PART 2 OF WAFFLING.

 Another 2 days from October with my camera in tow.

1.  A Side Trip to Phillip Island.

Setting out one Tuesday to pick up some timber from Grantville on the  western side of Westernport Bay, somewhere we were allowed to go, we took our picnic stuff along and then made for San Remo for lunch.  Had a short walk down along the jetties looking for rays, but saw none that day.  Watching the cars heading over the bridge to Phillip Island, a decision was made to pop over and do some walking along one of it's many tracks.  What the heck if we were late home for tea.

                                          We chose this walk to Conservation Hill & Rhyll Inlet.

                                              Part of the walk took us along the boardwalk.

                                                  Aha,  we spy the inlet in the distance.

A fork in the path could take us further towards one of the towns on the island or a circular route back to the car in a the car park.  We chose to go back to the car and as we wandered along, I spotted a wallaby, but all I snapped was an empty clearing.  He was just too quick.

Nearer the car park I spotted these two Cape Barren geese & as we got closer, what did we see..........

A tiny gosling as well.  I didn't get too close & have cropped the photo so you can see it.

                                                     Right click to see it better.

A grouping of  trees with die-back, but after I took the photo I also noticed I'd captured some lovely wispy clouds behind them.  I do like getting a little surprise when you download photos.

As we drove back towards the bridge I noticed this tree carving sailing captain.  I should have got out to look at the plaque.  Very remiss of me..

The 2 boats were covered in birds which I thought amusing.

2.  Another drive just to get some photos I couldn't take when we had our little break in the caravan.

On the way  to Yarram we'd seen a couple things and nowhere to pull over with the van in tow, we knew it could be a drive sometime later.

Heading east on the Princes' Freeway you enter the LaTrobe Valley which is an area of coal mines and power stations.

A mining dredge & it's information board.  There is also a Power Museum, but closed at the moment due to Covid.  Although we've lived here in Victoria for 16 years now & pass this monstrosity on our travels, it's somewhere we've not been.

There was also this information board below & one day we may take one of these drives too.

                         We've explored a few of these areas at different times in the past, I think.

Off we went once again to find our next photo shoot, which I've been looking forward to putting on the blog.

An old timber shed painted with bookcases and their contents which I loved.  Sorry about the bins, as it must have been garbage day.😊

Across the road we have a set of manequins which I was surprised and bewildered to see out in farming country.  Evidently there are more than this, but they change them on a regular basis I've been told.  It certainly puts a smile on your face.

Heading back towards the highway, we took an alternative route and ended up trying to find Toms Cap Lookout & although we didn't quite get there, we ate lunch in the middle of nowhere.

WE pulled in here, looked at the road to the site and decided not to take the car up due to the condition of it.  We started to walk up instead but our feet were nearly vertical on the hill & it was killing our legs, so turned around, ate our lunch & took some happy snaps instead.

The hill, which I haven't done justice, as it was way steeper than it looks in the photo.

Our native Banksias in all their different stages of flowering on one tree.

                     Looking through the trees with bracken fern in abundance on the forest floor.

                                                              The ti-tree flower in closeup.

What an amazing sight..............I've know idea why this tree has grown like this & wasn't even sure what it was, though maybe one of our gums by the look of the leaves.

One last photo & it is one of my silly ideas.  I quite often throw a few quilts in the car to get "hero shots in the wild".  Most of the time I forget to take photos or it is too windy, wet or just nowhere to place them.  That day I took at least one..............

Jacob's Medallion over a Banksia branch.

Well, just for once I've kept my word by posting when I said and being able to catch up on our day trips in the middle of all this mayhem.

My camera has certainly been a constant companion through this and hopefully we are coming out the other side now, with certain restrictions lifted here in Victoria and being able to travel freely now throughout the state including Melbourne as they have lifted the "ring of steel", as they called it.

I'm so hoping that we can all keep doing the right thing & be able to live a somewhat normal life in the future.  At least we'll be able to see DD and family soon & hopefully our boys & families next year.

Take care all, stay safe & huggles from down under.

Susan.