Day 17 – Warnambool and around

Off to Flagstaff Hill today – historic reconstruction of a 1800-1900’s maritime village in Warnambool. Useful pieces of information gleaned from this experience – you wouldn’t have wanted to be a teacher back then, and ladies only bathed 4 times a year! Apparently lavendar and rose scented water was in heavy use. The 80 pounder gun emplacements were pretty impressive. Apparently to locals were worried that the Russians might invade back in the 1850s (time of the Crimean War) (one could ask why would they bother (and apparently they didn’t).
Sourced a “Pinky’s Pizza” capriccisoa as a desperation measure for a late lunch and ate it sitting looking out over Tower Hill, a dormant (was thought to be extinct but someone clearly now hedging their bets) volcano with several craters within a larger crater lake (a Maar volcano). Pizza was actually very good – extra anchovies and all! Lots of wildlife in the Tower Hill Reserve. Spotted emus, kangaroos, wallabies and swans, all within minutes of arriving (no echidnas yet though). Weather dodgy and wind still howling but went for a couple of loop walks anyway (plenty of daylight left at 4.30pm!). Still no echidnas but spotted a low lying mother koala with baby on board. She wasn’t very impressed with all the attention but hung around anyway.