Not quite the rail trail

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.  We took a walk along the Christopher Robinson trail, named after the Green Peace conservationist, and lined with mangroves and salt marshes. We were considering the merits of cycling the trail when it narrowed considerably.  At this point we turned around, passing a fallen sign that said the trail was closed.

We stopped in Welshpool for coffee at a cute little curio store.  It was a long wait for coffee, which turned out to be so awful that Simon didn’t even bother to finish his.  The weather was closing in as we drove up to nearby Agnes Falls. Fortunately, it was a short walk to the falls which are the highest single span falls in Victoria. 

The rain eased as we approached Foster for lunch and a quick look around the art gallery before heading onto Meeniyan in the hope of picking up some ready made meals from Trullis pantry.

Meeniyan had a few interesting shops that were open for browsing but unfortunately the pantry was closed, despite being advertised as open on Mondays.  We stocked up on some cooking supplies before heading onto Fish Creek, our base for the next fewl days. 

Now knowing that many places were closed mid week, we managed to visit just one shop as it was shutting up for its mid week break.  The owner explained that shop opening hours were largely dictated by the cafes.  If cafes were closed, then there was no point opening as tourists didn’t stop in the towns. 

Returning to the car, we admired the Big Fish windvane made from recycled road signs and one of the sculptures from the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The nearby ‘Ride the Wild Goat’ sculpture garden was created by the owners as a gift to the local community. 

Our final stop was Mt Nicholl lookout, a short climb from the car park, but unfortunately lacking the promised views to Wilsons Promontory.

Prev entry - Home - Next entry