After participating in the conference Performance Studies International PSI #22 Performing Climates I had reserved a week to stay in Australia and perhaps find some landscape to perform in and with. When planning this I did not realize it is winter here, that is, the rainy season. In a city like Melbourne some rain now and then does not matter so much, but in the country side rain is a nuisance. The footpaths are all wet and slippery, the landscape looks grey and worst of all, the camera does not like water. When I looked at the weather forecast it showed sun at the end of the week, when I would return to Melbourne, but what could I do. So early on Sunday morning I took a tram to the Southern Cross station and then a train to Geelong, where i could catch a bus to take me along the great ocean road all the way to Apollo Bay for a start. I arrived here in the afternoon yesterday, and spent some time walking to the guesthouse on the outskirt of this little town and then back again, along the beach. I was very happy that I brought a proper rain suit with me, a pair of trousers and a coat to wear on top of my normal clothes. Rain is a lot less irritating, when you do not get wet. I walked up to the Mariner’s Lookout to enjoy a great view of the bay, and headed back to the village to get a torch. And sure it came in handy when I had to find my way back after dinner in the evening.
 

 

 
This morning the sky was clearer and the sun was out, which made the strong wind a lot more enjoyable. I walked along the shore and tried to think of what to work with? Perhaps the tall trees growing along the path, which seemed rather special in many ways. But what to do with them? Simply making photos of their rather spectacular trunks did not seem so interesting…
 

 

 

 
I tried to record my customary sea view, after Sugimoto, but did not find a place where the surf would not be included when the horizon was at the middle of the image. The waves look great, of course, although they are hard to catch, except by accident.
 

 
In the afternoon I walked up to Marengo, the village where the path called the great ocean walk actually starts. And I walked on it for a while, enjoying the scenery. But then the path led me down to the beach and a sign warned against high tide. I knew the tide was on its way in, and the path might be under water at the time I would be coming back before sunset, so I decided to turn back there and then although the sun was shining and the rainbow over the sea was like a perfect decoration.
 

 

 

 
Before I reached the bridge across the river that separates Marengo from Apollo Bay, the rain was pouring down. And tomorrow the weather forecast promises more rain. I have one more day to walk around here, and to try to find some place to perform in or with. If I cannot find anything, then so be it. In that case I simply have to enjoy walking in the rain simply for the fun of it…