Ironically… we never watched the ABC tv series Sea Change back in the late 1990’s. We did however binge it a couple of months before we headed off on this trip… So when we were looking for place to stay after the Mornington Peninsula it was a simple choice to stop in at Pearl Bay, known in the real word as Barwon Heads. Primarily we chose it because it was only a short drive from the Sorrento/Queenscliff SeaRoad Ferry that we used to avoid having to drive all the way up and around Melbourne and Geelong.

The town has obviously moved on a bit since the tv series but the icons are still there. Divers Dans Shack is now a trendy cafe/kiosk, the caravan park is much larger than it looks on the tv series, and you can still see the bar from the Pearl Bay hotel although it has been refurbished.

Barwon Heads is still seems to be relatively sleepy although the main street, which is back a bit from the bridge does have a number of trendy shops including a ‘provedore’ and some of those ‘exclusive’ boutiques; the type that sell cheescloth shirts for $200+. Aside from that it’s still a beachy village where you can fish from Diver Dan’s wharf or wobble around on a stand-up paddle board beneath the bridge…

We drove through Queenscliff after disemabarking the ferry and driving to Barwon Heads. It looked quite nice so decided to go back for a better look since the weather wasn’t brilliant while we were at Barwon Heads.

Larger than Barwon Heads, Queenscliff is is the Entrance to Port Phillip bay and has a Victorian feel about it. The most noticeable feature is Fort Queenscliff, now a museum and active Defense site that operates as the Army’s Soldier Career Management Agency. It’s quite an impressive piece of history in blocky miltary compound sort of way.

Queenscliff also has its ubiquitous Lighthouse, in fact two. A smaller green one as part of Fort Queenscliff and the white Lighthouse, which is quite close to the fort as well. The lighthouse also provided an opportunity to walk a coastal track and enjoy the natural cliff faces and rock ledges where the land meets Bass Strait.

The coast around the lighthouse consists of the cliff face down to beaches and rock ledges that are that pock-marked with rock pools and naturally sculpted erosion features. The rock pools are fascinating but, as usual, we didn’t come across and exotic or charismatic sea critters; just the usual limpets, snails and periwinkles…

One of the lesser know facts about Queenscliff is that this is where the escaped convict William Buckley (of the saying “Buckley’s and none”) settled after he escaped from the penal colony. He lived, while on the run, with indigenous aboriginals in a cave at Point Lonsdale where the lighthouse stands.

No trip to the Mornington Peninsula is complete without visiting some of the plethora of wineries to choose from there. To be honest… it wasn’t really winery weather being a bit on the cool and overcast side of Autumn. Never the less we did make a token effort.

Our first stop was Dromana Estate Winery. It was set on lovely garden estate amongst the vinetard in a weatherboard building that housed the restaurant as well as a tasting area. We tasted a decent proportion of their range and left with one white and one red but sad to say that nothing really grabbed us. In hindsight, Dromana Estate felt a little pretentious and underwhelming. Perhaps we had been spoilt by the wineries we visited along the Murray on a previous trip.

We forged on and pulled in at the HickinBotham winery; not too far from Dromana. This winery seemed a bit more inviting and the grounds were a little more interesting with some old drays and wine-making machinery scattered around the carpark.

We wandered into the tasting room and were met by a fairly enthusiastic host who asked us what we would like to taste but insisted that we start with their Sparkling Taminga (a little known Australian grape variety). We were both gob-smacked by this little cracker that was crisp and fruity with a slight fizz. What surprised us most is that we tried the still version of the Taminga and didn’t find it terribly appealing. In the end we left with a couple of bottles of the Sparkling Taminga and one of their reds as well.

At this point we decided to abandon any further wineries as we didn’t really have the storage space for any more. Instead we headed for lunch at the Jetty Road Brewery, also in Dromana. It proved to be a good choice because it was definitely more like beer and cider weather than wine weather. We both had a brisket roll, which were as good as a brisket roll gets. The only issue wasc hoosing a beer given that the vast majority of their range is Pale Ale, IPA, XPA… Ugh! I’ll never understand the current love affair with ‘pale ales’; like munching on a bunch of flowers… In the end I chose a wheat beer. Stupid me… it still had overtones of pale ale. Should have just had the lager. Jo enjoyed her cider.

That was it for Mornington Peninsula wineries. For this trip anyway. With no space to carry more wine and the weather not being condusive to winery hopping we decided that sight-seeing was the better option at this time.

Having decided to bypass anymore wineries we spent a morning in the Flinders area of Mornington Peninsula. First stop was the Flinders Pier, which has recently been subject of a ‘save the Flinders Pier’ campaign to retain this piece of Victorian heritage.

