Port Fairy, Victoria

Port Fairy is a small town on the Princes Highway in western Victoria. These days it’s mainly a holiday town and the home of a fishing fleet but in the past it was a busy port. It’s a town with real character and still has many of the cottages and bluestone buildings that were built in its heyday. Between the historic buildings and the wharf area, it’s a good town for a walking tour.

Heading west along the Princes Highway from Port Fairy, about 12km away, is a turnoff to a place called The Crags. The Crags has some rugged cliffs and good views out over the ocean, and is a good place to explore rock pools – something I love doing.

A couple of kilometres further along the highway is Tower Hill State Game Reserve. Tower Hill is an extinct volcano which contains a lake. There are picnic areas, walking trails and plenty of wildlife.

Another couple of kilometres on the highway and you’ll come to the little village of Yambuk. The bluestone hotel here offers meals and accommodation. Turning left at the hotel takes you to Lake Yambuk. There’s a camping ground there and you can also fish from the jetty or take a walk to the beach. The beach here isn’t really safe for swimming, but the last time I was there, my sister and I found a rock pool that was large enough to swim in, near the river mouth. There’s also a very long, high slide at Lake Yambuk. It’s probably about 15 or 20 metres long and is popular with kids young and old.

If you continue along the highway, you’ll come to Codrington. This is the site of a wind farm, which has tours available. The tours take you right up to the base of one of the towers. A lot of negative comments are made about wind towers but I actually like them. They have a sort of eerie quality about them. I was surprised how quiet they are. We were standing right under the turbine and after about 15 minutes I didn’t even notice the sound any more. Cattle were happy to graze around them too, so it obviously didn’t bother them either.

There are lots of other interesting places along this part of the Victorian coast. I really like a lot of the little villages scattered along the Princes Highway. It’s an area with a lot of character.