Volcanoes and Koalas

It was yet another cloudy morning and the beach was out of the question, so we asked if there were any local attractions that perhaps we have missed during our visits to Port Fairy. “Try Tower Hill, it’s an old volcano and really beautiful,” said Tony, our camping neighbour. So we grabbed jackets, cameras and a fistful of coins and drove to Tower Hill.

Tower Hill was once desecrated by grazing, garbage disposal, and quarrying, before being declared a heritage site in 1960, when trees slowly started to return along with the native fauna, which includes emus, sugar gliders, echidnas, koalas, snakes and birds.

The best way to view the whole site is to drive slowly along its one-way single-lane road, and stop every few hundred metres to get out and look at the surrounds. There are also walks up to the tallest peak which has magnificent views of the surrounding flats and peaks, and a long board walk around the swamp at the base of the site. Luckily the weather improved and the whole area with bright with sunshine. The pictures speak for themselves!










Tower Hill is part of Koroit, a small Irish town, which contains a quirky mix of original residential houses and shopfronts, mingled in together along the main road. Building fronts are left to rust or peel, giving the town a decidely historic feel. Lunch today was a pastie at the bakery; delicious and filling.

This evening we took Tony to the Griffith Island Lighthouse for a quick spot of fishing, however there were few bites from big fish, despite the quality of the conditions. That being said, the company was good and the beer was cold, so all was not lost.


Tonight we are playing scrabble with Tony and Rebecca, this seems to be our nightly routine, and contains an assortment of chocolate, port, wine, beer, chips, nuts and fruit cake.