Fully rested and finally adjusted to a 14 hour time change we hit the road for breakfast in Paynesville – a short 30-minute hop
Nourished for the day, we then took what must be the world’s shortest ferry over to Raymond Island for a walk. 
The purpose of this early morning excursion is Australia’s signature creature – the Koala – come along🐾
Our walk was a lovely loop of about a mile through the neighborhood and eucalyptus grove. We spotted 6 in short order – each nestling on a branch dosing away or eating breakfast on one of the 25 varieties they like (out of over 700 species of eucalyptus trees).
Quite amazing to be so close to them in the wild.
After that we travelled on to the gold mining town of Walhalla which was quite the experience as well. Tucked in a gulch, this town had the largest gold haul of any in Australia’s Goldrush (74 tons) manually dug out of mine shafts the length of 55 miles.
Our fabulous host Michael from the Star hotel showed us around and provided the stories to bring this gem of a town to life. An outstandingunch with local Rose 🍷 accompanied our final stop before reaching Melbourne.
Stay tuned for my next blog on the final leg of the trip.
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