SA Trip 2026 - Days 9 and 10 - The Run Home (II)

 Day 9 - Port Fairy to Torquay

I woke up to the sound of rain against the bedroom window. After having a very good run with warm weather for most of this trip, the closer I got to home the colder and wetter it became. 

I visited a couple of my favourite beaches before continuing east.

East Beach (Port Fairy)

Killarney Beach (not Port Fairy)

It's normally a relatively straight forward drive from Port Fairy to home, which can normally be achieved in one day. I had a couple of final stops which stretched this out into a two day trip.

The first stop was lunch in a familiar place, Timboon Cafe & Distillery.

That is a mocktail, by the way. I think this has been the first time I have purposefully visited a distillery and not tried their product. Being a responsible adult (also on medication) (also without someone else to drive) I behaved myself. Did I buy a bottle for later consumption? Yes I did.

No pies today. Instead, I enjoyed some Korean Fried Chicken with some chips. Yum.

After lunch I hopped across to Timboon Fine Ice-Cream. The flavour combination chosen today? Whisky cream and lemon sorbet. Yes, it did work. 

From Timboon it was pleasant drive through the Otways to Lorne. Then things went a little bit mad. The traffic going through Lorne was banked up about 500 metres or so. I soon worked out what was happening. Friday was a public holiday, and those people not interested in seeing two interstate teams fight it out in the AFL grand final the next day (i.e. most people) had skipped town (Melbourne) to enjoy a long weekend. The great Ocean Road seemed to be a popular place to do just that. From Lorne through to Torquay the popular road was busier that Bourke Street.

Eventually I made it to Torquay and my last overnight stay away. I stayed at a place called Surf Hotel which is being managed by one of my clients with his partner looking after the culinary side of things. The place had recently been renovated and my room included something I hadnt seen in a hotel room before: 

The beer garden was absolutely packed with patrons enjoying themselves. As were the other two venues located next door. Gotta love pointless public holidays!

It was good to catch up with my clients, and pleased for them that the hotel was so busy.

Day 10 - Torquay to Home

All good trips must some to an end and sadly, that included this one. The trip home took only a couple of hours and I arrived home around lunch time.

Final Thoughts

The primary purpose(s) of this trip was to attend a funeral and support a friend. There were a number of secondary purposes, including the visiting of some clients who I had not seen in a while and also doing something I really like (road trips).

This trip was a reinforcement of my philosophy of making the most of your experiences. The funeral, as well as my health challenges, were, and are, reminders of this tenet. 

Pie Winner

Elliott's Bakehouse in Kadina and their steak and mushroom pie. Ignoring the actual scores, this pie was the most memorable and deserves to be crowned Pie Winner of This Trip.