Genoa, Lakes Entrance and Port Albert

On to Genoa .......

On our way south through to Genoa we followed the tourist drive rather stay on the highway. The roads were very windy with lots of single lane wooden bridges. When you are towing 24 foot of van it does make an interesting drive. We followed the coastline but the view were very restricted because of the strange looking mist (cloud) most of the way along the coast. We stopped in Bega to have a look at the old Cheese Factory. We tasted some great cheeses
 especially a nice hot pepper cheese that once bought didn't last too long with a nice cold beer.

We stopped at various beaches as Patrice does love the sand between her toes.

 A small stop at the NSW VIC border was a nice place just to show you that we are still talking and she doesn't hate me. I am sure that I am getting more greyer with each day of travel. (insert by Patrice - "nothing to do with me...")

On to Genoa ...

The Old Service Station that was once a thriving business.

This was once the main highway

Genoa was the centre of cattle droving starting in 1863 and it grew to a nice little town over the years. Large compressed earth 2 story pub, large stores, service station etc, later came the caravan park. But like a lot of small towns the highway was diverted as the 2 lane wooden bridge couldn't cope with the increase in travel and sizes of trucks. Genoa died in the late nineties and all that is left is a ghost town. The caravan park in now a free stay which is still in very good condition and survives of the donations made by travellers.

Orbost
The beautiful thing about the travel is the history of these small towns. Towns were built on the building of railway lines and mining. Schools were established every 50 miles to assist families to move into the areas and so the spread of the population occurred. Most towns you go to have majestic churches and numerous pubs.



 
 Our next stop is Lakes Entrance situated right on the coast just out of the Wilderness Coast. This is a thriving town relying heavily on tourism and fishing. The early days of lakes entrance saw large homesteads established on sheep farming, the homesteads now are either in ruins or used purely for tourism.

 The Cunningham Arm footbridge was originally built in 1937, repaired in 1966, refurbished in 1998 and replaced in 2009. This bridge takes you from the town centre across to the surf club based at the beginning of 90 Mile Beach.




There are numerous black swans all along the coast.

Went for a drive and found lookouts, dolls and crafts (closed, thank goodness) We went for a wander through one homestead called "Nyerimilang" (which was also closed) but we still saw many of the old things that are still there for you to see. The laundry which appears to be built for very short people still had the old boiler, wringer and various other pieces.

The shearing shed is still intact even with bits of fleece still hanging from the rafters.

We came across an echidna which has making a mess of the walking tracks.
Went for a walk this morning, cold, windy icy, cloudy, thunder, lightning and rain.
All along the main street are wood carvings all done by John Brady who has carved these numerous items from enormous tree trucks and a chainsaw.

On our way back it started to clear up giving us beautiful views from Remmies Point.


After our exploring, it was nice to get all dressed up and go out to dinner to celebrate a great trip so far.

More to come..........