Lakes Entrance, Victoria

Lakes Entrance has been a lovely surprise for us even though the weather has not been kind to us.  Having said that, although it has been drizzling rain it has not been cold.  Hallelujah!  We are staying at the Lakes Entrance Recreation Reserve and it is packed with caravaners and campers and is by far the busiest caravan park we have stayed at on our journey.  Our site however, is right on the lake and opposite the amenities block so it is perfect.  

 The drive from Phillip Island to Lakes Entrance through Gippsland, is exactly as we pictured this part of Victoria to look like.  The countryside is lush and green and we pass many farms, including dairy.  There are rolling hills in between the townships we pass through and our drive is very enjoyable.  We didn't check into the van park until after 2 pm and by the time we had set up the van and had a bite of lunch it was time to sit outside and enjoy watching the water-skiers and jet skiers zoom up and down the lake.  It was just raining enough for us to stay close to the van and not venture out for a walk.

It rained off and on all Sunday night and Monday we woke to a very overcast day.  I had found a boat cruise in one of the brochures that was a 2.5 hour cruise through Reeves Channel, Bancroft Bay, around the shores of Metung, across Lake King, into the housing canals at Paynesville, around Raymond Island and into Lake Victoria.  This was the perfect thing to do on a bleak day.

We boarded our boat, Thunderbird, at 1.30 and were on our way by 2.  We found a protected seating area upstairs on the outside deck so that is where we positioned ourselves for the cruise.  As we left the sheltered harbour we saw, over to our left, the man-made entrance to the lakes.  It is very narrow and is constantly being dredged to allow ships to pass through.  Lakes Entrance has the largest fishing fleet in the whole of Australia so it is very important to keep that entrance clear.

I had no idea that the lakes area was so big.  It covers 400sq km and is known as the Gippsland Lakes.  As we passed by Petung we commented that it is a picturesque town and if we had more time we would have explored it.  Next time.  My favourite part of the cruise was through the man-made canals where many million dollar homes are located.  Every home has its own jetty and of course a boat or two moored at said jetty.  Some are bigger than others.  This little blue and white vintage boat caught my eye..... 

We passed by the township of Paynesville and watched the vehicular ferry being loaded to take vehicles the very short distance across to Raymond Island.  Raymond Island has a very large population of koalas and is another place that we would explore if we returned.  After we circumnavigated Raymond Island the boat was now heading back to Lakes Entrance.  It was around here that the rain started to tumble down so we made our way inside to the lounge area to make ourselves comfortable for the return journey.

 We were back in port by 4.30 and with the rain still tumbling down there was not much to do except return to the van for a cup of tea and nibbles before early showers and bed!

The rain eased through the night and this morning we woke to a cloudy day, but no rain.  We had been itching to do the "heritage walk" around Lakes Entrance so that is what we did today.  It was lovely and there were many people with the same idea as us.  It is a 6km circular walk that also included a walk across the footbridge to the surf beach.  We were gone for almost two hours with many stops along the way.  

Tomorrow we once more pack up the van and move further north to Eden on the Sapphire Coast in New South Wales where we will enjoy another three night stay.  I need to research things to do........