The morning was cool and overcast as Mark set off for his morning bike ride and as I said off for my walk. Without a coastline or a river to walk along I chose to just meander through the streets of Penola.

Penola is the home of Mary MacKillop and it is where she founded her religious order and first school. The Mary MacKillop Centre is located on the site of her old schoolhouse and is open to visitors. There is a pretty lane, Petticoat Lane, that runs alongside the Centre and is lined with some well preserved 1850s heritage cottages and is well worth a stroll if you’re ever in the area.

An in-room continental breakfast was provided with our tariff and we enjoyed that before setting off, at around 10 am, for Robe.

We arrived into Robe at around midday and were pleasantly surprised. Robe is very pretty port and fishing village, with lots of charming historic 1850s era cottages, and its location on the limestone coast makes for the most magnificent blue coastal waters. The town features a quaint High-street lined with cafes, restaurants, lovely homeward stores and dress boutiques. Apparently, the population of Robe is only just over 1,100 so it’s quite intriguing to see this lively town thriving as it seems to.

Our check-in wasn’t until 2 pm and so we did a little drive around before heading back to the High Street to park and stroll along to find somewhere for lunch. Sadly, for Mark, the one and only dress boutique I ventured into, Holiday, had a pretty pink top of which I am now the proud owner. There was a nice mix of all ages strolling up and down the street making for a bit of a change from the grey-nomad dominated areas we had been in for the last few days.

The Adventurous Spoon cafe was at the end of our first lap and was where we decided to stop for lunch. This was a lovely option as it had a huge outdoor conservatory so we could enjoy the sunshine but avoid the gentle breeze that was blowing.

After lunch we went back and checked into our room at Robe Marina Accommodation. As the name implies, the accommodation is located on the marina and just a bit further along from the High Street so is well positioned for accessing all there is to do in the area. It was a nice big room with a large bathroom and the only issue we experienced was the poor (read: non-existent) wifi.

We set out again at about 2.30 pm and headed to the Robe Obelisk. This was built back in 1855 to warn seafarers about the coastline. It was originally painted white but various ship captains complained that it blended in with the white sand of the beach making it hard to identify and so they had to re-paint it with red stripes.

After that we went in search of the Robe Town Brewery. Mark seems to find a brewery where ever we go. The brewery was located in a warehouse set within a small and light commercial district and just on the edge of town. It was an interesting place for sure, entirely decked out with secondhand furniture and various trash and treasure items. There were quite a few patrons there, and a huge number of flies, but Mark managed to find a few beers to his liking.

Dinner was booked for 6.30 pm at the Caledonian Inn and so we then headed home to shower before the walk into town for dinner.