Peering through the windscreen the sparkling bay suddenly came into view, as beautiful as I remember. The trip to Portland in Victoria’s South-West was a trip down memory lane. Family holidays for a fortnight in January were the norm as a child. As a teenager regular trips in my father’s De Haviland Offshore nourished my saltwater fishing habit. Two decades after my last visit my wife and I motored back into town. It was good to be back!

Portland Town

Portland is a large town situated on the South West coastline, half way between Melbourne and Adelaide on the Great Ocean Road. The town is best known as being "Victoria’s birthplace" and thus is absolutely steeped in history. The earliest settlers were sealers and whalers but in one of Australia’s first examples of gross resource mismanagement the whales were hunted to extinction by 1840, in a short two decades. Pioneers the Henty brothers turned from whaling to farming and extensive inland exploration and settlement began.

Nowadays the township is better known as being a thriving commercial deep-water port. Despite it being a long way from Victoria’s capital city Melbourne, it sees huge amounts of freight, both import and export every year. It is also home to the well-known Alcoa aluminium smelter. No one could argue that either of the two industries are particularly pleasing to the eye, but they provide a valuable source of employment and income to the town. Looking past the industrial sites is not too difficult in a wonderful place like Portland however.

For Visitors

Portland has much to offer visitors. The history of the town is immediately apparent, with many of the heritage buildings retained and beautifully maintained. The township has a small but vibrant shopping centre, plenty of eateries and a myriad of diverse viewing opportunities from the working harbour to the more conventional tourist opportunities such as the Cape Nelson lighthouse.

Visitors to the other South West coastal towns (Warrnambool and Port Fairy) are very well catered for in the surf beach department. Portland boasts some very protected beaches and thus is a very safe place to enjoy a dip. The town beach is a lovely place for a paddle with the young children, or for those looking for a little wave action the "Nun’s Beach" is the other option. Swimmers who prefer a surf beach need only travel out to Bridgewater Bay to see one of the nicest surf beaches on the coast.

For Fisho’s

Is Portland Victoria’s best kept fishing secret? Well maybe not, but it is a long way from Victoria’s major provincial cities and so isn’t as accessible as other coastal areas. This is a huge shame, because the Portland coastline is as good fishing area as any you’ll find in Victoria. There is an excellent mix of the "bread and butter" species, whiting and flathead around. Snapper are present and annual visits from species such as haddock and salmon keep the fishing very interesting. For those chasing a species a lot more exotic there are still annual visits by kingfish and bluefin tuna are still taken at times by switched on anglers.

At Portland you don’t necessarily have to have a boat to get amongst the fish. The Lee Breakwater forms the northern edge of Portland harbour and extends into Portland Bay for just over one kilometre.

Fishing on the Lee Breakwater. Who cares if it rains!

Sadly nowadays anglers are denied access to the harbour’s other breakwater, the Anderson Wharf leading out to the "corkscrew". The only access to this area was through the busy port area and safety issues have nowadays (sensibly) seen it closed to the public. There is however access around the fisherman’s wharf on the canal within the harbour and there are some top fish to be taken from there.

As in most other fishing scenarios, if you do have a boat you’ll be treated to some sensational fishing. Portland harbour has an excellent public (double) boat ramp offering good access in all tides. Temporary mooring facilities, a fish-cleaning table, toilet block and appropriate parking for vehicles with trailers complements the ramp area.

The harbour itself offers some great fishing to those in smaller boats or on those days where it’s a little lumpy offshore. Once outside the harbour the opportunities are boundless, regardless of which direction you travel.

Portland Bound

Our trip began on Thursday morning when we rolled into the north-western suburb of Brooklyn in Melbourne to the Britz depot. We’d chosen the "Hi Top Overlander Campervan" for our trip. With just the two of us and plenty of activities planned a larger vehicle was unnecessary, we suspected the optimum mobility of the smaller unit would be a huge advantage.

After signing all the appropriate papers and having the vehicle use explained to us by a friendly Britz staffer, we stowed our gear and headed down the Geelong freeway.

Not that we needed much gear. Everything is supplied in these campervans. All crockery, cutlery, bedding and towels are supplied. There’s a little Engel fridge for the foodstuffs and drinks, a gas stove for cooking, a sink with electric water pump and plenty of storage space for all your travelling needs.

The Hi Top Overlander Campervan is a dual personality vehicle. The day setting has the seating either side with a table in the middle. The night setting converts over to a double and one single bed in about 20 seconds flat. I was very impressed with the short length of time the conversion takes. I see this as being very important in a dual-purpose area. Nobody wants to waste valuable leisure time trying to work out how to set the bed up.

A leisurely drive down the coastal highways saw us in Portland late in the day. Whilst it would have been lovely to travel the Great Ocean Road, time wasn’t exactly on our side and simply getting there with a couple of rest stops took us most of the day. Better to save the Great Ocean Road for another trip with more time to stop and take in the many sights.

The Lawrence Rocks are quite breathtaking.

