18,19/08/2017
Dear diary,
Last Friday was curriculum day for kids' school, mrG took a day off for that reason so we could go somewhere for a bit of family fun weekend. Maybe we go to Warrnambool to see the baby whales?! Or we can go to mountains for snow?? It seemed either idea had attracted their interests of going out with mum &dad very much. They said they had already made plans with friends. And so it was only ME available for the outing. On the last minute booking with some disappointment mrG made it a spa retreat for a WE TIME in that consequence. Woohoo!.. I thought, that's even better. Kids free, Stress free!
On Friday morning we got out of the house before kids even got up! Lucky children really. When I was at their age, I wasn't allowed to sleep in even on school holidays because it would be considered LAZY. Well, least that's how my family think back then. They are renowned for a diligent hard-working race in southern China &Taiwan, the Hakka people. Don't know if kids in my hometown these days have got soft parents like us let them sleep in.
Back to our getaway.. We did not stop all the way except once for petrol before get on the freeway, once for the toilet stop, and we hit Port Fairy at around 1:30pm. That was about 4 hrs straight in the car. Long way!
I haven't been to Port Fairy before. MrG had done his homework for this trip, including picking up infos of a few recommended Cafes, bakeries & restaurants from TripAdvisor. I felt spoiled.
We had a couple of pies & coffees from a local bakery which was yum, then a brief look around this lovely quiet town centre, admiring some old stone buildings that was more than a hundred years old, some built a couple of centuries ago that is still beautifully standing today. MrG said Port Fairy holds an annual music folk festival that started in 1977... I guess it's a great tradition to keep the beautiful old township going.. Walked passing the Pub he could not help mentioning he got very drunk in it last time he was here some 20 odd years ago.
yes I guess if you don't have particular reasons to visit here on a regular base, you probably wont choose to drive 4hrs all the way to Port Fairy for a weekend, because there are a lot of nice places to visit in between Melb to Port Fairy.
Then it was time for the water..!
• Griffiths Island
It was cold & rainy although it seemed sunny with blue sky at times. But it could be another 20 years before our next visit!? Let's make the most of it.
Don't miss this interesting walk, Griffiths Island Reserve! Apart from extremely windy & cold weather we thoroughly enjoyed the walking. We loved the view the way leads to the lighthouse the history of the island the view of fierce sea & huge waves and the wildlife along the path!!!
•Tower Hill, a pretty place!!!
We drove past it on our way back to Warrnambool (to check into our B&B) from Port Fairy. It's about half way between the two towns I guess. When our car decent to the island and parked the car, time was around 4:30pm and the visitor centre was shut. The ground was quite wet after rain yet still had visitors about. We were tired and cold, and decided to come back next day! And so we did after Whale-watching next morning. The bright golden wattle trees are in bloom, beautifully decorating the whole island. If you like the yellow golden wattles it's time to visit now! And the island is full of wildlife in active. We were quite lucky with a number of different animals we encountered along the paths.:) And there were the little blue wrens everywhere in sight! Just gorgeous. The park has got quite a few bbq felicities, great for friends/family outing!
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| on the way to the peak, the sea view stating to reveal slowly.. |
•Whale-watching @Logan's beach
•Bridge & Beach View@ Warrnambool
https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/9739040?s=cNl59H1y
The photos above has said about it. YES we really had a lovely refreshing stay at this cozy beautifully decorated studio. The SPA was needed & much appreciated after exploring at the cold breezy Griffiths Island. Lovely soft bed, aircon to keep us warm the all time.. brekkie was taken care of. Lovely hosts Jane & Noel. Great value for the rent!!!
• Dinner : Thai cuisine @the LieBig
I picked Thai restaurant instead of mrG's no1 restaurant of the TripAdvisor, just because I was craving a rice dish for the night, and I knew he had a bit of indigestion from lunch so the spice in Thai meal would be more appetizing and hopefully would sort out his problem. And it proved I was right again^^. Our choices of main were spicy & tasty. Before we took our order for dessert we discovered from the staff that the owner are from Doi Tung/Chiang Rai where are one of our family's favourite places in northern Thailand. She came out to greet us, and we had a bit of chat. Seen quite a few young Asian customers dinning at her restaurants, we asked her if she knew why. She said maybe some are attending the University and also some of them are from Taiwan or China due to the working holidays... (hmm Warrnambool for working holidays! I thought, not a bad township to be. ) Our warm taro+black sticky rice with coconut milk dessert was pretty good too!
Saturday afternoon We picked up our pies in Warrnambool around 1:50 and we were on our way going back to Melb. We needed to be home by 6pm. This 24 hrs visit to Port Fairy & whale-watching in Warrnambool was way too short! We wished we could stayed one more night. The weather wasn't at it's best but we had numerous rainbows to spot both ways in this two-day trip. I can't help to share this lovely trip in my blog so friends could learn a bit more about the beauty of the of country Victoria. If you are going soon please bring enough warm clothes for the cool weather, freezing at the beach. And take care on the road, it's quite a long drive from Melbourne, and good luck on the whales spotting!😎
