SUNDAY 8 FEBRUARY     PORTLAND

Today was a little clearer, but it was really late – 11am – before we felt like getting up. It was still really windy.

After lunch, we drove to Bridgewater Bay, west of Portland. I wanted to show John what the place is like, as it was a favourite haunt of mine back in my Hamilton days. Many travellers do not visit the place, because it is not on the main road.

The road out from Portland is through a mix of farm land and scrubby country, and tends to go up and down small hills – maybe old coastal dunes. Then you come up over a crest and see this superb big bay, spreading out in front, to a far headland – the Cape. It has always been breathtakingly beautiful, with its long, curving, sandy beach, giving onto the high and rocky Cape. The bay was once part of a volcanic crater; the Cape is made of volcanic material. The cliffs that front the western end of the bay are actually part of the inside crater wall of the old volcano.

Today, the Bay was brilliantly blue.

The road comes down and runs alongside the bay, eventually with the beach on one side and a few small houses on the other. I used to rent one of these – almost a shack – for weekend breaks. It is still there and not much changed. Its windows look over the beach and the bay, and at night one saw the flash of the Cape Nelson Lighthouse, near Portland. Magic!

I had John drive straight through and out to the Blowholes carpark, on the Discovery Bay side of the Cape, which is the end of the road. We did not linger there as I just wanted to give John an overview of the place.

Came back to a car parking area in front of the old church camp, from where there is a wonderful view over the bay.

The old church camp has been substantially developed with new chalets and cabins; it looks quite good.

There has, inevitably, been some development since I was last here, with some streets put in behind the front row of houses to allow access deep behind the main road, but there are still relatively few houses. From memory, the environment was considered somewhat fragile, and there were limits on development. There are tracks and signs all over the place, now, that did not used to exist – a sign that there are more visitors. There are a few houses for rental.

From the Bay, followed the Bridgewater Lakes road, around to the fresh water lakes. We parked there and took the walking track to the ocean  – and  Discovery Bay.

Portland airport is not far from the Bridgewater Lakes – that has gone in since I was last in the area. Guess it became needed because of the establishment of the Alcoa aluminium smelter in the mid 1980’s.

After that little bit of exercise, and the general overview, back to camp.

Tea was cold corned beef and a salad.

John managed to get in a radio phone call to daughter R – she was pleased, but is still getting the hang of having to say “over” to signify the other person can talk!

We drove 83kms today.