This
Weeks Feature Destinations
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Hexham
This small
township on the Western highway about 20kms to the west of
Mortlake doesn't have any arts and crafts shops or any tourist
attractions, but is a fascinating glimpse into Australia's
history. Two beautiful old bluestone buildings, the old Presbyterian
church ( now Uniting) and the Pub ( now a private residence
) are reminders of its past glory. This is not a tourist attraction,
but one of those places where you just get out of you car
and let the town tell you its own story. From the collection
of a dozen or so mail boxes on a rickety old post where farmers
come in from outlying properties to collect their mail, the
old run down buildings that were once home to families who
worked on local farms, to the large grain silo's at the edge
of town that are a constant reminder of where the original
wealth came from. The old cemetery which is a few kms to the
west is also worth spending a few minutes to visit. The large
number of graves is an indication of the towns original size
and the grandeur of some of the memorials that mark the dynasties
that settled the area.
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Halls Gap
For anyone
with kids or grandkids, a visit to the Halls Gap Wildlife
Park is a great way to fill in a day ( or half a day) The
park is a few k's outside Halls Gap on the Ararat road and
a very family friendly operation. The park has a good collection
of native animals with lots of "hands on" things
for the kids ( and big kids) to do. Prices are very reasonable
and one place I can recommended without hesitation
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Cobden
The Cobden Miniature Railway Park is a great family day out.
Built and operated by the local Rotary and model engineers
clubs, the park has a over a dozen model trains running on
both 7 inch and 5 inch tracks as well as a 18 hole mini golf
course plus a family barbecue area. Neat, clean, well run
plus extremely well priced and in fact you can spend an entire
afternoon with the family for not much more that $20. For
families this is one of my recommend spots to visit - The
only drawback is that it is only open on Sundays ( during
school holidays )
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Timboon
The berry farm at Timboon is another favorite spot for many
locals and one of those out of the way places that doesn't
seem to get a lot of publicity -possibly the locals don't
want the tourists eating all those delicious strawberries.
The berry farm is located opposite the golf course in Timboon
and you can either bring your own container or they can provide
one for you. A very decadent way so spend an hour or so.
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Port Fairy
For the David Attenborough's amongst us, a visit to the mutton
bird ( short tailed Shearwater) colony in Port Fairy is a very
interesting late afternoon adventure. Even if you are not that
fussed about nature this is one of those wildlife activities
that you can do in relative comfort. The colony is located on
Griffiths island which is about 300 metres from the carpark
at the mouth of the Moyne river.( just follow the causeway-
picture below) Arrange to be there before dusk and you will
be treated to the sight of thousands of birds that seem to come
from nowhere and circle the colony until the instant the sun
sets and then under the cover of darkness they land and find
their way into their own burrows to feed their waiting chicks.
All you need to bring is warm clothes and a flashlight
This ritual will continue until early April when the parent
will depart for their annual migration to Alaska - and amazingly
the chicks leave about two weeks later ( and follow the adult
birds - and you thought GPS was clever !!! ) For more information
on the Mutton bird colony click
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The
following are a few suggestions on Sightseeing and Touring
within this region
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Warrnambool
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Information
Centres
the local Visitor Information Centre is located next
to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and open 7 days a week
Sightseeing you can easily spend a day just sightseeing
around the city but to get overview of the city start with
a drive down the main street (Liebig St) to Artillery Cresent
(Cannon Hill ). The bottom end of Liebig st has some attractive,
century old buildings and the view from Cannon Hill is one
of the cities best. Then take a drive along the beach road
to the breakwater for a better view of the beach and ocean
also a walk across the Merri river footbridge to Pickering
point to see a more rugged section of coastline. To complete
the tour a short drive to the Hopkins River and Logans beach
(whale lookout) should fill in an afternoon nicely
Visit Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village is the cities
premier tourist attraction and you can fill in a day there,
also a picnic lunch at Tower Hill natural history centre is
a good way to see some local flora and fauna
Tours Southern Right Charters operates ocean charters
and some land based tours and Hopkins river cruise has two
hour cruises up the Hopkins river
Driving Tours Warrnambool is popular destination for
centred touring as it is about an hour from Port Campbell,
ninety minutes from the Grampians and an hour to Portland,
so day tours to the 12 Apostles etc, the Grampians and Portland
can fill in at least three days. There is also public transport
( via V-Line) that runs day trips to each these destinations
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Port Fairy
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Information
Centres
the Port Fairy visitor information centre is located in Moyne
river end of Bank st and is open 7 days a week
Sightseeing the
town of Port Fairy has quite a lot of history which for the
most part can be seen on foot. A walk from Sackville St to
the wharf, including a visit to the History centre is a good
way to see many of the towns historic buildings and the picturesque
Moyne river, possibly fish and chips on the wharf to
finish it off.
