Camperdown to Colac

 
Camperdown to Colac = 62km
Cummulative total = 1305

We are now sort of back home!  Should be back in Melbourne on Tuesday sometime. 
We both enjoyed cycling in and around the Wimmera and will definitely go back there again ... there is still a few bits and pieces of Victoria left to do.
See you all next year - Feb-March are just a short series of rides planned and the after Easter in April is the big one north then west to the center and back down and around the peninsulas in SA and back to Melbourne.

Warrnambool to Camperdown

 
Warrnambool to Camperdown = 72km
Cummulative total = 1243km

It was a tough day today although the legs felt a little heavy we coped with the hills quite well - rode a hill then recovered, rode another hill then recovered and that was todays cycle.  As you can see from the profile it is a constant gradual (at times) climb to Camperdown.  But the real hilly part was the last 20km to Camperdown, one thing the profile doesn't show is the last hill to the campground which is one we have done a few times now and I am sure we will do it again in the future!
We left Warrnambool around 7.45am and headed out on the Wangoom road which is lovely and quiet once past all the houses on the outskirts of Warrnambool.  It is popular with cyclists as we came across this sign -
 
Along this road is Hopkins Falls - we went here November 2010 with Ray and Flo after a considerable amount of rain and Emu Creek was flooded.
Here is todays photo of the falls -
 
here is November 2010 -
 
here is todays falls -
 
here is November 2010 -
 
so there is a considerable difference to say the least! 
We didn't stay very long as it is only 14km from Warrnambool and we still had lots of kms ahead of us and besides it was very cold today.
Before we left this morning we got a list of roads that we had to go along.  We had decided to go along back roads rather than the main highway although it would be shorter to go via the highway!
but the roads were lovely and quiet and came across very few cars.
Lots of farms out here - especially dairy and one farmer had a very interesting statue alongside his letterbox -
 
We went on a 2 unsealed roads today and both were a few kms and okay, a little rough in places and both had hills in them - the Gores road was okay but the Naroghid road at the start had a steep munter of a sooty grunter and I thought I would have to get off and walk but I suprised myself and made it the whole way. 
This is Gores road -

and this is the top of the first part of the hill on Naroghid road - you can see it just drops away!
 
From this road it is up and down, up and down to Camperdown.  At the top of this hill you can see the communication towers (which is where the Camperdown caravan park is) and you are on the same level as it but then you drop, only to climb again to the Camperdown - Cobden road and then you go down again and only to climb up to the towers and caravan park!
So happy to be here and Kouta went straight to sleep to recover from all the climbing!  the legs feel good so it must be a sign we are fit for cycling after nearly 2000km over Oct and Nov.
Tomorrow is to Colac and again we will go via the back roads so that adds another 15km or so!

Killarney to Warrnambool

 
Killarney to Warrnambool = 23km
Cummulative total = 1171

It was a lovely rest day down at Killarney.  Despite having a very windy and stormy morning with the tent being blowin' around a bit!  It turned out to be a cold by sunny day.  Walking along the beach in all the clothes that we have with us and also the raincoats!
 
Despite it being very windy the bay was still relatively calm but I think too cold to swim in!
 
but walking along I looked at Neil and all this trip I have cursed him because before we left he decides to cut his own eyebrows and made an absolute mess of it so that now as it grows the left brow has sort of a curl to it ...
 
This morning it was still raining again but it soon cleared so we slept in a bit knowing that we only had 25km to ride to Heather and Anthony's home in Warrnambool.  We were going to go along the rail trail but since it has been raining a bit we thought the trail would be soft and also the lilydale topping would flick up all over poor ole Kouta like the rail trail to Foster!  So we took what I like to call the 'spud roads' which is the back roads to the base of Tower hill which are full of potato farms and even along the highway there are a few of them.
The highway was very busy but we only rode along it up and over Tower Hill to Illowa where we took the old highway road to Dennington and then jumped back on the main road but that had a bike lane the whole way and then voila! here we are at 'Hotel Warrnambool'.
 
Hotel Warrnambool also has a resident dog called 'sooty' that has had a haircut and looks about 10 years younger than what he should be!
 
so happy to be in a warm place and not have to pitch the tent up in the wind.
Tomorrow onto Camperdown - a longer day because we are not sure the Cobden campground is still going.  So hoping we have a tail wind!