We did however take a slight detour, as we got closer to Portland. The back road around the Dutton Way gave Carlyn her first glimpse of the town and my first look in almost two decades. Looking up and over the stark cliff faces towards the harbour I reflected on whether the earliest sailors would have looked upon these very same rock faces almost 200 years ago. I guess so.

Our Portland

Whilst our Britz Hi Top Overlander Campervan offered optimum mobility, we also wanted to walk around the town as well, so we chose a lovely little caravan park within the town to camp. It’s not entirely necessary, but handy to have the 240-volt connection and the shower and toilet facilities are a bonus.

As is always the case when we visit a coastal town, the first port of call is usually the local fish and chip shop to sample the local fare. Typically of seaside villages we weren’t let down, and our first Portland meal was spent down at the grassy foreshore within the town. A drive around the town re-acquainted me with the town, as well as showing Carlyn a few of the sights. The drive out the Lee Breakwater reinforced what I already knew, my fishing destination for Saturday was set.

A short drive saw us back at the caravan park and set up for the night. It was a little unusual to not have a television, however we took books and magazines to read and the ABC on the radio kept us entertained with both tennis and cricket throughout the weekend. It’s nice to get away from the ‘idiot box’ every so often.

To Fish

The next morning heralded and typically of most of the weekend we were blessed with fine weather. Keen for a well-rounded weekend we had a tremendous stroll through the streets of Portland, with much time spent in the tackle shop and Portland Disposals where I once worked as a teenager. The shopping centre is compact and what it lacks in big name retail outlets it makes up for with good old-fashioned country service. It was a very easy matter to gain some information on fish species being taken and the best baits from the Sportspower store. With frozen squid and pipis in the esky, we headed out the Lee Breakwater for a spot of fishing.

The South West of Victoria can be pretty fickle weather wise, as anyone who’s lived or visited there will tell you. Consequently it was no surprise to me when early in our fishing session it began to rain. Immediately I was singing the praises of our little Britz camper. On the Lee Breakwater you park right next to where you fish. By simply sliding the camper’s side door open I could sit out of the wind and rain but have my rods within reach at all times. I was the envy of the breakwater.

A nice salmon taken from the Lee Breakwater.

Unfortunately the fish didn’t really want to play. Aside from a few bites and a tiny trevally that found it’s way onto the hook it was a quiet fishing day. Looking up and down the breakwater I wasn’t Robinson Crusoe however. Aside from a nice salmon taken next to me there was little else landed that afternoon. That’s fishing though, you do your best and hope the fish are about.

That night we dined like a king and queen. Thwarted by the booked out seafood restaurant, we decided pizza and pasta were the next best options. A booking at the local restaurant was made and we weren’t disappointed. The stroll back to the camper that night was more of a waddle. These coastal restaurants really know how to put on a great feed.

Sightseeing

Sunday broke fine and warm and the decision was made to take in some of the fine sights around Portland and the surrounding coastline. A trip out past Alcoa to the Lawrence Rocks lookout saw me reaching for the camera quick smart.

From there we visited the Cape Otway lighthouse and then travelled out to see the incredible petrified forest, blow holes and surf beach at nearby Bridgewater. Just before lunch we indulged in one of our favourite activities, wine tasting at a very central Portland winery.

En route to the winery we did a reconnaissance drive around the Portland Canal and fishermen’s wharf in search of a different fishing spot. With a packed tea in the fridge we headed down to this beautiful little spot late in the day. I’d been told there had been a few pinkie snapper taken on the previous evening.

Well the snapper were nowhere to be seen, but we did have a red hot fishing session, highlighted by a "triple header" of big whiting, which saw Carlyn’s little redfin rod almost dragged in by a double of these succulent fish. Other captures for the evening were juvenile salmon, flathead and small trevally. In addition to the fishing we were constantly entertained by monster stingrays, which would cruise up over the rocks at the edge. I was also very surprised to see a juvenile salmon taken from just under the surface by a small, rampant squid that shot up from the weed bed. It’s amazing what you see while waiting for a bite.

Head for home

Monday saw us having a leisurely breakfast and pointing our Britz camper back towards Melbourne. It’s a reasonable hike and we still had to return the camper then hop into our own car for the trip back to Bendigo. With a few stops for rests and a snack we needed the best part of the day to achieve this, so we motored out of town around 10 am, ending our Portland stop over.

Conclusion

Portland is a lovely old town, not quite as "pacey" as it’s near neighbours Port Fairy and Warrnambool. If you favour a more laid back holiday in a beautiful, historic coastal town, this is the place for you. Whether from shore or boat, the fishing is fantastic so it’s a great destination for the travelling angler. More so it’s a great place to take a young family with it’s sheltered beaches and family orientated foreshore area.

For the couple or family with one child the Britz Hi Top Overlander Campervan was an ideal vehicle to do this trip, I highly recommend it. It was a delight to drive, really no different to the family sedan. Whilst offering excellent living conditions it was still petite enough to take anywhere. The little fuel injected Toyota motor punted it along the highway very well, but it remained very economical, even with the air conditioner on most of the time. If you’ve got a few days to kill I can really recommend a Portland trip in the Britz Camper.

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