Oatlands 4 – 5 January 2008

Drove onto Oatlands, (yes, you guessed it) another historic town, with 180 Georgian buildings for a population of 550. Camped by Lake Dulverton, which turned out to be a dry lake bed. We spent two days wandering around the town and admiring the buildings. This is the most complete Georgian town we have seen that hasn’t been stuffed by over-development or tourist traps. The weather continued on a hot streak and for the first time this trip we went for a swim!! The pool was built in the 1950’s in the remains of their old goal and it was a strange mixture of happy laughing children surrounded by big stone walls with their dark secrets. Never-the-less, the water was great! Caught up with Pete and Thea (whom we had met in Hobart) and had a BBQ that night.
There is a trickle of water in stream on the edge of the dry lake and the birds congregate there. We are right next to it and have enjoyed watching the cygnets. We wonder how the two sea gulls got here 100kms from the sea? The wind came up strongly in the night creating a sound in the big pines like the ocean and shadows from them on the lake bed at night looked like waves! It was remarkable for a waterless lake to be so alive!