We took Thursday and Friday off work last week and headed down to Wilson’s Promontory with friends. But first, we celebrated our 26th anniversary on Wednesday. I’ve been keen to try Gimlet since we got out of lockdown, but scoring a table is hard. I booked for Wednesday in mid-January, and we had a choice of 5:45 pm or 8:15 pm… I chose 5:45 pm. We decided to catch the train, which saved driving and parking stress. We arrived 15 minutes early, but our table was ready, so we settled into the dark leather banquette seating at our corner table. I chose the restaurant’s namesake cocktail, a Gimlet, to begin proceedings and Hubby had a beer while we perused the menu.

We chose the seasonal menu, which included their most popular dishes. One of the entrees was an heirloom tomato dish, and some of the cherry tomatoes tasted like candy; they were so sweet. The most memorable food for me was the pistachio gelato on one of our desserts. It tasted like eating a creamy, sweet version of actual pistachio nuts with the perfect hint of salt. So, so yummy!

It was still just light by the time we finished and the lights were just coming on in the city. The weather was perfect to be out and about, but with our big extended weekend planned we headed straight for the train. It was fully dark by the time we reached our station and had an encounter with a cheeky ring-tail possum just walking up the handrail of the ramp completely unconcerned by the disembarking passengers.

The next morning our plan was to do our scheduled runs and then head off down the coast. I woke up late, after a bad sleep and got dressed, but as I was getting ready to leave, a huge thunderstorm started, so I pulled the pin, and we decided just to do the washing, then pack up and head off. Hubby being an early riser, managed to get his run in before the storm.

Tidal River, the main accommodation area in Wilson’s Promontory National Park, is about a three-hour drive from our house. We left at 11 am and stopped in the small village of Loch for a light lunch at Olive at Loch. They have a yummy selection of frittatas, toasties, pies, etc, all served with salad. Frittata for me and pie for Hubby. The baked goods were all looking very tempting, but Hubby can never go past scones, which were huge, so we shared one. We checked into our accommodation around 3:30 pm, and our friends weren’t too far behind us, so Geoff didn’t get the afternoon nap he was looking forward to. To get acquainted with the area we walked along the Loo-Errn Boardwalk through the wetlands and along Tidal River to Norman Beach.

The small taste of Wilson’s Prom’s beauty on our first day left me keen to get out and explore in the coming days …