A decent sleep – woo!

Slow morning where we have a couple of filter coffees with some porridge and hot cross buns while we do a couple admin tasks

Now, for the lighthouse – it was built in 1848, being the second on the mainland and the oldest surviving one, and it’s light was visible for 48km

Once sorted, we get lunch prepped, shower and head out for some laid back activities

Drive a little way, to … , as we need a touch more fuel than we have – 233 cent to the litre…

Down towards Apollo Bay, we turn off onto Lighthouse Road – bet no one can guess what’s at our first stop ????

En route, we spot a multitude of Koalas just chilling in trees near the road!

The road weaves in and out of the Otway National Park until we make it to Cape Otway Lightstation

A tad worrying there’s a sign to say you can’t go up the lighthouse at the moment due to an earthquake several months ago causing some damage and a mercury spillage…

Though, it does get us a discounted entry so we head in anyways

Strolling through the area, we have our chicken salad baguette before seeing the little dinosaur exhibit they have on at the moment

Seems Penguins have actually been on the Southern coast of Australia for potentially more than 50 million years – ranging between extreme and small sizings – with some of the best fossils coming from around 35 million years ago!

Next to this is the old telegraph and maritime signal station which was built in 1859

This linked the mainland with Tasmania via a 386km submarine telegraph cable

Even though it failed after two years, after frequent weather damage, it was used during WWII solely for signals and was last used in 1972

Flag signalling was used as a means of communicating with ships

Another installment here is a plaque commemorating a lost pilot and aircraft back in 1978

Neither were ever recovered and is a reminder of Australia’s favouritism towards alien theories ????

Onto the main event: the lightstation

It was built in 1848 and included 21 oil lamps, 3 panels each having 7 lamps – which were originally fuelled by whale oil and then transitioned to vegetable oil – and it’s light could be seen 48kms away

In 1994, it was replaced by the smaller light, that continues to operate today, known as the Cape Otway Light and is fully automated being solar powered with a mains backup

Next to here is a WWII bunker which worked as an Australian Air Force Radar Station

The Australians say radar was a superior method of detecting enemy positions as it could be used in any weather and was virtually invisible

It operated 24 hours a day from May 1942 until September 1944 and then operated on reduced hours until June 1946 when it finally ceased all operations

Back to the car, we venture to Apollo Bay to refuel and grab some things for dinner before our next stop

En route, Daisy spies a furry looking rock so we park up nearby and walk back to find it’s a Koala sitting right beside the road – looks like he’s fallen out of a broken tree causing a bit of a bloody nose and potential damage to his arms ????

We take a minute to call the wildlife rescue line and apparently he’s been here a while, already having a couple of these calls – they don’t always send people out, sadly, as they often move away quite quickly; obviously not this little one ☹️

We’ve bumped up his priority so someone gets sent within the hour to save him for some TLC

Back on the road, we’re making our way to Lake Elizabeth

We’ve been meaning to come here a while; since we arrived, we’ve heard that it’s a good place to see Platypus – there’s even a canoe tour you can do!

We stroll and reach the lake in about 30 minutes, met with peace and tranquility

Hanging around for 30 minutes, we don’t get lucky – thankfully we’ve been lucky before so never matter!

Drive back to our cabin where we kick off dinner ASAP

Just before serving, Dave spots a Kookaburra – perfect for Kookaburra Cottage ☺️

Home cooked chicken tikka masala, with a kick, served with chips – in true Davesy fashion – and naan

Chill the rest of the evening with the cartoon film Elemental and off to bed