South Gippsland

Mary-Anne, Graham and Roz met for the usual meet and greet plus coffee of course in the car park of the old railway station in Welshpool next to the Great Southern Rail Trail ready for the 10am start. Patrina met us in Alberton about 11.30am.
For those of you who have not yet braved the wild unknown to attack this part of the world, it sure is worth a look. On one side we had views of Wilsons Promontory, on the other side a line of rolling hills as we rode though lush farmland. The trail is flat and mostly sheltered and quite easy to ride apart from some of the more challenging gateways. After we met Patrina in Alberton we continued on to Port Albert for lunch at the fish and chip shop next to the jetty. Lunch was a grand delight, the fish superb and views terrific. No wonder they were doing a good trade.
Of course the weather did not disappoint , a very brief shower and a good headwind to challenge us on the way back. Plus we also saw a large dairy herd sauntering home to be milked in huge rotary milking sheds, probably around a thousand cows.
A fantastic ride was enjoyed by all of us, a great day out.
Roz .S

After car pooling from Fish Creek and regrouping at Yanakie we continued on to Hourigan Camp Lane off Millar Rd to the car park for the first leg our walk. After a short walk through fairly dense coastal scrub we popped out on the eastern side of Shallow Inlet . The tide was out exposing millions of tiny mud crabs. There is a good view across to Sandy Point with the hills as a back drop off to our right.
Returning to the cars we journeyed to the Stockyard Campground adjacent to the Prom Gate House for the start of the walk to the Big Drift .
The Big Drift is a vast inland area of sand dunes, constantly shifting and changing with the wind. There are fantastic views of the Prom and all around. The walk in is only about 5km with a steep slog up the northern side but with the reward of fantastic views and a different perspective of the Prom.
Making our way back to the Stockyard Campground we rounded of the day in the shelter for a picnic lunch. Of course the coffee fiends amongst us had stop at the Yanakie store on the way home for a cafiene fix. A great day out with only a brief shower and our friends the sand flies!

Participants were Rod Head, Beverley Waldron, Dan Hogan, Clive Canter, Gayle McHarg, Joy Downes, Jean Jackson, Ian Mayer, David Vaughan, Graham Clements, Elizabeth Pearce, Michelle Carr, Peta Reeve, Sue Fitzgerald, Andrew Fitzgerald!