We didn’t spend much time in the Flinders township; again opting to head to the coastline and spend some time hiking on the trails and boardwalks along the beaches and bluffs. The bluffs are he typical mix of sandstone and black basaltic rock that provide nooks and crannies for the hardy coastal trees, bushes and mosses that eke out a living against the harsh ocean winds and salt spray.

The rocky ledges at the water level provide the perfect place for the ocean to carve out a labrynth of rock pools, each with their own distinctive shape, depth and inhabitants. Despite the crystal clarity of the rock pools I’m sad to say that we didn’t encounter any exotic critters like crabs, blue-ringed octopus or anything of that nature. Still there were plenty of snails, limpets and peri-winkles clinging onto the walls and squeezing into the cracks.

You could spend an entire day just browsing each little rockpool universe but there were other places to see… like Cape Schank.

We’re both suckers for a lighthouse… Lighthouses always promise the image of rugged wind-swept coastlines with magnificent panoramic views and a solid, reassuring beacon standing against the elements. Cape Schank Lighthouse doesn’t disappoint.

Starting operation in 1859, it still operates and you can see the light slowly revolving even during the day when the light is off. There’s a few kilometres of walking tracks around the area that take you from the lighthouse down to the beach below via boardwalks and steps. The walk takes in tree lined paths, cliff views and rocky beaches bordering Bass Strait.

Once again the cool overcast weather provided the perfect backdrop and enhanced the scenery which a hint of drama as you contemplated the vast number of shipwrecks littered along the coastline.

Very possibly our favourite part of our time on the Mornington Peninsula…

Tidal River is about two-thirds of the way down Wilsons Promontory and is as far as you can go by car. It terminates with a very large campground that includes a shop/cafe and an outdoor picture theatre.

Another point of interest at the campground is a monument to the Australian Commandos who used the area as a training ground during the two World Wars. It was chosen for its wilderness and remoteness.

Tidal River is also the primary point for hikers who want to make the 17km trek down to the very bottom of The Prom’. It can be done in a day but probably best done as a two or three night camping trek. The weather was deteriorating whilst we were there so little chance of us even contemplating such a venture. Besides which, there are plenty other spots for walking and viewing.

The beach/inlet at Tidal River, while small is quite picturesque and had that rugged ‘winter is coming’ feel to it. The wind was picking up and the surf was rolling in hard from the Southern Ocean. Some places look better when the weather is turning for the worse.

One of the weird things about the beach at Tidal River was the area where the freshwater river meets the sea. We noticed a number of bubbles gurgling away, which we firt thought was some sort of critter beneath the sand. We dismissed this idea because the bubbles were too regular and strong. We then noticed a number of small mounds in the sand just above the water line. When you stood on these mounds they would depress as if there was a partially filled balloon below the surface. It felt quite strange and we can only surmise that there is some for of trapped gas slowly bubling up from below. The short videos below show this strange phenomenon…

Nearby to Tidal River is a lookout beside Mt Oberon. Only a short drive but worth the effort to get an idea of the interior of The Prom’ and the National Park wilderness area that covers it.

The Prom’ really is one of those places that looks its best when the weather is a bit wild and cantankerous. No doubt it is a great spot for summer camping but we thoroughly enjoyed seeing it as a wild place with minimal people.

So as the weather turned greyer and wetter we turned our heads to other areas around The Prom’ and our first stop was the village of Fish Creek. It’s one of those quiet little ‘out of the way’ communities that punches above its weight when you look into it a bit.

The first thing you notice as you drive into town is the large fish sculpture thats sits, and spins, atop a pole. I couldn’t find any information about it but I believe it is meant to represent a blackfish and had something to do with the 2000 Olympics. As far as ‘big things’ go… it’s actually quite pleasing as it slowly turns as the wind changes.

It is the home of Alison Lester, the Australia children’s author and illustrator. She has a shop in Fish Creek full of childrens books. As a point of interest, we couldn’t quite figure out why we knew the name and then it dawned on Jo that both our boys were taught in the ‘Alison Lester Unit’ building at their primary school.

Another notable at Fish Creek is the Celia Rosser Gallery. Celia Rosser is a botannical illustrator and some of her work is in Parliament House. Unfortunately the gallery was closed on the day we were there.

After a wander around Fish Creek we drove back down towards the coast and had a short walk to see the Cape Liptrap Lighthouse. It was at its best sitting atop a rugged coastal cliff with the wind howling up the cliff face and whipping the foliage around. It was the first fully automatic Commonwealth funded lighthouse.

