Cowes not Cows

Panorama of Picnic Bay and Whisky Bay, Wilson's Prom

Squeaky Beach, Wilson's Prom

Today's view from our back window - Cowes Beach

The antidote to picture No. 3  - note the open fire!

Right, we've had our fill of wombats, but so far haven't sighted the wished-for Gang-Gang Cockatoo.  The fauna at Wilson's Promontory was unbelievably tame, with the beautiful red and blue rosellas and Little Wattle birds hopping around us, even without the inducement of food.  The wombats were so tame that, not only did I get nibbled by one, but I managed to pat one, and it didn't even lift its head from eating the grass!

Our next couple of overnights, once we left Wilson's Prom, were spent in a beautiful, deserted campsite (deserted at this time of year, but no doubt overfull at Christmas) on the edge of Wilson's Prom National Park, at a place called Shallow Inlet, near Yanackie.  We were right by a beach walkway, and surrounded by Superb Blue Wrens and more wombat holes than you could count - but nary a wombat did we see there.  There was a sign asking campers to contact the Ranger to pay the $10/night, but it turned out that charges are only incurred between November and April, so we had free run of an extensive camp, surrounded by bush, complete with water and toilets, all for nothing!  Our last night we  were a little concerned to hear a car nearby, long after dark, but as we had already pulled up the drawbridge and lowered the blinds, we didn't trouble to look.  The next morning, after a night of rain, we discovered an old Ford Falcon station wagon with 2 bedraggled young backpackers who had slept in the back of the car.  I guess they saw our van, thought that there was safety in numbers, and camped nearby.  Shades of our time on the boat when you could always count on the second boat in the bay deciding that where you were anchored must be perfect, and anchoring on top of you!!!

The countryside in this area of the eastern Gippsland is really beautiful, with rolling emerald-green hills as far as the eye can see, dotted with black and white cows, and some of the most beautiful gardens we've seen, in the various towns we've passed through on our way to Phillip Island.  Leongatha, in particular, is awash with tulips of all colours, even down the centre of the main street.

Now here we are, at Cowes Caravan Park, Phillip Island, just 15 minutes walk to the centre of Cowes, with a plethora of restaurants and coffee shops, and here we stay until 28th September.  The weather is slated to be mostly showery for the next week, so we decided that we would indulge once again in a little R&R (sorry H!), and with a beach at our back doorstep for morning walks, and bike paths all over the island, we should be able to recharge the batteries before tackling Tassie.

I think Ray has his eye on one of the restaurants in town which is offering fresh-caught Lobster on the menu.  We'll possibly need more than one walk to counteract the effects of that lunch!