Petrol pumps come to you in Apollo Bay
CONCERNS over the temporary closure of Apollo Bay’s only fuel supply have been alleviated following talks with key stakeholders this week.
The town’s Caltex station, which is to be rebranded Ampol, closed this week to undergo works, which are expected to take between 12-14 weeks to complete.
Ampol said the project represented a significant investment required to modernise the site and ensure it continued to operate safely and reliably for the local community and visitors into the future.
The company said the work would include the replacement of fuel tanks and lines, a new canopy and an upgraded shop to better meet customer needs. Delivery of the works has been timed so the site can reopen ahead of the peak summer holiday period.
The federal member for Corangamite, Libby Coker, has welcomed th e progress made by key stakeholders to finalise a solution for fuel supply in Apollo Bay during the renovations.
The township will still be able to obtain fuel at a fixed location, in addition to at-home deliveries by HaloGo.
A pop-up roadside fuel service will operate from Thursdays until Saturdays, initially located on McLaren Pde, between the Great Ocean Road and Nelson St, from 10am to 4pm, and a fuel delivery service will operate between 7pm and 10pm on the same days, booked via the HaloGo app.
The pop-up service will also be available this Sunday.
A $5 service fee per vehicle will apply to both services, and a $10.50 fee will apply should anyone need an emergency refill.
“The outcome is not perfect, with many of us wanting a four or five-day-a-week service at a minimum,” Ms Coker said.
“However ... I would like to thank Caltex and the community for working with me to improve the proposal.
“A major concern for me and many within the community was the previous proposal (two weekdays and home delivery only) did not consider the potential hit to tourism the region could face due to reduced fuel availability.”
Signs will warn visitors of the changes.
Further information about access to the fuel delivery service can be found at www.halogo.com.au.
SINCE becoming a resident in the Geelong district in the 1970s, the rainbow lorikeet has become one of our best-known birds.
Its vivid colours, strident voice and fondness for the apples in our gardens make it difficult to ignore.
But three other lorikeet species found here largely escape notice for they are smaller, less vivid in plumage and have softer voices.
They will visit the suburban areas when there are tall eucalypts in flower, but their real home is in the yellow gum and ironbark woodlands.
Last week I had an opportunity to visit a small reserve at Balliang where there is a large yellow gum laden with blossom. Here small flocks of musk lorikeets were feeding on nectar and pollen.
They are slightly smaller than the rainbows, about starling-size, and beautifully coloured in scarlet and light blue over vivid green.
How they gained their name is unclear — according to Joseph Forshaw in his book Australian Parrots it comes from the birds’ musky odour.
“The only odour I have been able to detect when handling live birds is similar to that associated with many other parrot species,” he added.
By contrast, its scientific name concinna is derived from the Latin word for “pretty”.
Lorikeets are not popular with orchardists for they have been accused of damaging ripening fruit. But they are important in other ways, notably in assisting in pollinating flowering trees.
Despite their smaller size they will occasionally pair up with the rainbow lorikeet, and hybrids have been known to be successfully reared.
All of the lorikeets nest in tree-hollows, each species selecting a hole just large enough for them to enter.
Around Geelong suitable trees are becoming increasingly scarce as these trees die or are cut for firewood. Replanting and nurturing native gum trees is important, but it takes a long, long time for them to develop hollows.
The other two lorikeet species are the purple-crowned and the aptly-named little lorikeet. These two are scarcely larger than sparrows, truly avian gems.
Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@gmail.com