We saw echidnas after the whale – just by the side of the road; we didn’t get a chance to stop and see them. Also several FBCs,* which is always entertaining.

Our stay at Blanket Bay was quite nice – the beach there is great, a nice little treasure trove of rock pools and tesselated rock formations.

From Blanket Bay we went to Apollo Bay. I wanted to go to Shelly Beach, but it turned out that the gate was locked so we would have had to walk… and my shoes were hurting me a bit by that stage.

From Apollo Bay to Lake Elizabeth and Forrest where, J had heard, there is good mountain-biking. It was a bit hard to find, but J did do some good riding. We had thought we might stay at Lake Elizabeth – but it was a camp ground separated from the carpark, which is no good when you’re in a truck – and then we tried Gellibrand (I think), but there were already a few people there, and Stevensons Falls were closed to the public (the renovations were meant to have been finished by the start of spring… say the signs at the start of spring…). So, in the end, we decided just to come back to Ballarat. So we had a pleasant evening in front of the fire, with an electric blanket-heated bed.

So, we’re coming to the end of our holiday… but that’s okay. It’s been a good one.

*A term coined during our first trip to Tasmania, when we couldn’t figure out whether those Furry Bouncy Critters were paddymelons or potaroos (a very important distinction).