interesting to note that many of the other (more mature) people about were not joining in, though I did see one lady armed with a formidable looking bright green fly swatter. (Cheater)

The petrified forest, as you can see from the picture, is intriguing and several explanations have been suggested as to how it formed. It has been there a long time.

Petrified Forest

The blow hole wasn't blowing today. (Ahhhh) Perhaps it takes Tuesdays off? Anyway, we did get to see some actual volcanic rock, which perked us up. See pic - volcanic rock in background. (Yes, this place too was volcanic at one time...but a long time ago, thankfully.)

At the non-blowing blowhole

After lunch (yay) at the beach, we moved on the Bridgewater lakes and limestone caves. Duncan suggested these caves are perfect for cavers who are scared of the dark. A good thought, because while these caves are big, they are not deep. We had a little explore.

Off to see another lighthouse - you can imagine that we were all having lighthouse withdrawal symptoms by now. You can tell from Andrew's face just how delighted he is to be posing in front of a lighthouse. Again.
A walk through the Enchanted Forest at Nelson Bay was pleasant and cool. There is indeed a forest of mela-something trees that can be found there and is supposed to be tropical-like. I was just thrilled to be out of the sun and in some shade. Andrew decided to lead the way and consequently we all sped down the path as if there were a bunch of angry, hungry snakes slithering after us. (There weren't, I did look.)(I was also keeping my eyes on the path, the tree branches and off to the sides - they weren't there either.)

At the suggestion of another walk - the 3km Sea Cliff Nature Walk - first Andrew and then Callum wilted noticeably and were making mutinous sounds. Both wanted to stay in the car and read their books rather than go for another walk! So, we caved in and headed back to Port Fairy, hoping that the rolled truck had been righted and moved out of the way.

For a time there we thought it was all going to be good, but there was the inevitable 'detour ahead' sign and off we went again into the unknown. It was at about this point that we noticed that this place is positively bristeling with trucks - and they were all coming hurtling towards us at varying intervals and speeds. It was a bit of a white-knuckle ride. To add to the adrenalin rush, Duncan suddenly admitted that he didn't think we had enough fuel to get back (because of the detour). Great!

To cut a long story short, we did get back to the service station in Port Fairy without further incident. We are all a bit hot and sweaty after the day's events, so the three guys have gone for a swim and here I sit listening to the gallahs coming in to roost and writing this blog.

Tomorrow is moving day. On to Mount Gambier - hopefully along a newly cleared Princes Highway, coz I would hate to do the detour with a caravan on the back. Fingers crossed.