The End of a Journey

And so we find ourselves back in Sydney and a farewell dinner at Will and Morgan’s flat.

We feel a little like we’ve completed a loop in more ways than one. The mutton birds (short-tailed shearwaters) which migrate from Alaska to the south coast of Australia of which we saw casualties of their long flight on the beaches of Eastern Australia but saw their breeding grounds along the Great Ocean Road. On their migration they cover about the same distance that we did (17,000km) We saw the bogon moths (an Aboriginal delicacy) in the tropics and went to where they migrate to breed around mount Bogon in the Victorian Alps.

We feel sad about going home, but we know that there is plenty more to explore in this vast country.

So, that’s all for now folks……

Mount Buffalo Plateau

We moved on to another area of the Victorian Alps called the Mount Buffalo Plateau, where we ascended a lookout above the plateau giving fine views of the mountain we climbed yesterday and even as far as Mount Koszcioscou which had climbed in November.

The next day we did a circular walk on the plateau, with some more lookouts across the plateau.

Melbourne

We stayed with Ed (Liz’s nephew), Natalie and their boys, Dillon and Ollie. The first day we explored around Brighton, where they live.

On Friday, Will, Morgan and Morgan’s parents arrived in Melbourne and we met up in the city to get to know each other and sight-see.

Saturday was David’s birthday night out with all of us gathering at a lovely restaurant in St. Kida’s.

On Sunday we all had a lovely family day out at a nearby wildlife park, where we were able to see the shy animals that had eluded us, including platypuses and a Tasmanian Devil.

Mount Feathertop and the Razorback

We’re now in the Victorian Alps, part of the Great Dividing Range just south of Snowy Mountains where we had been back in November.

Our first walk here was  a superb high level ridge walk along the Razorback and then up to the summit of Mount Feathertop. An excellent spot to have lunch and take in the panoramic views.

Wilson’s Promontory

Wilson’s Promontory is 200km south of Melbourne and the beauty of the area is really stunning. You have mountains, beaches, surf and wildlife all in one place.

We walked up the highest mountain for panoramic views across numerous coves and islands and then took a refreshing dip at the beach where we were camping. The next day we walked along the coast to many of the beaches we saw from the top of the mountain.

In the evening, the wombats came out. They seem to be used to humans here as we hadn’t seen any until now. The other elusive creature we saw was an echidna, a kind of weird Australian version of a hedgehog.