We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Goulburn brewery with Anna and Andrew and were pleased that we followed Andrew’s recommendation to order the steak.  After a good night’s sleep in their massive guest suite, we headed off to Lake Tyers....

Stratford on the Avon, not to be confused with the English town of Stratford upon Avon, was a worthwhile stop for a coffee. The river was calm and tranquil as we walked along the art trail, starting with ‘the Globe’ that illustrated the town’s links to its sister cities....

Today was meant to be day 1 on the rail trail, but the dismal weather forecast encouraged us to make other plans. 

Port Albert was very quiet and clearly past its prime, with a number of businesses up for sale or lease....

With better weather forecast we returned to Welshpool and set off on the rail trail towards Meeniyan. The coffee in Toora, just 12 kilometres down the trail was an improvement on the previous day’s and the clouds began to lift as we left the town....

It was another cloudy morning with the promise of clearing skies, as we headed to Wilsons Promontory.  We parked at Tidal River and planned a walking route that would allow us to cover a few highlights including Squeaky Beach, named by Tourism Australia as Australia’s best beach for 2024....

It was overcast and threatening rain as we drove into Mirboo North to cycle the Grand Ridge cycle trail to Boolara.  As it was only a short 13kms each way, we had time for a leisurely coffee and a wander through the little town.  It had a few cafes, interesting shops and murals, including one featuring the native Scarlet Robin....

Back at Meeniyan again, this time to continue the Great Southern rail trail to Loch. Heading out of town we passed a community garden. We crossed the Tarim River bridge which ran alongside the old disused trestle bridge which had partially collapsed. At Koonwarra we stopped for a leisurely coffee on the verandah of Milly and Romeo’s....

A leisurely start with a wander around the village and brunch at the Loch Village food store. Though not very big, Loch had a lot to offer with boutique shops, cafes, a brewery and wine bar.

It was still overcast as we took the trail for the short 5.5km ride to Nyora, the end of the rail trail....

It was foggy as we drove through the hills to the coast, with extremely poor visibility.  We could only imagine the views we missed as we finally emerged into sunshine and views to the coast....

Our host offered an extension of time to checkout but unfortunately we had places to go.  We picked up some vegetarian tarts for dinner from Olive at Loch and headed towards Mount Worth State Park.

We detoured into Drouin for an excellent coffee at the 3618 Espresso Bar. Unfortunately it was served in a takeaway cup otherwise we would have voted it best coffee yet. Drouin was very busy and clearly a commercial hub....

With a warm day forecast, we packed lightly, as we headed to the station for the 10:15 train to Stratford. We allowed plenty of time, which as fortunate, as it turned out both our Myki cards were on our old phones and couldn’t be transferred. We set up new cards and were relieved when the machine finally read them....

Noting the absence of open cafes in the Tarra-Bulga National Park, we stopped for a coffee at One Shot Double Shot in Traralgon and bought some chicken rolls at the nearby bakery.

It was a pleasant drive to the National Park and we parked at the visitors centre which was the start of a collection of walks through temperate rainforest.  We followed the Lyrebird Ridge track and, resisting the temptation to turn right onto the Forest Track, took the short Ash Track, which joined the pretty Fern Gully Nature Walk....

We were keeping an eye out for the forecast rain, but it was still dry as we set off to the Stony Point ferry to Cowes.  We were only a few hundred metres down the road when the drizzle started and was soon heavy enough for us to stop and don rain gear....

We were very surprised to see a submarine anchored in Western Port Bay as we cycled into Cowes.  We had a few theories as to why it might be there, including that it had come in search of sought-after diesel, given the current fuel crisis....

We had time for a coffee before boarding the ferry which was almost empty.  Another couple boarded at French Island, explaining that they had caught the first ferry over and done a quick ride before heading back.  We agreed we would like to return and explore French Island sometime....

I was looking forward to exploring the Winton Wetlands.  After the beauty and prolific birdlife of the Sale Wetlands, I had high hopes.  These were quickly dashed as we discovered there was no water in the wetlands and few birds.  These are ephemeral wetlands that dry and fill in a natural cycle, and we were there towards the end of the drying phase. During this time organisms lay eggs, plants set their seeds and exposed wetland beds allow nutrients to be transformed ready for the next refill....