The State We’re In 2026 – Day 31 – Lava-ly day in Victoria

November 10, 2026

We say goodbye to Warrnambool and head north-west. It receives our seal of approval. We go with the flow on Lava Street. We pass through prime dairying country. Macarthur still celebrates their past unwelcome tag as the most boring town. Even Eric Olthwaite would leave Denley Moor to move here. Bubonic Plague re-enactment? Newspaper clippings … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 31 – Lava-ly day in Victoria

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 30 – Port Campbell Coast

November 9, 2026

Warrnambool Cheese and Butter factory – enjoying butter is like the pandemic – you can’t stop the spread. The Big Milkshake at Cheeseworld – they were closed so I missed out – I was udderly devastated. The source of the milk Bay of Islands at Port Campbell National Park features a series of sheer cliffs … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 30 – Port Campbell Coast

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 29 – More Volcanoes

November 8, 2026

On a country road between Warrnambool and Cobden, we found Bender. Cobden is prime dairying country and the home of Western Star butter. Western Star butter benches on the four corners in the middle of town. Dairy farm near Cobden Lake Colac is the largest natural freshwater lake in Victoria. It is very shallow, with … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 29 – More Volcanoes

The State We’re In 2028 – Day 28 – Volcanoes

November 7, 2026

Like Mount Schank that we visited earlier in our journey, it is geologically possible for volcanoes in this area to erupt again though it could still be a few thousand years away. This is still geologically young. Today we visited several volcanic cones and craters as well as a waterfall that cascades over old lava … More The State We’re In 2028 – Day 28 – Volcanoes

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 27 – Warrnambool and Tower Hill

November 6, 2026

The Warrnambool Seal has been a popular feature of the city centre since 2018. It was crafted by Dave Jones so it really is out of Davey Jones Locker. Lake Pertobe is a wetland between the city and the coast. We were not at all pertobed to walk it’s many tracks. Yellow lichen Melaleuca “The … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 27 – Warrnambool and Tower Hill

The State We’re in 2026 – Day 26 – Cape Bridgewater

August 24, 2026

Steam and Packet Inn in Portland – built between 1841 and 1842. Over the years, the building served as a hotel, a guesthouse, police barracks, and a National Trust house museum before becoming a private home. It is one of the oldest surviving timber buildings in Victoria. The big woodchip pile at the port. Two … More The State We’re in 2026 – Day 26 – Cape Bridgewater

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 25 – Portland

August 23, 2026

Places near Portland we hope to visit over the next two days. Portland Bay is the only deep sea port between Adelaide and Melbourne offering a sheltered anchorage against the often wild weather of Bass Strait. It services the grain and timber industries as well as the local aluminium smelter. Alcoa Portland is Australia’s third largest aluminium smelter, with a capacity … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 25 – Portland

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 24 – The South of South Australia

August 22, 2026

Telford Scrub Conservation Park protects remnant native vegetation in a region that is now mostly extensive pine plantations and dairy farms. A track mean­ders through a swamp gum wood­land with an under­sto­ry of aus­tral brack­en fern … …. before con­tin­u­ing north over veg­e­tat­ed sand ridges through a brown stringy­bark open for­est.  Grey fantail on a bracken … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 24 – The South of South Australia

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 23 – Naracoorte Caves

August 21, 2026

Today we travel about an hour north of Mount Gambier to Naracoorte Caves, a World Heritage cave system. Bool Lagoon near Naracoorte is one of the largest and most diverse fresh­wa­ter lagoon sys­tems in south­ern Aus­tralia. This sea­son­al wet­land is home to a wide range of wildlife and pro­vides essen­tial drought refuge for 150 species including … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 23 – Naracoorte Caves

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 22 – Mount Gambier craters and karst

August 20, 2026

A day in Mount Gambier visiting a local physio followed by a look at the volcanic and limestone features around the town. Cave Garden in the centre of town. Cave Garden / Thugi contains a 30 m deep cave. The cave was initially used as a water source for the town. Cast in Blue artwork near … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 22 – Mount Gambier craters and karst

The State We’re In 2026 – Day 21 – The Limestone Coast

August 19, 2026

Robe was described by a local as a quaint drinking village with a fishing problem. There is also a lot of history. Robe was founded in 1846 and became South Australia’s second-busiest international port, after Port Adelaide. Robe’s trade was drawn from a large hinterland that extended into western Victoria, and many roadside inns were built to … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 21 – The Limestone Coast