I took a short stroll up to the beach first thing this morning whilst Julia wrote her blog. We hadn't got up as early as we had liked but this didn't bother me as we probably needed our rest. We drove a short distance up the coast before stopping off to take in the sights at Bay of Islands. There was also another feature called London Bridge. Part of the feature at London Bridge had dramatically fallen down in 1990 leaving two tourists stranded on one of the remaining sections. We met a charming older Aussie couple who were very grateful after I reset the settings on their camera and showed them how to use the panoramic function as well. The landscape on our journey started to show that familiar looking red soil indicative of shots featured in tourist brochures. The weather was hotter today - the hottest it had been since we arrived in Australia. We had a welcomed break in Warrnambool where we took a dip in the ocean. We found a shallow area of sea and lounged in the warmer waters. The sky grew cloudier and it looked as though it could rain. We decided to go for a short walk along the harbour before returning to the van to make our way to Port Fairy.

It didn't take long to set up camp in Port Fairy. The sun was back out and I sat in the van a while watching the shadows from the trees dance all over its interior. It felt like an English summers day which made it all the more impossible to imagine the weather conditions back home. We had some further news of the successful delivery of baby Bell which pleased Ju and myself. I think Ju was correct in guessing his name would be Euan. We had a splash around in the pool feeling carefree and relaxed. Ju thought it would be a good idea to go into town for dinner and have a few drinks to celebrate our new nephew. Not being one to turn down a drink I accepted her invitation.

The town felt quite sleepy as we walked the streets. This was the first town we had stopped at which felt like a proper rural Aussie town. I heard lots of noise coming from a few pubs as we walked back from the harbour. I was now gagging for a pint. I also wanted to sample Aussie pub culture. We found a classic pub that looked like something out of the Crocodile Dundee movies. To my delight they sold Guinness and to my surprise it tasted great. Having not had a Guinness for over two months the first pint didn't touch the sides as I promptly ordered another. Ju had a white wine and a packet of Nobby's nuts. The locals were in a buoyant mood. Apparently today was the first day in years that they had held horse races in Port Fairy. I sat listening in amusement at the Aussie accents clasping my pint of Guinness like the cat the got the cream. I overheard one local replying to a question with... "F*ck off, blow it out ya Aaaaarrse". I couldn't help but smile at the all too familiar vowel stretching that we had become accustom to over the last week. However the level of swearing in this bar was quite high even by my standards. Ju thought I would fit in a treat, bloody cheek!

After 3 pints Ju was getting hungry so we decided to get some food. Pizza was the order of the day - a yummy one at that which killed the conversation. Ju was now looking tired as her wine began to kick in along with 10 slices of pizza. I wasn't quite sure when my next Guinness would be so I managed to persuade Ju to go for another pint with me before heading back to camp. The bar was now much quieter as most of the locals had made their way home. I enjoyed every last drop of Guinness, especially at £6 a pint. I will appreciate the Foresters Arms just that little bit more when I return home. We fell into the camper tired and tipsy. I tried to get some internet connection but it wasn't going to happen. The night was warm and we decided to leave the windows open in the van - luckily the van has insect screens built into the windows. Before I could say goodnight to Ju....zzzzzzzz.