Port Fairy

In the morning, we walked through Port Fairy to Griffiths Island, a peninsula. Port Fairy still has some houses from the first half of the 19th century, as well as from the first half of the 20th century. The houses are typically one or at most two stories high, giving the place a certain quaintness.

Before reaching Griffiths Island, one passes by a small harbor, primarily used by fishermen. It is located about 500 meters from the sea along a river (Moyne River). This river had already been canalized in the first half of the 19th century to establish a whaling station here.

Griffiths Island is a beautiful nature reserve. The main birds found there are the Short-tailed Shearwaters (Muttonbirds), which are currently migrating. This reserve aims to provide optimal conditions for these migratory birds during breeding. Additionally, there is a lighthouse from 1859 on the island, which was besieged by Asians upon our arrival, who surely took thousands of pictures of themselves with the tower.

In the afternoon, we traveled to the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve. The park is located in a large caldera, which has a diameter of about 3 km and several smaller calderas. As for the wildlife, the usual suspects are present. Even at the Visitor Center, emus come begging for food. Koalas hang from the trees. Only the wallabies, kangaroos, and echidnas did not show themselves; they are apparently still shy and will only be seen at dusk. We took a walk around the old volcano, allowing us to see the various calderas and get a good impression of the park.