VISITING THE GANNETS AT PORTLAND

We thought we'd try and get a break from Melbourne's incessant rain by heading down to Portland for a spin, and especially to see the Australasian gannet colony.  Well, it was worth the drive, even if the rain followed us.

Portland is about 4.5 hours' drive to the south-west of Melbourne. An hour past Warrnambool, due south of the Grampians and halfway to Adelaide, Portland is in a part of Victoria that has so much to offer.

​We enjoyed brief stops at Winchelsea and Camperdown en route, but a brief lunch stop at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve was a real surprise for us: an array of wildlife and birds live in this reserve which is an extinct volcano just off the Great Ocean Road. 

We were welcomed by a mobs of mosquitoes (big ones too!) so be warned, but that could be temporary due to the large amount of water around. Four emus were quietly checking out the visitors area (less quietly when someone fired up a barbecue), and three koalas were having a snooze or a lazy munch in the nearby trees.

As lovely as it was, we didn't tarry at Tower Hill - there was just a chance we might get some some breakthrough afternoon sunshine at Portland, so onwards we went, passing Warrnambool and even Port Fairy without proper scrutiny.

We were humming towards Codrington when we witnessed a pink and grey galah being hit by a fast-moving truck! Oof! The poor thing sat bloodied in the middle of the road, alive but in shock...we managed to put a towel around it and secure it in a small carton. Through a phone call to Wildlife Victoria (03 8400 7300), we discovered we could take it to the Vet Group in Portland and it would be cared for, and without charge to us (good to know...we were prepared to pay to see the poor bird properly treated).  

So we sallied forth once more...the mood was rather sombre for about ten minutes (we didn't like the galah's chances), then loud squawking from the carton - we took that as a very good sign!

And so to Portland, and yes the sun came out for us, and the bay looked impressively blue. What a gorgeous town!

Without further ado, we made straight for the gannet colony at Point Danger, six kilometres past the town. We'd never seen Australasian gannets before - what magnificent birds! Several hundred were congregating and nesting a short distance from the car park (down a short unsealed road - easily accessible for cars the day we visited). Other gannets were rafting just offshore.

Many birds were launching themselves into the wind, flying out across the nearby waves, scooping up seaweed and returning to the colony. Apparently these birds mate for life, and some live for at least thirty years. They once inhabited the nearby Lawrence Rocks (two kilometres offshore) but one day upped sticks and moved to their current site. Amazing!

The next day, the rain really set in - even so we set out for a drive, albeit with lowered expectations. We were wrong about that. Our first stop after a reconnoitre of the business district and the Info Centre (very helpful), we drove out to the Enchanted Forest, on the Cape Nelson Lighthouse road. We parked and walked - some steep but sturdy steps to start with - and were quite blown away (literally and figuratively!) by what we found. Views of the coast were compelling.

The undergrowth with its overhanging red cliffs really does look and feel like an enchanted place. The drizzle enhanced the other worldly atmosphere.

After a challenging hour's walk along the path, then back along the road, we headed to the clifftop near the lighthouse in the hopes of sighting a whale or an albatross (no luck, but there were gannets and a giant petrel - thanks to local man, Allen, a regular photographer in the area). We were grateful for a hot coffee from Isabella's cafe out there.

Next, we headed to Bridgewater and the Petrified Forest along the clifftops. At Bridgewater, we were delighted to see a few pied oystercatchers and many crested terns flocking on the beach (until flushed by an off-leash hound).

Onwards along the Blowholes Road on the point...by now the wind had rather picked up and was blowing in unpredictable gusts.

​From the Blowholes carpark, we headed left along the cliff top to see the Petrified Forest, so-named because it was thought coastal sand had engulfed the trees. Turns out this is a collection of hollow tubes of limestone, eroded by millennia of rainfall (some of which we were just then experiencing). The ocean views and spectacular cliffs made this a compelling walk, and well worth the effort.

Just as we reached the return path, we saw a sign to the Seal Colony viewing area so we thought we might as well take a look. Turns out it was a lot further than we thought, and in deteriorating conditions. Even though we had gone a good way along the clifftop path, we thought it wise to give up. The strong and gusty winds were unpredictable, and we felt our grasp on the path was somewhat tenuous. We'll try that walk another day when conditions are more favourable.

Finally, we headed back to Portland, and with that late afternoon sun now trying to break through the cloud cover, we gave the gannets another try. We're glad we did: we had a chance to capture them up close. Three days a week at 5.30pm (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) a local guide comes and unlocks the outer gate so visitors can get up closer and see the birds in action. We thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity - we hope this short clip shares some of what we experienced.

There's so much to see and do win this part of Victoria, we will definitely return, and soon. The gannets alone make it worth the drive! We feel so privileged to have seen them. And in the good news department, the pink and grey galah survived and was released!