3 April 2000

Seriously considered running for home (seeing as we were only a few hours away now and had been on the road for three months) however decided to soldier on and so returned to Glenrowan around 9:00 a.m. Weather was gloomy, with the sun promising to break through just as we were leaving. Drove round and tried to find the town of Greta (which was marked on all the maps) but finally realized that all that remained was the town sign at an intersection of two dusty dirt roads with an old house on one corner. Gave up and headed for Beechworth before turning south towards Phillip Island, where we hope to spend the night.

What a beautiful little town Beechworth is, situated in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. The whole town has been classified as historically important by the National Trust and there are many fine period buildings which look as if they are from the pages of a picture book. You almost expect the townsfolk to be in period costume. Unfortunately we only drove through without stopping and will hopefully one day return to do justice to the towns of Victoria. As I said above, three months on the road is a long time, and with no money coming in and being so close to home I find I am rushing it all a bit.

From Beechworth we drove south to rejoin The Great Alpine Road, then south-west to Myrtleford and then (after driving through all the points of the compass along a back road) reached Mansfield, south-west of Myrtleford. Our route to Mansfield took us through the beautiful King Valley, and also past the turn-off to Powers’ Lookout, named after the bushranger Harry Powers (with whom the young Ned Kelly served his bushranging apprenticeship). The lookout is a couple of kilometres off the Mansfield road and we drove up to have a look. The view from the lookout (where Powers used to watch for the police) over the Mansfield road and across the King Valley is truly spectacular.

After having some lunch at Mansfield we continued on south through Piries, Macs Cove and Howqua (the Howqua Valley is also very beautiful) before turning east along the southern boundary of the Lake Eildon National Park then south again along the Maroondah Highway through Healesville, Woori Yallock, Seville, Wandin North then over the Dandenong Ranges and down to the Bass Highway which we followed south before turning off east to Phillip Island. The drive from Healesville to Phillip Island was not very enjoyable as I was unable to take in much of the scenery because of having to concentrate on the traffic and also having to constantly consult the map to make sure we were going in the right direction and through the right towns. Driving here is not like driving in the outback, where there is only one road going from A to B and you just follow it. Here, it is city driving with all the traffic and towns and suburbs and choice of roads. And you don’t know the area. And also night was fast approaching and we still had quite a way to go before reaching our destination. Aaaargh!

It was approaching 7:00 o’clock (and quite dark) by the time we reached San Remo and drove over the bridge onto Phillip Island, and so having lost the advantage of daylight and not knowing how much accommodation there was on the island (nor how sought after it might be) we grabbed the first half-decent-looking motel we came to. As it turned out, we needn’t have worried: there was plenty of accommodation and not a lot of demand for it. We enquired at the motel about the nightly penguin parade and were concerned to learn it would have already started and we might not be able to get in to see it. Apparently they close the access to the area depending on when the parade starts and how many people there are trying to get in to it. But fortunately after tearing another 10 kms down the road we were able to get in. The night was quite cool with a stiff breeze blowing, and there were plenty of people at the two viewing areas. I dropped Lorraine off at the entrance so she might get in as she particularly wanted to see the parade, and then I went to park the ute telling her I would find her inside. The parade had already started but we hadn’t missed much, as it goes on for quite some time. The viewing area I first went to (I hadn’t found Lorraine at this stage) consisted of a raised timber platform and walkway stretching back from the beach towards the main entrance area. You can walk with the penguins as they make their way up from the beach to their nests in the surrounding hillocks. The use of cameras is banned (you have to put them away in a paper bag they give you) as the flash upsets and disorientates the penguins – although of course there are always those who think rules are made for others, and not for them. But there are plenty of rangers on hand to answer any questions you might have and also to remove cameras from those they catch flouting the rules. I hope they also remove and expose the films of these people, otherwise they have achieved their purpose anyway.

It is certainly a sight to see these little fellows, in pairs and small groups, emerge from the sea and trudge inland to find a nesting place for the night. They are so tiny and they walk such a long way, some of them. You can hear them and see their eyes glowing up in the hillocks as the starlight and moonlight catches them. And every so often you will see one stop to have a short rest while its travelling companions wait patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) to move on again. And then in the early hours of the morning they do it all in reverse and head back out to sea until the following night.

The other viewing area (which I think is the main one) consists of tiered rows of seating at the beachfront where you just sit and watch the penguins come out of the surf and up the beach. I think you see more, and are closer to the birds, at the platform and walkway.

After watching the parade we returned to the main entrance area where you can buy all manner of souvenirs (at all manner of prices) all with penguin and Phillip Island motifs. And then back to the motel, where we had some dinner and went to bed. The steaks we had for dinner were the biggest we had ever seen in terms of thickness and I was really struggling to get through mine. Lorraine was stopped after hardly making any impression on hers.

Will have a good look around the Island tomorrow before heading south-west to Wilson’s Promontory (the most south-easterly point of the country) then north-west to Bairnsdale where we will pick up The Great Alpine Road and head towards home.