The worst weather in Australia is along this coast. It’s the WILD weather that makes the wild looking coastline. Gale winds and rough seas are common here – especially in the winter. Hundreds of boats have sunk off the coast. They are basically still intact on the ocean floor and lots of folks scuba to see them. I’d have to have a THICK wetsuit because it is COLD water! We stopped in one area to take a trail called "Seaspray Walk". Again, it was a rugged coastline with volcanic reefs all along the edge. The limestone wears away and leaves the lava exposed. These are secluded beaches and many are inaccessible but beautiful from the overlooks.

We stopped at a crater lake that was the BLUEST water I have ever seen. The lake was uniformly colored, almost as bright as my blue sleeping bag! We went through another fishing village and met "Larry the Lobster". It was a huge creature outside the restaurant there…. like a huge Shoney’s Boy or something. Rusty would have had it on the web page for you to see if he’d been there! We went through a lot of pine country today. You see pines planted in straight rows for miles. The trees are all sizes and ages. These go all the way to Melbourne. Wood is a big industry here. We went to Mount Schank, which is an empty volcanic crater and climbed to the top. It was an expansive view! I so wished for the camcorder but I had left it for Andrew’s trip. (He was to be surfing with some fellas while I was on this leg) Two of us hiked a little farther up and around before we came down and we almost didn’t get any lunch! Later we would pass through the town of Millicent of 25,000. There is a Kimberly-Clark plant there. Lots of uses for the wood chips!

More blue lakes were in the scenery in the afternoon. This was one of the most scenic areas I’ve seen. We passed the Glenelg River, which goes all the way down to the coast. It was fairly narrow and lots of metal sheds and piers were constructed all along the edges. It was like folks built themselves an access to the river – like condo piers. We were again in an area with tons of sheep and cattle. We’d go inland awhile (to see the volcanic craters) and then go back out to the coast. The closer we get to Melbourne the greener it becomes. More rain occurs in this area. We passed Bridgewater Lakes… again a series of them. They are fresh lakes just inside the coastline and they are gorgeous. We stopped at Little Blue Lake, which was actually a sinkhole that filled up with water. The ground just gives way. We’ve seen a number of them. It was little as the name says and therefore warmer. A group of guys in wetsuits were jumping from the sides and playing when we got there. Lots of the young folks swam at this place so they could jump off the high cliffs – doing "bombs" as Collin called them. We stopped at Bridgewater Beach for the last swim of the day. Collin was right - it was windy and cold. Only four braved this one! There is a seal colony at Bridgewater about an hour walk from that beach. I would have liked to do that!

Our last stop on the coast today was the Crags. It was very rugged coastline where shell mounds of Aborigines are evident. Such scenic views! From there we headed into Portland which is the only port between Adelaide and Geelong (near Melbourne). There is an aluminum smelting plant there. Exports go out directly from here. There was a huge freighter in the harbor at the time and huge piles of wood chips near by. There was also a greenhouse shaped building that was gigantic. It stored wool to be shipped out.