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Monday, 6 March 2017

Day 68 - Monday 6 March - Checking out the regions of Warrnambool


DAY 68
MONDAY
6 March 2017 - Started by 8th Novel – Children Of Eden by Joey Graceffa – This is a young adults book post apocalyptic which should be interesting.
Warrnambool – Grassmere Junction – Hopkins Falls – Koroit – Tower Hill

I woke ready and raring to go this morning, while Paul was a little slower off the mark. His headaches and sore back have persisted for too long so it was decided a visit to the chiropractor was needed.
Once up and sorted, I Googled a chiro in town and booked Paul in we then went into town to pick up needed groceries dropped them back at the van and made our way to the surgery. We filled out the required paperwork, chatted to the receptionist, who was happy to inform us that the coach of the Wildcats, Trevor Gleeson, is a local and as such there was a fair bit on the cats win in the local rag along with on the radio. Who would have thought it, Guess Warrnambool was an apt place to watch the game yesterday.
Paul went in and had his back crunched, only to come out and tell me of the next bizarre co-incidence. Turns out our regular chiro at home, Ben, is from this area and the chiro Paul saw was Ben’s mentor and was telling Paul all about his family. Small world.
With him sorted we hit the tourist trail. Our first stop was George Taylors in Grassmere, an odds and sods hardware store that just happens to house an old bike museum. Paul was happy to wander amongst the goods finding bikes hidden in different spots, while others were placed in lines that you could wander around. 

 

Once our perusal was over we made our way on to Hopkins Falls just out of Wangoom. With it clearly signposted, we were able to navigate there easily and take in the view of the widest falls in Australia at 90m and 11m high. There was plenty of water spilling over the edge though I can imagine it being even more spectacular in Winter.


Our next destination was the town Koroit, a small town than is renowned for its Irish connections and you could see it all the way down the main drag where four leafed clover in green tinsel adorned the street poles.
We stopped and ate lunch in the botanical gardens before taking a walk down the main road, having a laugh at the various signs, we then stopped in at the Koroit Irish pub so Paul could have a Guinness, it only seemed right. 

Once refreshed we moved on to Tower Hill Game Reserve. This is a park land set inside the crater of an extinct volcano. We first spied the park from the Von Guerard lookout that gave a good view of the crater and Tower Lake. 
We then moved into the park where we could complete the Lava Tongue wetlands walk and the last volcano walk.
We were out for about and hour watching for various wildlife, mainly birds and admiring the scenery. Once we had completed the loop we passed through the visitors centre then took some photos of the many emus that happily grazed nearby along with a lazy koala hugging a branch while it slept with a smile on its face. Too cute!

We returned to Warrnambool, only 15 min away, put fuel in the car and returned to the van to unload our gear and sit and rest up. I checked out the maps, brochures and park info to map out the next few days. It is a long weekend next weekend so we need to have some plan, as no doubt places will fill up with travellers getting away for the weekend.
I loaded the pics while Paul took the bike to get fuel ready for his day on the Great Ocean Road tomorrow. When he returned we decided to head out for Thai, which seems to be the main restaurant of choice in this town. We ate at the Saigon and it was delicious, so glad we forgot to take meat out of the fridge for dinner tonight.

To help with the digestion of our meal we drove to Cannon Hill Lookout for great views over Lake Pertobe and beyond to the wharf. 

We then drove down to Stingray Bay and parked to complete the walk to Thunder Point as the sunset. It was a lovely walk but the wind was blasting through us and we were glad to turn back and return to the car. 



Once back at the van we enjoyed some quiet time ready before heading for bed. 



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