18 February 2012 - Timbool

Today I tried out the Timbool to Camperdown rail trail which is another of the old Victorian rail lines that has been converted to into a cycling, walking, horse riding trail. The section from the the town of Cobden to Camperdown is not up to much with many diversions in place due to a recalcitrant farmer who does not want people crossing his boundaries. I therefore decided to cycle from Port Campbell to Cobden, half on road and half on rail trail with Clare meeting me in Cobden.

It was a warm day, bit more reminiscent of a proper summers day. The countryside out of   Port Campbell is very scenic with much of it devoted to dairy farming. It took about an hour to get to the start of the trail at Timbool where I had to slow down a bit as the annual 'Rail Trail run' was in full swing. Once past the runners, I was able to speed up a bit. The trail was great, albeit a little under utilised as I only saw one other cyclist during my trip. Very tree lined and a great trestle bridge that has been restored and well worth the second visit later in the day

I waited for Clare in Cobden and we headed back for Timbool for lunch and and ice cream. Timbool has a small distillery that is also a cafe and ice cream shop. With 500ml of local whisky costing $120, I think the cafe and ice cream shops are definitely the mainstays of the business. I had a tasting of a 3 yo malt and I would struggle to justify paying $12 a bottle let alone $120.

We headed back to Port Campbell and let the kids be dare devils on the bikes down the driveway of the campsite. Lachie is having some great stacks but so far nothing that is stopping him from getting straight back on the bike - touch wood.

Tomorrow we will head further along the Great Ocean Rd before heading inland to Forrest.