The Sapphire Coast

Home again after two trips to the Sapphire Coast - The Sapphire Coast, also known as the Bega Valley, is the most southerly coastal region in NSW, and is centered around the Eden and Bega area.
Our 8 day trips travel to Portland and along the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay, Lorne and Queenscliffe, where we take the ferry across Bass Strait to Sorrento and the Mornington Peninsula.
Beyond Lakes Entrance we make several detours - including a visit to Meetung - a small and stylish coastal town situated near the Gippsland Lakes, then  Malacoota (including Gipsy Point).

Part of the appeal of Mallacoota is that it sprawls. There is no sense that everyone is clinging to a tiny area. This may have something to do with its combination of two lakes - the Top Lake and Bottom Lake - and its inlets, cliffs, and beaches. I should mention that despite keeping an eye out for a Water Dragon, known to inhabit the area around Gipsy Point, no sighting of the reptile was made.
Ah! but we did find the Otway Black Snail on our Otway tree top walk earlier in our journey!

One of the best attractions in Eden is the Cat Balou - a 16 metre aluminium catamaran, specifically built for whale watching and sight seeing. We took a 2 hour Twofold Bay Discovery cruise, and apart from interesting commentary on the history of the area, saw Boyd's Tower, Seahorse Inn at Boydtown, Edrom Lodge and whaling station sites.


An afternoon trip enabled us to sample oysters at Perimbula Beach, Cheese at the Bega Heritage Centre in Bega, and a great dinner in the Merimbula RSL !

Our return to Adelaide was through the Gippsland towns of Port Albert to Meeniyan, then on the ferry to Queenscliffe. After an overnight stop in Camperdown, we continued through Mortlake and Dunkeld to
Naracoorte and the Coorong.

Some points of interest we found on the trips:

A short distance out of Penola is Father Woods Park - named after Father Julian Edmund Tenison Woods, who often stayed with Donald and Catherine McArthur on the original Limestone Station, where he is said to have meditated, prepared sermons and celebrated Mass under a large red gum known as the "Father Woods Tree". A number of sculptures were added to the Park in 2010 and they attract many passing visitors travelling along the nearby Riddoch Highway.




The stunning coast from Portland to Port Fairy and on to Port Campbell  next day, and apart from magnificent scenery, there were beautifully preserved buildings, lakes and volcanic plains to explore!


The Otway Tree Top Walk offers  a 600 metre walk through beautiful warm temperate rainforest - 25 metres above the forest floor.  The walk commences at the visitor centre and descends gently to the entry structure and onto the steel trussed tree walk.

On the first trip, we found the distinctive, endemic and carnivorous Otway Black Snail.





Harrow -  (the oldest inland town in Victoria), is a small and picturesque hamlet of 150 people on the banks of the Glenelg River in Victoria's Wimmera district.Part of the town is situated on a hill overlooking the Glenelg River Valley. A steep and scenic road leads down to the main street which has a number of historic buildings including a log gaol, Hermitage Hotel and Kolmar House.

The first international cricket team to play for Australia was a team of Aborigines who went to England in 1868, and team members included Johnny Mullagh  (Unaarrimin). 
14 wins later, several against some of the best sides in the country, early perceptions changed forever.
The team were generally well received in England, and WG Grace, the father of English cricket, was even moved to say they showed "conspicuous skill at the game".
The Johnny Mullagh Cricket Centre has been developed by the Harrow community as a means of celebrating the story of the 1868 Aboriginal cricket team and the fascinating history of the township.
 
 The town of Harrow also has a sense of humour! -  not the least of which is the "Bones yard" which has an interesting assortment of headstones!

And finally,  Lake Bullen Merrie - a volcanic Maar near the town of Camperdown Victoria. A maar is a broad, usually circular flat floored volcanic crater with steep inner walls and surrounding rim built of rock materials blown out of the crater during volcanic eruptions. 

Most of Australia's maars are found in the southern part of Victoria's western district with more than 30 located between Colac and Warrnambool. 
The lake is stocked with Atlantic salmon, Australian bass (to 1.5kg) and brown and rainbow trout.
An unsealed road runs around the western edge of the Lake and provides a vantage point for views.