Volcano Country

As recently as 8000 years ago, volcanoes were active around Colac in mid western Victoria.

Created by the cooling of the lava flows, Lake Corangamite is the largest permanent salt water lake in Australia.  In the 1950s the lake was substantially higher and each summer evening some hundreds of locals descended on it for swimming and picnics.

t is great cattle country with rolling hills created by the lava flows Red Rock at Aviel is dormant, not extinct, so choose your visiting date carefully. It was last active just 8000 years ago. The craters are quite apparent, and are often, but not at the moment, the holders of lakes.

The updrafts were falcon heaven. Double-trouble: a pair of Brown Falcons just hovered effortlessly.

They hovered right in front of me as I stood on the top of the, I repeat, dormant, volcano.

Good territory it seems for birds of prey, as there was also this Black-Shouldered Kite.

Lower down around the lake were plenty of Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos:

Michael Monaghan

25 April 2018