Our last full day in The Prom’ region was centered around the Foster area. Foster is one of the larger towns near The Prom’ but not our destination for the day. We headed straight for Agnes Falls, the largest waterfall in Victoria at 59m. To get to the falls you drive up into the hills where you get up close an personal with a series of wind turbines that tower above the road spinning lazily in the wind.

The falls are set in a well maintained park area and fed by the Agnes River that winds its way through some lush green dairy land. It is a very tranquil and serene setting and would make a perfect picnic setting on summer’s day. As it was, we were there on a cool, overcast day with the whole place to ourselves so that was also a little pleasure that we could enjoy.

From Agnes Falls we drove back via Port Welshpool. This was primarily to take a look at the Port Welshpool Jetty, which is the third longest wooden jetty still standing in Australia. It curves out into the water for nearly 800m and was shortened after refurbishment in the early 2000’s.

The jetty has a number of purpose built fishing shelters at the end that provide welcome relief from the biting wind. There is also a shed that houses a historic winch with a diving bell on display outside it. It was a pleasant walk out to the end of the jetty and back despite the cold wind blowing directly off the water. A number of hardy fishers were holed up at the end of the jetty and you can imagine that it would be quite pleasant dropping in a line (and catching nothing) on a warm summer’s evening.

That pretty much marked the end of our time on The Prom’. It’s worth noting though that we were expecting prices to be somewhat inflated down this way given that it’s a little bit out of the way… We were pleasantly surprised to see that fuel and groceries at the Yanakie store weren’t really any different to anywhere else we had been since leaving home. It’s nice to be surprised like that.

Anyway… it’s off to the Mornington Peninsula…

So… the batteries!!! On the afternoon of our arrival in Sale we ducked into town to get some groceries and noticed an automotive battery shop (Triple M Repair Centre / Sale Battery Centre & Oils). Rob pulled in in the off chance that we might be able to get some advice and/or help.

The owner, Mitch, listened patiently to our story and suggested that the problem was most likely that our batteries were on the way out even though they were only two years old (you should expect about five years from these batteries). He did, very graciously, say that he would be in his shop on Sunday morning, when we were leaving, and that he would be happy for us to pull by and he would test our batteries for us. That was thankfully noted by us as something to cling on to.

We spent another night in the van watching the batteries slowly drain down from 12.2V to 10.0V using as little electricity as possible and converting all cooking, fridge and hot water to gas operation. Thankfully the night was not cold again so the heater wasn’t required even if we could have run it.

The next morning we stopped by an Auto Electrician just to see if they could provide any help or advice. In a nutshell… No was the answer. They didn’t know anything about caravan battery systems… but Rob did mention that we were carrying a battery charger and whether it would be worth pulling the batteries out and charging them from a separate power point (caravan power points are different to household power points). ‘Tracker’ the auto-electrician suggested that I could simply connect the charger to the caravan outlet and then to the battery (without removing them). Rob was skeptical because the mains power didn’t seem to be getting into the caravan in the first place.

In any case we returned to the van and plugged said charger into the vans outlet and connected it to the battery… Good new!!! the battery was taking charge. Not a final solution but probably good enough that we could keep doing this until we got somewhere where we could get it looked at properly.

With some weight off our shoulders Rob continued to ponder the problem trying to determine whether the batteries were at fault, the battery management system or the wiring. With one last desperate thought Rob opened up the tunnel boot and took one last look at the battery management box… There was a little blurb about a ‘red’ and a ‘green’ LED and what they meant… What red and green LED was this??? Where were they? I can’t see any red or green LED!!!

So getting my head down as flat on the floor as possible I noticed in the small gap under the unit… not an LED but a small black piece of plastic protruding from the metal case… Putting my phone camera in ‘selfie’ mode and carefully sliding it under the bottom of the case… Oh look!!! An On/Off switch… shit, shit, shit, shit… shit!!!

I disconnected the external battery charger and flicked on the battery management switch and… VOILA!!! Problem solved. Batteries immediately sucking in the mains power and all electrics back online… Shit, shit, shit, shit… shit!!!

It would seem that the portable gas stove box was just slim enough to slide under the battery management box and probably bounced up after hitting a bump on the way to Orbost flicking the battery management switch off…

With our sphincters collectively relaxed Rob re-organised the tunnel boot to prevent this from happening again and we celebrated with a cup of tea made on the electric hot-plate and enjoyed a spot of electrically heated air that night…

Having solved the battery saga we were able to relax enough to do some afternoon sight-seeing around Sale. First stop… the historic Sale Swing Bridge…

Built in the 1880’s it is a very elegant piece of engineering thats opens horizontally around a set of central support pillars that allows boats to pass around either side. It is now closed to traffic but is still opened a few times a week after having been restored and repaired from vandalism a number of years ago.

