Hi guys! Although it was a while back, I thought I’d share my experiences during the September term break where I went on a short 3-day road trip to the East Gippland area (it was around a 3.5 hour drive). Stayed at a isolated destination called Wattle Point, a peaceful retreat beside the lake not too far from the popular holiday destination Lakes Entrance. My motivation for this getaway came from doing a Vocational Business Practicum back in February this year, where I stayed in Bairnsdale and worked on a project for the East Gippsland Food Cluster. After enjoying my short time there, I decided that I would return and further explore the area when I got the chance.
The self-contained lodge we stayed at was great, with everything we needed – bedroom, lounge, kitchen, gas log fire, BBQ equipment, etc. There were also many facilities there such as an indoor heated pool, outdoor mineral spa, tennis court, and bike/canoe hiring to explore the area by land or water! Everything complimentary with the stay of course. There were kangaroos everywhere outside our lodge (front and rear), which we were also given some food to feed. Funnily enough, once you feed one you get a bunch of others running up to you from all directions lol. Here are some photos:
Although there was plenty to do at the retreat, we still made the most of the opportunity to visit nearby towns, namely Lakes Entrance and Paynesville. It was a 20-30 min drive to those places and here are some random things we noticed.
Let’s start with Lakes Entrance. It was a weekday during the non-holiday season, so it was fairly quiet and some things were closed. But that didn’t deter from the beauty of the place, if anything it made it even better as it was so serene and peaceful as you wouldn’t believe! The layout out of the place: the town is surrounded by a lake but you can cross a pedestrian bridge to the beach, so really you get the best of both worlds. We also managed to spot some dolphins swimming by – some say that’s a sign of good luck!
Moving onto Paynesville, also known as the ‘boating capital’ of Victoria due to being surrounded on three sides by lakes. Here we caught a free ferry across to Raymond Island, supposedly home to around 300 koalas. We walked a 1.2km Koala Trail trying to spot them, though we only managed to see 6. Better than nothing I guess! Apart from koala spotting, it was a nice stroll walking along the houses of the residents there and along the lake.
To finish off, we drove another half hour or so to the Buchan Caves where we did a guided tour inside the Royal Cave. We got to see lots of limestone formations inside a cave that was created almost 400 million years ago. If you’ve never visited this type of cave before then it might be worthwhile doing so, and it’s suitable all year round as it stays a constant 17 deg C inside!
Well hope you all enjoyed this short but photo-filled post, it’s time for me to quit procrastinating and attempt to get some exam study done. It’s a busy time for everyone now with exams coming up in the next few weeks, but I’m sure as always, we’ll make it through this time of hardship. – Kenneth
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