Tours
Boat trips around the bay are
available from the Moyne wharf area plus there is a self guided
walking tour available from the information centre which covers
most of the historic sites and takes about an hour to complete.
Driving tours
a
day trip to Tower Hill, Koroit and Warrnambool or to the Grampians
are popular options or visit "The Crags" which is
a spectacular section of coastline close to the small town
of Yambuk, also there is quite a large windfarm close by and
a local tour operator runs tours around the windfarm
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Grampians
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Information
Centres
the local Visitor Information Centre is located
close to the Mobil service station in Halls Gap
Sightseeing there is not much to see in either Halls
Gap or Dunkeld as the
main attraction in this region is the scenery and geography.
Visit -
Brambuk ( the local aboriginal cultural centre) is an interesting
place to visit and has a lot of information on local aboriginal
arts, culture etc. The local Halls Gap wildlife park place
to see a huge selection of Australian flora and fauna and
somewhere I would recommend for families to visit. The Four
Sisters winery
which is located a few kms out of Halls Gap on the Pomonal
road is one of the regions most recognised wineries.
Driving tours
popular
locations include
Boroka lookout, McKensies Falls, The Balconies and Zumsteins,
although Zumsteins which was once an artist colony is now
a very sad looking spot and most of the buildings are now
derelict.
The Grampians is also good bush walking country and abounds
with wildlife, also has some fairly significant aboriginal
rock art. Visits to local wineries, day trips to Stawell and
Ararat and ballooning tours are also popular.
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Apollo
Bay
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Information
Centres the local Visitor Information Centre is located
on the beachfront at the Eastern end of the Apollo Bay main
street, there is also a small museum come gift shop at the
golf course end of the shopping strip
Sightseeing for most people, a drive up to Mariners
lookout is a good introduction to the town
Visit -
the Cable Station historical museum records the towns link
with Australias first submarine cable which linked Victoria
with Tasmania in the 1850's
Driving
tours
for
anyone who enjoys geting off the beaten track then the Otways
will be heaven. It is a maze of twisting winding logging roads
that cut through some of the best rain forest in Australia
( and that includes the Daintree) Triplet falls which situated
just out of Beech Forest is a set in a striking section of
rain forest but nearly an hours drive from Apollo Bay, If
that is a bit too far then Maits Rest which is about 10kms
to the west of Apollo Bay is a small but very accessible section
of rain forest. The Cape Otway light station is located about
20kms to the west and depending on how much you enjoy looking
at lighthouses will dictate whether you find the cost
of admission excessive .
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Port
Campbell Peterborough
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Information
Centres The shipwreck museum opposite the pub and the National
Parks information centre (also close to the pub) have visitor
information services plus are a good way to fill in an hour
or so,but don't expect the Melbourne museum as this is only
a small town
Sightseeing there is not much to see in either Port Campbell
or Peterborought but the spectacular coastal scenery is why
the majority of people visit this area. From The 12 Apostles
to The Bay of Islands ( abour 25kms apart ) there are about
a dozen places you can visit, the most popular are 12 Apostles
- Loch Ard Gorge - London Bridge - Bay of Islands which will
take about 2 hours by the time you stop and take photos etc.
By Air - this section of the coast looks even better
from the air. - There are two Air Charter flight operators -
a helicopter service based at the 12 Apostles and a fixed wing
service that operates from an airstrip close to Peterborough
Visit - Glenample Homestead (opposite Gisbon's Steps)
has a very tenious link to the Loch Ard shipwreck and not worth
the cost of admission. Other local attractions are Timboon Farmhouse
Cheese, the Timboon Berry farm and Heytesbury Ridge Winery these
are all free entry but are commercial ventures that sell local
produce
Driving Tours an afternoon drive to visit the farming
towns of Timboon, Cobden and Simpson will reveal another side
to this region.
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Robe
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Information
Centres the local visitor informaton
centre is located next to the Post Office in the centre of
Robe it also has quite a lot of information on the towns fascinating
history
Sightseeing Robe is quite spread out so plan on a short
drive around the town to see some of the highlights.
A drive out to Long beach (a
17km strip of white sand) and
nearby is the old gaol, then
out to Cape Dombey and a visit to the Obelisk and Doorway
Rock and the Robe's unusual lighthouse should take about an
hour then a walk around the town and fishing marina will help
you get your bearings.
The historic Customs house and Karratta House ( the governors
residence ) are both open to the public and have good displays
Tours
Robe is best known for its fishing and there are
a number of charter operators who run fishing tours from the
marina
Driving
Tours the Cape Jaffa and
Mt Benson wineries are the regions best known and are quite
close to Robe - also a drive along the coast to Beachport
is a good way to see some of the local scenery.
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