Camp Report

 Apollo Bay camp report March 2024

On a lovely warm day ten walkers set out from Ballarat to meet at The Forest General Store for coffee before doing the very dusty drive out to Lake Elizabeth. It was dry and crispy underfoot and not a leech in site on our walk around the lake. The local birds joined us for lunch and despite our wanting and looking, we didn’t see any platypus. 
We called into the West Barwon reservoir for another walk, before continuing down to Apollo Bay and the welcoming Star of the Sea. 
We had a bbq and the usual delicious salads and desserts and then Marlene stepped very competently into Warwick’s shoes and led a fun trivia quiz. 
Wednesday we fitted into three cars and drove to Blanket Bay. From there we did a return walk to Parker’s Inlet, had lunch and explored this amazing area. 
On the way back to Apollo Bay we called into Maits Rest. This is a 1 km circuit walk through remnants of rain forest which dominated this area 100 million years ago when it was part of Gondwana. The area has been protected since the early 1900s and contains towering Mountain Ash and 300 yo Myrtle Beech trees. The Japanese have a term called forest bathing and this area provided just that. A hushed silence fell as we embraced this beautiful micro climate. 
We had a pub meal Wednesday night and Thursday we did the short sharp ascent to Mariner’s Lookout. We had a wander along the jetty, then a good coffee in the Main Street, before heading home “tired but happy”. 
Thank you Marlene for organising such a relaxed and fun camp. 
LT