When Lee found out that a South Australian Status Quo trubute band were playing in Heywood, it was excuse enough for us to plan a long weekend in Portland and Port Fairy. It was a good chance to catch up with Marni in Portland as well as enjoying time in one of our favourite spots, Port Fairy. Joan and Al joined us too, saving them the long drive to Portland.
It was a fairly early start on Friday 27th February to load up the car and head to Leopold to pick up Joan and Al at about 10am. From there, it was a straightforward drive to Port Fairy, with just one comfort stop at Mortlake. Arriving into Port Fairy just after 1pm, we headed straight to Port Fairy Coffee Roasters, Lee's favourite coffee shop in the town. Their brew was very welcome after the long drive and was again of an excellent standard. We then popped into Home Grown to pick up some lovely vegan salads to enjoy in the sunshine over in the gardens of Fiddler's Green. It was an easy 45-minute drive on to Portland and we stopped off at our accommodation first, the Portland Retro Motel, arriving at just after 3pm. Lee and Lola unpacked in their simple but tidy dog-friendly room, while Ky dropped Joan and Al into the Quest Portland apartment complex right in the city centre. After settling in, Ky returned to the motel with Marni, Joan & Al and we all enjoyed a nice walk along the Portland Bay Foreshore Reserve (and Lola couldn't resist a quick dip, though Marni's dog, Daisy, refused to join her!). It was warm and humid, definitely not typical Portland weather. Lee and Lola enjoyed relaxing back at the motel while Ky spent the evening with the others at the Quest apartment before heading back at about 9pm.
It was a muggy and cloudy start on Saturday. After breakfast, we drove into Portland to meet up with the others and also visited Tanesia in her new job at the Natural Soy Creations shop on the waterfront. We then headed to Twelvefold for a decent coffee, before Lee returned to the motel with Lola for lunch. The others came around mid-afternoon so we could prepare for our night out. Quo T-shirt on and Joan & Al acting as dog-sitters, we headed off to Heywood at about 5.30pm. It was an easy country drive and we were soon in the Heywood Wood, Wine and Roses Festival. There were plenty of people there but no crowds or hassle, a very relaxed country vibe. Oz Quo took the stage right on time at 7pm and played a great 90-minute set to a willing audience (Lee's full review of the gig can be found on the Status Quo message board). It was a quick trip back into Portland and Lee dropped Joan & Al back to their Quest apartment to round out the day.
We woke to rain on Sunday, though it remained warm and humid. We met up with the others and decided to head out to Cape Bridgewater. It was cloudy but dry, so we enjoyed a decent walk on the stunning beach as well as having lunch & coffee at the Bridgewater Bay Cafe. Heading back into town, Lee dropped Ky, Joan and Al off at the Quest before heading back to the motel for a while. Later in the afternoon, we all regrouped for a short walk along the Portland waterfront (unfortunately cut short by further rain) and Lola didn't seem to mind the conditions! Lee and Lola headed back to the motel for the rest of the day (binging the Welsh Open snooker highlights!) while Ky, Marni, Joan & Al enjoyed the swankier confines of the Quest apartment.
It was a much less humid and cooler start on Monday, but the rain had largely cleared as we checked-out of our motel and headed into Portland to meet up with Marni on her day off. We then all explored the excellent Portland Botanic Gardens, one of the oldest such gardens in the state of Victoria. It was a lovely place to wander around especially with the incredible display of dahlias (1350 plants of over 180 varieties!). After our walk, we popped into The Cove Cafe for a coffee before picking up excellent lunches from the Willow & Bean health food shop and cafe. We enjoyed our lunch goodies back at Marni's house before bidding her farewell, ready to head to Port Fairy. It was an easy drive, seeing us in this gorgeous historic town by 2pm. First stop was a coffee at Pelicans before a nice walk on East Beach (Lola's favourite beach!) and around the town centre. It was then time to drive the short distance to our accommodation for the next two nights, the Gum Tree Caravan Park. We'd stayed there before but this time we were both in brand new one-bedroom cabins that were immaculate and well finished. It was good to chill on the front deck before a relaxing dinner to round out the day.
Tuesday dawned sunny with a cooler breeze but we were up and ready for a full day in Port Fairy, heading in at about 10am. First stop was Port Fairy Coffee Roasters again for a great coffee (and Lee also acquired an Airscape coffee container and filled it with 1kg of their "Lighthouse" blend straight from the roaster!). Another walk on beautiful East Beach followed before we wandered back into town for lunch, this time some tasty dishes from Borough Chambers, enjoyed in the warm afternoon sunshine at Fiddler's Green. The girls couldn't resist some clothes shopping in the nice boutiques along the main street and we then drove out along the waterfront for another lovely walk at dog-friendly Southcombe beach, before returning to our cabins. It was a pleasant evening to enjoy the sunshine on our cabin decks and the skies thankfully stayed almost perfectly clear for us to get an incredible view of the blood moon eclipse from around 9.30pm.
It was time to head home on Wednesday. Port Fairy is never an easy place to leave and a gorgeous sunny morning only made it harder! Packing up and checking out, we were on the road by 9.30am and drove as far as Lismore before making a comfort and coffee stop. From there, we made it as far as Inverleigh, where we grabbed some excellent lunch meals from Sonny and enjoyed them in Yerram Yaluk Bun park, before completing the drive back (dropping Joan and Al off in Leopold at about 1.30pm).
It was great to catch up with Marni and family in Portland and the Quo tribute band gig was very enjoyable. We were thankful for fine weather for the gig and we loved being back in Port Fairy again too.