Barton and Wilding

Thursday 24th February

We have decided to stay in Apollo Bay for an extra night so that was the first thing that we arranged in the morning. We then went off to the Otway Fly. This is an amazing structure in the middle of a cool temperate rain forest. You start off by walking in the forest until you meet the structure. It is then a series of metal walkways with platforms at intervals where you can stop, look around and take photographs. The platforms are at different heights so you get to see the fauna and flora at the different levels. You aim for a central tower with a spiral staircase that is at the tree canopy level. You look out and see the tops of the trees. There is then a cantilevered section. Although they tell you it is designed to sway it is still un-nerving when it does as you walk along it. There was a party of school children coming along behind us so that was as good as an excuse as any to move away from there quite quickly. The next section started the descent back to ground level. There then followed the trek back up to the visitor centre and café. It was quite a climb but there were some lovely wooden seats to take a rest. We must have looked like we were struggling as the driver of the buggy used to transport the 'less active' back up the hill stopped to ask if we were ok. I'm sure if we had asked he would have given us a lift up the hill if we had needed it.

Back at the top there was the reward of lunch. It was a rather English meal of quiche and salad and veggie pastie and salad but served with an Australian touch. As it was organic it tasted really good. Pudding was a flowerless chocolate and hazelnut cake with cream. It was delicious.

Jenny did her first bit of driving on the way back. She has learnt to clamp her left foot onto the foot rest and try not to press the clutch down. The bigger challenge is that the indicators and windscreen wipers are on the different side which means that turning right often ended up as windscreen wipers going at fast. On the way back we stopped off to look at Cape Otway and the lighthouse. This is the most southerly point in Victoria. The route took us through a eucalyptus forest which had a rather mystical atmosphere and the occasional koala sitting in the fork of a tree. We did not go right down to the point as the weather was starting to close in and there was rain in the air. The weather is due to change with it getting quite hot at the weekend.

On the return to the beach house we did a few boring chores such as some washing. Whilst the machine was doing its thing we went down onto the beach and looked at the rocks. The snails and limpets were crawling around in the rock pools creating patterns that looked like aboriginal drawings. We should have had the camera, and as the tide was coming in there was no time to go back and get it before we would have had wet feet. After the meal we cooked, it was time to plan the next day.