The bridge is surrounded by a well kept park area that includes a sculpture, in metal, of an aboriginal bark canoe. There are also well kept wharves a short distance upstream and downstream from the bridge,

Across the road from the bridge is a decent sized billabong set amongst the gums. It is notable for the brown algae (?) layer covering the entire surface making it look a little surreal as a flock of swans glide along what looks like a solid brown surface producing no ripples or wake.

The swing bridge area is a really peaceful place and would be ideal for lazy afternoon picnic with wine and cheese…

Returning from the Sale Swing Bridge we stopped in at the Sale Botannic Gardens. These tranquil gardens are beautifully laid out and we were welcomed by a pair of very tame peacocks at the entrance. The gardens are surrounded by a broader wetland area and pack quite a bit into a relatively compact area.

The gardens themselves are very well maintained and present a wide variety of plants and trees. The weather was a bit overcast and slightly dismal during our visit but this actually seemed to enhance the gardens in full autumn hue with displays ranging from evergreens through to fiery oranges and auburns of the deciduous trees.

The gardens are laid out in a series of areas interconnected by gravel paths with lush green grass areas, pergola style structures and mini-forests that have a functional aesthetic containing a number of bright orange sun lounges.

The star of the Sale Botanic Gardens is a fair-dinkum Wollemi Pine; the famous living fossil, thought be extinct until a small number were found outside Sydney in 1994. The location of these relics is kept secret but it’s comforting to know that they can still been seen in places like this having been cultivated as part of a re-generation program.

Another (literally) striking tree in the Sale Botanic Gardens is the lightening tree, which bears a massive open scar down the length of its trunk having been struck by lightening. The tree itself looks perfectly healthy despite the trauma of the strike.

Another pleasant aspect of the gardens are the scattered wooden sculptures found in some areas that provide a bit of extra visual interest. They’re skilfully executed and serve to draw your eye into areas that are otherwise a bit plain and less visually exciting.

We highly recommend a visit to the Sale Botanic Gardens as a soothing way to pass an hour or so… especially if you’re recovering from the trauma of… say… travelling in a caravan with non-functionaing batteries…

With some improved weather and Rob’s head cold settling down we took the opportunity to take a drive out to Youngs Creek Falls. Not what you’d call a picture postcard waterfall but a nice bushwalk along an easy, well made track to the falls themselves. You can view the falls from above and below, which cascade through a fissure in a massive rock wall surrounded by atypical Victorian bushy scrub.

The falls start at the top as a number of rock pools and finish, also, in a series of rock pools continuing into a tree lined gully. You get to the walking track by following what looks like a series of forestry roads that are well-marked and were in good condition.

At the start of the walking track there is an abandoned steam engine that provides another point of interest as it quietly rusts into the bush-scape. As you walk along the track you are treated to some beautiful natural bush art in the form of mossy rocks, mossy fallen trees and hollowed out tree trunks providing a natural bowl for fungi, plants and yet more moss.

Youngs Creek Falls was a very pleaseant side trip and not too taxing if you’re recovering from a head cold…

So our trip was going well… the weather wasn’t being kind with cold temperatures and on/off rain following us from Bombala to Orbost.

Issue 1 – With the cooler temperatures at night we tried to crank up the diesel heater, which decided that it wasn’t going to crank up… Some furious googling suggested that I should have been starting it up once a month and that the diesel in the fuel line has probably gone a bit off… My fault for not reading the manual and we’ll get this sorted at a later date.

However, this gave us a chance to try the heating side of the van’s reverse cycle air-conditioner. It worked beautifully and we were comfortably warm inside our mobile box. Given that we’ll be on powered sites all the way through to Adelaide this is not a problem….UNTIL…

We checked the energy management panel and the batteries were reading 10.8 Volts. Seriously NOT good. They should be reading around 12.5 V and higher when connected to mains and charging.

Issue 2 – On our last night in Orbost we noticed a bright red warning notification on the van’s fridge and that it had automatically swapped from mains electricity to gas operation. Hmmmmm…

First thoughts… dud batteries! We quickly turned off all electrics in the hopes that it was a simple as having too much running at once. Thankfully it was a milder night and the heater wasn’t required.

Batteries continued to drop… I checked that the mains was connected and that power was coming into the van, no fuses had blown (in the van or at the mains connection point). Nothing apparent… Rob spent a very sleepless night trying to figure out the problem whilst Jo was beginning to show signs of her own head cold.

After getting up the next day and stressing a bit more over the batteries we hitched up for the drive to Sale, our next stop. We had a hasty phone call with Supreme, who couldn’t tell us what was wrong but gave us some comfort that the batteries would, at the least, get some charge into them as we drove and from the solar panels as well.

<To be continued in Sale…>