Two days in Warrnambool

My second day in Warrnambool finds me exploring the coastal ranges and the city - covering over 15km today. There are several small bays around the area which have been designated protected areas for the marine and avian wildlife, but you are able to get close and see the wonderfully clear layers (bedding plains) within the rock strata ;). While hiking around the harbour I witnessed horses being taken for a swim in the sea, which they clearly loved - the handlers first warmed them up on the beach, road them and finally took them one by one into the water to be guided by a rowing boat within the bay - wonderful :)
However on a sombre note - my camera phone, which has served me well for 6 months on the road enduring -20C temperatures, rain storms and blistering 40C heat waves has finally given up the ghost after several stuttering days of 2-5min battery life from a full charge!! (the battery when tested was found to be beyond any hope of recovery and a replacement, which would have cost $40, could not be found…) So off to an electronics store for an alternative… I have opted to purchase a Canon PowerShot A495 from Dick Smith $78 on special offer, which has 10 mega pixels, lots of gadgets, video mode and runs on AA batteries so no problems when returning home ;) Hopefully this means that I can continue to bring to you photo’s and video from the trip. I did want to get straight on with using the camera so sat on the high street putting it all together only to have a very kind Ozzie gentleman sitting next to me give me a guided tour of the features of my new camera - he had bought a Canon for his own hols and new their features inside out :) His top advise was to format the memory card so that photo’s taken were not lost in transfer and there was plenty of guidance on the use of the manual settings - so expect good results ;)… Awsome bloke.
Final stop of the day was to catch the Oscar nominated ‘Kings Speech’ at the local cinema $14 (~£10). The seats make me nostalgic for the old Cambridge cinema as they were how I remember; red, furry and sublimely comfortable ;) The Kings Speech turns out to be a sensational film with superb parts played by Rush, Bonham-Carter and Firth - it will bring a tear to your eye while dancing a spotlight over a part of British history often neglected. Highly recommended.
The last stop in Warrnambool is the harbour front café - the outdoor balcony is a great place to watch the horses going for a swim on this chilly and foggy morning… while the service at the café is friendly it does take a long time to get a coffee due to the shear number of people here on a Sunday morning…
Well - next stop back to Melbourne using V-line coach and train…