Port Fairy holiday, walks and eating out

Our holiday in Port Fairy last month made me understand why people return to the same holiday location year after year.  We have never done it before.  I love exploring new places. This year however was our third time staying in the holiday cottages.  And it worked.  Planning was really easy.  We didn't need research or maps.  We knew great places to eat, tried some new ones and had a relaxing time with no pressure to see it all.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon - thanks to my mum loaning us her car.  (Our car had been stolen! More of that saga already written about elsewhere on blog.)  We have stayed at Orchard Cottages twice before.  Sylvia remembered the place fondly because she loved the stairs to the mezzanine bedroom.  She brought along her lego and coloured pens for entertainment.

E and I really love the cosy ambiance of the cottage.   The books, the pictures, the crochet rugs, the wood stove.  Our last trips have been earlier in the spring and we have found it necessary to light the fire.  This trip was a lot warmer so we only lit it a couple of times and on the first night it was far too hot.  Which didn't help Sylvia sleeping in the mezzanine!  I also must mention Terence the cat.  E and Sylvia spent a lot of time outside playing with him.

One reason we love Orchard Cottages is that we have our own space to relax and to eat.  I organise the food to take with us.  What we took was fairly similar to last year: baked beans, packaged curries, pringles chips, nutella, English muffins, nuttalex, oats (for porridge), milk,vegemite, roast chickpeas, tinned chickpeas, tomato soup, crackers, herbal tea bags, chocolate, prunes, apples and a few vegies.  As with last year, we took some of it home but it was all non-perishable food that lasted well.  I also bought my favourite little plastic chopping board, knife, a few tubs and some plastic plate, bowl and cup for Sylvia.

The night before we left, I baked a batch of gingerbread biscuits.  It was a great little snack to have on hand and take with us on walks.  The recipe makes heaps so we had quite a few to take home.

One reason we arrived on a Friday was to visit the Community Market on Saturday morning.  I was disappointed to find it no longer has a baker.  However I did have a pakora and a ricotta, sultana and white chocolate doughnut.  We also bought some jelly slice.  Sylvia's choice!

Most of our time at the market was spent waiting for Sylvia to have her face painted.  We watched the face painter hammer down the tent because it was so windy.  The stall with the wind chimes made of silver tea pots and spoons was rather loud, in a nice sort of way.

After the market we had lunch at the excellent Farmer's Wife Harvest Cafe.  (It was so good it deserves its own post - coming soon.)   Then E and Sylvia spent time in the opportunity shop in search of second hand bargains while I went to Darriwill Farm for fancy food.  Dinner was a simple matter of spinach and macadamia dip, La Madre casalinga, swiss cheese and vegies.  So good.  So easy.

We returned to the Clonmara Tearoom.  We had enjoyed their food and hospitality so much last time that it was high on our list of places to eat.  There were no baked beans on the menu but when I asked, I was given some lovely home made baked beans with hash browns, tomato and toast.  This time there were no potato scones or haggis on the menu but we did receive the same warm welcome from the owners.

We also returned to Tower Hill.  It is a short drive from Port Fairy.  Yet again, I found the scenery stunning and loved being in the bush.  The views in the dormant volcano are beautiful.  We did a walk up to a lookout that looked across the nearby farmlands to the sea.

There were no kangaroos spotted this year but we did have to stop the car to let an emu cross the road.  We stopped to watch a lizard on the walking path and Sylvia was delighted to see Scottish thistles in flower.  Some wildlife was less welcome.  The mosquitoes were everywhere in Port Fairy and at Tower Hill.  And they loved sucking on my blood!  There were also lots of dragonflies about.  They are more harmless.

I took some snacks for our walks.  The cafe seemed pretty rudimentary on our last visit.  Some packets of roasted chickpeas, gingerbread and chopped apples did us nicely.

However by the time we got back to Port Fairy, we were ready for an ice cream.  I had promised Sylvia she would have an ice cream in Port Fairy.  We went to Rebecca's.  I had chocolate, Sylvia had butterscotch and E had salted caramel.  We all really loved the salted caramel.  Someone recommended the ice creams or gelatos at Poco Artisan Ice Cream on Cox Street.  Maybe we will try them next holiday.

We had some time at the cottage to relax (and build cubby huts in the garden) and then Sylvia and I had a swim at the local pool.  It was not a great decision to head out with wet hair to look for the mutton birds flying in at dark on Griffith Island.  We were all so cold and uncertain of what we were looking for.  It is so easy to forget how warm spring days can turn to chilly nights quickly.  Finally we left and as we did we saw some birds flying in.

After a chilly night out we needed fish and chips to warm us up.  Wisharts on the Wharf - just up the road from the cottage - was the fish and chip shop we had been to on our previous visits.  We were surprised to find it had closed.  Luckily I asked a local who pointed me in the direction of Charlie's on East.  It was worth a drive.  Crisp golden chips, great potato cakes and lovely corn jacks.

The next day we did something we hadn't done on previous visits.  We crossed the river on the pedestrian bridge to explore the other side.

I had packed some bikkies and hummus, gingerbread and apple.  We stopped at a little picnic spot by a cart to eat a picnic lunch by the river.  E had actually planned we might go to Botanic Gardens but we never got that far.  Instead we wandered along the river until we came to a deserted beach.

I walked along the water's edge.  Sylvia and E built a sandcastle of sorts.  Sylvia lay in the sand to make a sand angel (like a snow angel).  We all wrote in the sand and watched the tide wash away our words.  Then we walked back and found ourselves going off the beaten trail into the bush.  At one stage I found myself in a staring contest with a wallaby.  She left first with her joey in her pouch.  We checked out the old canons and headed back to the cottage.

Another walk meant another visit to a cafe for a sugar fix.  This time it was The Hub.  I chose the Tim Tam Cheesecake.  It was every bit as decadent as it sounded.  The huge slice was too much for me to finish but I made a great effort.  As well as layers of chocolate cake, white chocolate cheese cake and milk chocolate cheesecake there was a layer of caramel and a piece of Tim Tam biscuit on top.

Dinner was a simple affair that night.  Boxed curries and naan bread.  We were on holiday and wanted something easy.  It was that sort of holiday.  No wifi, no tv, early nights, lots of good food, lots of the great outdoors, lots of walks, and lots of reading.  By the time we were ready to drive home, I felt refreshed.