Strangely enough, Robe was very like Findhorn with a bit of Nairn thrown in around the harbour. A very wealthy little town full of very large, empty, holiday homes strung out along the dunes and around a little harbour with a narrow entrance.

We made our way to Robe from Adelaide via the Coorong National Park. The Coorong is an enormous coastal wetlands area of large salt lakes. They support a wide range of wildlife and we were no sooner off road than we came across a flock of Emu. On the lakes themselves were a range of seabirds including Pelicans. A Pelican taking off from the water and in flight is an impressive sight - the have a huge wing span. Their large heads and beaks make them seem unlikely fliers as they look as if they will crash dive at any moment.

Not all of the wild life flies or swims on the ponds - some of it slithers through the grass. Apparently, 6 of the worlds deadliest snakes live in the Coorong. On the way into the park in the minibus, I had spotted a photo opportunity (the salt lake with the fence) and on the way back I asked Stuart to stop so that I could take the picture. There was about 30 metres of grass between the road and the edge of the lake and, after Stuart's lecture on snakes I approached this with a fair degree of caution. Studying every foot placement (I only had sandals on my feet) and placing each foot down slowly to give anything a chance to get out of my way I took a good 8 minutes to reach the lake. Seemingly, it was like something that John Cleese would have done. Unknown to me, the bus was in stitches at my antics. Having retraced my steps back to the bus I stepped out of the grass onto the road to have a car whiz past. It would have been a bit ironic to escape the snakes and get hit by a car.

We spent the night in a typical Australian Motel run by Martin and his wife Trudy. We were made very welcome with great Aussie hospitality. In the evening we got chatting to an Australian couple over dinner. They owns a holiday home and a fishing boat in Robe and had we not had an early start the following day we would have been off fishing with them in the morning.

The next day we moved on to Grampian National Park. The park had been badly hit by fire just 2 weeks previously and many of the sights and "look outs" that we were to visit were now destroyed. Stuart plotted a new route into Hall's Gap. This took us through Dunkeld where we stopped for lunch. Dunkeld is at the foot of the Grampian range and is a pretty little town set in cattle country - lots of Aberdeen Angus.

Hall's Gap had been evacuated during the fires which had come within 2km of the little town. The community was just getting back on its feet after fire ripped through in 2006 burning much of the infrastructure and setting back the tourist industry for some years - and now they were going through it again. After a visit to the one "look out" which was still open we checked in and headed straight for the bar for a beer or two. Looking into the bar through a big window was the largest kangaroo that I had seen. We were warned that he could be aggressive and to stay out of his way. He was the Alpha male of the local mob. His girls were out in front of the motel eating up some grass and I got some nice pictures of them.

The next day we moved on to Warrnambool which is a nice seaside town. Its claim to fame is a colony of Little Penguins which live on an island just off the beach. They used to be called Fairy Penguins but had their name changed by deed poll because they felt it was a bit sexist. If you call them Fairy Penguins by mistake they can get a bit cross and come at you with their little handbags.

The journey to Warrnambool was through cattle country again. Large paddocks dotted with beautiful Red Gum trees also known as the widow makers. Apparently, the branches have a tendency to fall off without warning and many a poor farmer has been crushed while camping out. We also stopped off at a game reserve where we spotted some Koalas up a tree, some black swans and more Emus. We were hoping to see some snakes but none appeared. At Warrnambool we enjoyed the largest hotel room that we have ever had. It had a separate lounge with dining area, kitchen with washing machine and tumble dryer and a large bathroom with jacuzzi. The hotel was in a beautiful location with a river flowing into the sea just in front. There were Pelicans and other sea birds paddling in the river. We spent the afternoon on the beach and thought how lucky we we were to be spending a February afternoon soaking up the sun.

Our last day on the tour was spent travelling to Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road. We set off at 7am and arrived in Melbourne after 5 pm. The coastline was fantastic though. At the start was the Shipwreck Coast with hugh waves battering themselves against limestone and sandstone cliffs. We stopped to see the various rock formations including London Bridge (now partly fallen down) and the 12 apostles (now about 8). In the afternoon the coastline softened and the cliffs gave way to sandy beaches. The Great Ocean Road was built by soldiers returning from the Great War and is dedicated to the Australian losses between 1914 and 1918.

That evening we had our farewell dinner with the group and Stuart our CEO. It was an emotional affair for some. We will be meeting up with Richard and Heather and John in New Zealand as they will be joining our New Zealand tour in Aukland. In the meantime 2 days in Melbourne to enjoy.