Cranbourne (for Feb. 1)

We began our day in Lakes Entrance which takes its name from being at the entrance from the ocean to a series of inland lakes. The lakes were fresh water behind the sand dunes of Ninety Mile beach. Many years ago they cut a channel through from the ocean creating a harbour for the fishing fleet which claims to be the largest fishing fleet of its kind in the southern hemisphere.


After a little bit of blogging we got out of the hotel at 10:00 and toured the town. We walked along the Esplanade observing the harbour until we reached a foot bridge across to the cut off stub of Ninety Mile beach. We walked the beach and had lunch and hit the road at 1:00.

We didn’t get far though. I had to send a time sensitive email so we sought out a wireless ‘hot spot’ in the next town. We stopped at the information centre but they weren’t aware of any so we asked for directions to the office of Telstra (Australian SaskTel). There they told us that the only hot spot in town was at McDonald’s which was across the parking lot from the Information Centre. So we returned, logged on, sent the email and downloaded our incoming email.

Telstra’s Hot Spot works differently than Telecom in New Zealand. In New Zealand you paid $10 per hour, used as much as you wanted, and carried over the balance indefinitely. Here, you have to use the full amount purchased in one session or it is lost. Needless to say, the short sessions are the most expensive. $5 per 15 minutes = $20 per hour, compared to $26 per 120 minutes = $13 per hour.

Shortly after leaving Lakes Entrance the land became gently rolling to flat and was cleared for grazing mostly for cattle with some sheep. Weather in the morning was sunny but by the time we left it had clouded over.

We stopped for some information and a bit of shopping at the turn off point for Phillip Island and then it started to rain when we left at 4:30. We had light to moderate steady rain and drizzle from then until we checked into our hotel at 11:30.

As we headed toward Phillip Island we passed through a range of forested large hills before returning to more gently rolling hills the rest of the way. Again, cattle grazing was the major agricultural pursuit.



We reached the Penguin Colony at 6:30 and toured the Visitor Interpretive Centre. Expecting large crowds, we went out to the viewing area in our rain gear and umbrella before 8:30 with the penguins arrival expected after 9:00. In fact, the penguins started arriving before 9:00 because the sky was darker than usual due to the heavy overcast. They gather in groups of about 30 in the surf just off the beach and then start waddling to shore. It was interesting to watch them assemble and then observe the parade of Charlie Chaplins up the beach. They certainly are ungainly on land. When they reached the dunes they funneled onto well trodden paths to their burrows. They waddled right past the viewing stands and boardwalks. Despite signs and park rangers warning of the importance of remaining still and quiet so as not to disturb them, many people were loud, causing the penguins to hesitate for long periods on occasion. As we returned to the Visitor Centre it was amazing how many penguins were standing around outside their burrows. It might not sound too exciting but it really was a wonder of nature. Pictures weren’t allowed because the flash startles the penguins, but we purchased a couple of their pictures. We left the Penguin Parade at 10 driving through the rain and dark arriving at our hotel in Cranbourne at 11:30.

The road today was mostly two lane undivided highway of pretty good quality comparable to Saskatchewan highways with wide paved shoulders but without the potholes.

There is also an interesting sounding Koala Centre on Philip Island that we will return to tomorrow.