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Dear family and friends! As I have not posted for over a week, this one is lengthy! The Coles Notes edition is as follows:

Saw Wilsons Promontory, visited Lakes Entrance, Mallacoota and Eden,  missed a kangaroo, returned car to Canberra, and paid double for one hotel room.

Day 21: February 21Okay…this has been a live-and-learn period of our Aussie visit! We are now heading for Brisbane on a Qantas flight from Canberra after returning our rental vehicle yesterday and staying overnight at the Capital Executive Apartment Hotel, after an unfortunate double-booking. I’ll come back to that learning experience after catching you up on our journeys. So…back to continuing from last post…

Day 15: February 15

We arose on our “country estate” BnB to beautiful bird songs and sunny weather and the promise of warmth. We had a lovely drive over to the town of Leongatha where Sandy bought some warm fleece pants, and I enjoyed a “flat white” coffee while making friends with a stray border collie. Then we headed over the mountains to Wilsons Promontory to visit some spectacular beaches. Unfortunately, we learned that we should always pack our bathing suits and towels, as we had inappropriate gear for swimming. (Who swims in new fleece pants?)

Back at the ranch, we had dinner, and then enjoyed the beautiful dusk and bird calls while I picked some fruit in the orchard. No koalas! (But also – no spiders or snakes.)

Day 16: February 16

Slow start followed by easy drive just off the coast through a few small towns to Lakes Entrance. Our registration took a bit of time as we got to know the chatty young desk attendant, and the owners’ very cute young toddler daughter – Ava. We finally got our room key for 2 nights in a lovely clean room on a very quiet street beside a magnificent view of the water. 

The Tourist Info in Lakes Entrance provided us with a beautiful map of the area, and we were directed to all of the walking paths available. We began with a walk across the first inlet to the outer beach area. As evening approached, a chilly breeze cut our meandering short, so we headed back to our motel. Unfortunately, the “best sunset view” was blocked by clouds. 

Day 17: February 17

After our motel breakfast, and some cleaning chores, we headed back into town for more explorations. Lakes Entrance is a pretty little town with a beautiful harbour and is obviously well known for its main industry – tourism. In the evening we watched news of rapidly moving bush fires east of Canberra, and another near Christchurch NZ. That same night, a powerful local wind storm in Sydney ripped roofs off of 4 houses in Nicki’s neighbourhood. Luckily, her place was untouched except for some branch litter! (And also in the news…always in the news…the Donald!)

Day 18: February 18 (Did you notice how easy it is for me to match the day to the date?)

We don our rain gear for the inclement, chilly weather and head towards our friends, Gabe and Ursula, in Eden. At their suggestion, we have decided to take another run out to the coast to visit the town of Mallacoota. It turns out to be have high interest to campers, and fishers, and we saw over 500 campsites around the water front. Our intention was to have a coffee on a patio, but chill, and a couple of upwind smokers drove us inside. We headed out of town for a sandwich at a beach picnic area, and were strolling out on the beach to check out the big rollers when a rain squall came in. End of that effort!

Back on the road to Eden, I glanced into the rear view mirror just as Sandy yelled, and a kangaroo leapt out in from of us. I hit the binders hard as it fell on its side right by my right front wheel. Our speed was way too fast to stop, but when I looked back in the rear view, there was no sign of the roo. It had made it…and eventually, we did too – to the lovely old whaling community of Eden, and the beautiful “bed and breakfast” suite in the home of Gabe Gajdatsy, and Ursula Wall.

Day 19: February 19

After a 8 km walk, and a very tasty pancake breakfast on the deck overlooking Aislee Bay, Gabe and Ursula take us on a road trip to Ben Boyd National Park where this historical character built a very tall tower for whale spotting – to get a jump on his competitor whale spotters. The tower is located on a cliff promontory overlooking spectacular rocky shores.

Next we drove to the historical Davidson residence of a whaling family at Kiah Bay in the same park. This beautiful bay was the site of a very successful (gruesome and odiferous, apparently) whaling operation where aboriginals worked with the family, and herding orcas, which would force the blubber whales into the bay where they were slaughtered and rendered. A tour of downtown Eden followed lunch at Ben Boyd’s original home lodge, and then our day ended with a lovely supper at our residence.

Day 20: February 20

Today we leave our friends and head back to Canberra to return our rental car and spend a night before catching a flight to Brisbane. They won’t let us leave, however, without another beach walk and tasty omelet breakfast. We say our good-byes and head off. The road to back to Canberra takes us through some picturesque farmland, a highway accident, road construction, a mountain climb, and on to the town of Bungendore where we have been advised to stop in to the Wood Store. The displays of fabulous wood artifacts in this place leave me stunned, and amazed. There is SOOO much to learn and create in wood! My list of workshop projects grows!

Back in Canberra, we lose our GPS signal to Google Maps just as we are negotiating through rush-hour traffic to return our rental car. After a touch of panic, and a phone call, we find our way to Thrifty’s, and then make our way to the Capital Executive Apartment Hotel. Bad news! We (I) have inadvertently booked through Booking.com TWICE, and must now pay for two rooms. (I missed the first email confirmation somewhere along the way.) My email appeal to the manager is rejected due to “strict Cancellation Policy”. (I could have used that money way more wisely at Lee Valley!)