Tuesday 17th January - Victor Harbour to Mount Gambier

On Monday morning we woke up to bright sunshine and no wind. It was a lovely morning on kangaroo island. We left the hotel and picked up some fresh baguettes from the local bakery to eat on our picnic. Dad did the driving today which gave Gaz a break and also allowed Dad to test drive the car on the quiet, straight roads. We left Kingscote (the area in which we stayed) and drove up to American river. This place is actually an inlet but was mistaken for a river which is unsurprising when you see it. This was a great spot for bird watching and we saw lots and lots of pelicans. There wasnt much else going on in this place so we headed towards the ferry and found a perfect spot for a picnic. It was in a place called christmas cove - boulders brought down by the drift of a previous glacier millions of years ago are still present and you can even see the scratches on the cliff walls from where the glacier moved. It was very quiet in the cove and we had a great spot on a bench in the shade, surrounded by a family of magpies. They were very cute and well behaved, staying a distance away from us and watching patiently waiting for some food. Gaz even took a liking to them because they were so well behaved.

After lunch we drove to the ferry and were very lucky to have caught the earlier ferry, otherwise we would have had to have waited over an hour to catch the next one. The sea wasnt as rough getting back to cape jervis and gaz had a little nap before the next part of the journey - an hours drive to encounter bay for our overnight stay in victor harbour. Encounter bay is where matthew flinders (british guy) was mapping the coastline of australia and bumped in to a french guy (whose name i forget) and unaware that both countries were at war with one another, decided to map the coastline together. Victor harbour was just up the road from encounter bay. We checked in at the motel - a very basic but clean enough place for a nightcap. The sun was very hot so we slapped on the sun screen and took a stroll down the road. We are very well located on the main street in Victor harbour and the beach was only a short walk down the main street. There was a bridge that you could walk on to get to 'granite island' - an area of land formed by volcanic rock. The walk over also offered a horse drawn tram ride from a huge Clydesdale horse. We didnt go on it but watched the poor thing pulling this tram in the heat of the day. On the island gaz and i sat on a bench in the shade as it was too hot to go on! mum and dad had a walk further around the island...they have resident penguines here which you can see arrive in the evenings but as we are doing all that on phillip island, we didnt feel the need to see them here. Mum and dad went back to the main street for a beer and gaz and i tucked n to strawberrys and ice cream from a local food stand. It is a very pretty area...quite a lot of people living here. In the evening Dad requested a mcdonalds...we took the food and ate it next to the beach...it was very nice! Although the sun had gone down, it was still very warm and we stood listening to the sea for a while.

This morning Dad knocked on the door to wake gaz and i up...we had forgot to set the alarm! Again, the sun was shining and the weather was hot. It got to 39 degrees today but luckily we were in the car at the time - god bless air conditioning! Our journey today took us on a long drive from victor harbour to mount gambier - this was a 5 hour drive and gaz drove the whole way! he did very well. I must admit, the drive was VERY boring. there wasnt much to see at all...we passed lake Alexandrina (the biggest freshwater lake in australia) and lake albert...but we couldnt see much from the road. The rest of the drive was along coast...but the land was baron...we drove past many vineyards but the whole area lacked any excitement. Infact the drive was so boring, the highlight was reaching the Big Lobster in kingston and getting a picture of it! Oh and there was one bit...sat nav tried taking us over a river but ummm....there was no road. So instead there was a barge! it was free and a bit of a shock but it was great fun! it only took a few minutes to get to the other side and made the journey more fun. We had lunch in kingston and gaz carried on the drive. We are now in Mount Gambier for the night which appears to be a series of dormant volcanoes. We took a drive to 'the blue lake' which is what it says on the tin! the colour was beautifully blue which is so lucky because it is only this colour at a certain time in the year and then it goes grey in colour. The lake has been formed in the crater of one of the volcanoes.

This evening we have been for a meal in the local tavern down the road from our motel. The motel again is very basic but it is very clean and comfortable...i have made sure that where we stay has parking and air conditioning! tomorrow we start the great ocean road and will be spending the night in apollo bay....cant wait!