The day started with a tram trip down memory lane in Portland.

Whilst on first viewings this ‘chip wood’ port town isn’t the most scenic, after discovering the old tram and experiencing the 1hr tour through the port, past the car museum and WWII memorial museum, we were captivated by its old world charm. All helped by the friendly volunteers working the tram and the fellow passengers and Seejay the dog that Andy befriended.

Being on the coast in a more exposed part, the temperature had dipped and we were both in long trousers for the first time in a while.

Michelle really enjoyed the tour and was taken back to her childhood and the holidays of her youth.

Despite being in the centre of the town, we came across a koala in a tree next to the tram lines.

The pace of the tram was slow and relaxing and enabled us to really soak in the ever changing scenery and sights.

The World War II memorial site, formerly a water tower sits proudly on a hill looking over the bay and down over Portland centre.

On leaving Portland we headed through the vast Victorian forests that provide the bountiful supply of timber for the chip wood that then gets shipped across Australia and further afield to China and Europe.

We dipped down to the coast to visit Cape Nelson Lighthouse, before then following the coast to Nelson itself and the Nelson State Forest.

Our visit to the lighthouse was enjoyable, save for the attack of the horse flies who are so ‘venomous’ that they managed to bite through Michelle’s leggings!

Later into the afternoon and at the hottest part of the day, we stopped in Nelson for a coffee and ice cream and then headed to the reserve and a walk on the deserted beach.

The beach was blessed with white glowing sand and with the tide coming in, Andy was able to grab the opportunity to write a message in the sand to our daughter Amelia telling her how much we miss her.

There was so much wildlife on the Nelson reserve, notably the black swans which are really eye catching set against the white swans of the Uk.

After a few more miles of driving we said goodbye to Victoria and hello to South Australia. On crossing the state border we then required to dispose of our fruit due to restrictions of movement, which meant we ended up consuming a load of strawberries, 3 bananas and huge bunch of grapes in short succession to avoid having to just throw them away. Definite fruit overload!

Tomorrow we move in land to the volcanic centre that is Mount Gambier.