I dragged myself away from The Bay of Islands here and continued to the end of The Great Ocean Road at Warrnambool. It’s a prosperous regional city of around 35,000 people, based around agriculture, in particular the dairy industry.
There’s plenty to do but there are two main attractions. The first is the winter calving of Southern Right whales. Most years, one, two or three adult females arrive between late May and August, giving birth within days of their arrival. The calves are reared at the site, then depart with their parents during mid to late September. You can watch them easily from Logans Beach or take a whale-watching tour.
The other attraction is Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum. It’s a village recreated as it would have been in the 1800s when the town was a port, along with a museum housing a large display of shipwreck (of which there are hundreds along the coast) and maritime artefacts. I arrived after lunch to be told they were closing at 3 o’clock for a wedding, which meant I was really pushed for time. I raced out into the village, my camera at the ready.
There has been a flagstaff on top of Flagstaff Hill since 1848, and the two current lighthouses were moved to the site in 1878. They still operate as a navigation aid for the channel into Warrnambool harbour.
This may be a bit difficult to read but I wanted to include it. I particularly like rules 4 and 6 for teachers.
4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purpose, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
I ran out of time for the museum. I’m not into museums usually but this one displays the history of Victoria’s shipwreck coast, and the ships that came safely all the way from England, to be lost just as they were arriving at their destination.
Along with that, there’s a night-time sound and light show which also looks terrific. I’ll have to come back in the near future and allow enough time to do the place properly.
I organised myself a single room with a bunk bed for $50 in one of the old pubs in town, The Cally, recently renovated, by the look of it.
When I fronted up to the bar, the proprietor said, ‘Do you mind if I give you a queen-size bed?’ ‘Ah, no,’ I said. And so I ended up in this very nice room with its big bed, sink and even a chair to sit on, still for $50. Now and then you get lucky.
Planning to the Nth 
Sounds like you had a lovely town. Warrnambool is a gorgeous town. As for those rules .. 🤔
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How lovely it must be to be there long enough to watch the whales with their young. I’m going to enjoy following your blog Carol, and will try and get some of my single friends to take a look. So many single people are too afraid to travel on their own, or think they can’t afford it. You are demonstrating a different story.
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Thanks so much, Chris. There are fores and against with travelling on your own. For some people it’s a bit lonely but I like being able to go wherever I like and do what I like when I get there. As far as the fear is concerned, I’m always nervous setting out, and quite often when I’m on the road, but then the alternative is to sit in your house wishing you were somewhere else. Better to get on with it and see what happens. Mind you, I haven’t been anywhere really scary yet.
I have a book in print, now, about my four road trips around Tassie on my own. Just click on the books icon on the blog if you’d like to check it out. Thanks again for your interest in my blog. Cheers. Coral.
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I will take at look at those Carol, for sure.
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I love Warrnambool, we pass through there fairly regularly. Haven’t been to Flagstaff Hill in years, so your photos brought back some fond memories of happy days spent there with our children. Thanks for sharing
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Thanks, Lesley. It’s a nice spot, for sure. I want to go back in winter and do some whale-watching.
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Hi Carol,
What a lovely Victorian town. It must be a delight to walk around. Yes, you should work for the Aussie tourist board as you shown the hidden gems.
Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks, Richard. I can’t go away for any length of time at the moment, so I’ve decided to have a good look around my own state. There’s so much of it I haven’t seen. And I’m really enjoying it.
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I love places like this as it makes you feel like you have gone back in time. A good deal on the room too.
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Thanks, Darlene. I love that feeling of going back in time as well. This village is very good, historically, because it deals with the sailing ships and the people that came to the other side of the world in them. Can you imagine it? They must have been so brave,
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What a lovely place. Is it on the Great Ocean Road near Melbourne?
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No, Warrnambool is actually 257 kilometres west of Melbourne, or longer if you go via the coast.
Definitely not a day trip. I haven’t been there for years and it’s really come on. All facilities: schools, hospital, etc. A pretty comfortable place to live, I would think.
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Your post on Warnambool brings back great memories of farm stay holidays in Western Victoria with our children. We always had a night in Warnambool.
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A pretty place. And, of course, whales are worth of seeing.
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What an absolutely charming little town. Sadly I missed a drive down The Great Ocean Road when sailing Australia. Missed the experience of staying overnight in a Pub as well. This post and the one from Port Campbell National Park most certainly encourage me to visit again.
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