Day 9 Wednesday 21/12/2022 Portland, wet 14 – 21

Thinking it would be a good idea to pack a picnic and drive out to Bridgewater. I pick Woody up (after his walk) on the outskirts of town. It is beginning to sprinkle rain. It’s a pleasant drive of 19km through rolling hills of sheep paddocks, low coastal scrub, and the ever-present pine and cypress hedgerows that break the wind.

We are surprised at how spectacular the beach is at Bridgewater. But it is raining. Soft white sand and a curious blue sea, like something from a soap powder advertisement. Long hanks of kelp, string along the sand. There’s not a lot here, a kiosk, a surf club, and a smattering of homes perched on the hillside with more of those priceless views. I take a quick walk on the beach but the rain isn’t pleasant. It’s becoming too miserable to walk out to the lookouts and cave so we continue our drive to Bridgewater Lakes hoping we might find a cosy café for lunch, in which case our sandwiches could be renamed dinner and toasted. Noticing a small lake on our left, then another we wonder where the town is. Then our phone signal drops out. Damn you Mrs. Google! I plug the GPS in and wait for her to pick up a satellite, and she does, just as we pass Portland airport! Oh dear, we’ve done a big loop and are back on the outskirts of town. If there is a town at Bridgewater Lakes…well, we never found it.

As we drive into town we stock up on more fish at the co-op before returning to the van to eat the bloody sandwiches.

When the rain stops we walk into town to pick up the makings of a pizza. Julia Street in town is the arts precinct and whilst drooling over the local work I pick up a screen-printed T-shirt of Whaler’s Bluff Lighthouse (which I’m presently sketching).

In the swing of Christmas, we put up some more lights and Woody cooks the pizza in the air fryer. Oh, and it’s raining again.

Accom: $37.00