11/02/2023 from Port Campbell to Killarney Costal Reserve

Still in the early morning the air is clear, but soon thick clouds and occasional fog come in, will we see enough today? We visit Loch Ard Gorge again, which we missed yesterday because it was already late and we still want to do laundry. So we visit the place where one of the major shipwrecks of that time occurred in 1878. The three-master ship Loch Ard coming from England runs aground near Port Campbell, out of the 55 passengers on board only 2 survived. It is extensively reported how an apprentice sailor and an 18-year-old girl survived the disaster and how they were eventually rescued. Vividly, we see the obstacles that ships have to expect here near the coast and exactly where the ship ran aground at that time. Continuing, we go to The Grotto and are surprised with a particularly beautiful sight, an oversized cave allows a view of the sea. The last point of interest on the Great Ocean Road are the rocks protruding from the water in the Bay of Island Coastal Park. We can clearly see the influences of water power, sun, and wind. Changes have to be expected here every day. We leave the Great Ocean Road and are very satisfied to have seen these natural beauties in peace and each for itself. In the town of Warrrnambool, we visit the Visitor Centre, a friendly young woman books the next spot for us and we spend our obligatory hour on the World Wide Web. It's Saturday, we need to buy gas and something nice for tonight.

The campsite is well-attended, in the middle there is a sports field where the young men of the town play cricket. We go to the beach, not for swimming, but to see the sea. The Hooded Plover is warned against and suddenly and unexpectedly, the Plover chicks are running around near the beach, not so close that we can photograph them, but they are there, and so small. Tomorrow morning we have to go to the beach again very early, maybe they are already there and posing for us.