Lakes Entrance

 21 – 24 February 2023

We planned a short visit to be able to catch up with travelling friends who live in Lakes Entrance so we booked 3 nights in a caravan park near the beach. Once we left Lake King we only had a short drive to Lakes so we went a little way in the opposite direction to Paynesville – another spot we had never visited. It was a cold, grey day so we went and had a coffee in a bakery and visited the local craft shop. We didn’t walk along the shore because it was so windy and drizzling with rain but we did find the op shop before setting off back towards Bairnsdale.

We had to do a bit of back tracking on this part of our journey

We stopped to have a look in an antique shop and art gallery on the way, and then found a park to have lunch. We drove on to Lakes Entrance and settled in to the caravan park. Later in the day we went for a walk along the creek and down to the beach.

We had a few jobs to do, including a minor modification to the camper trailer to keep creepy crawlies out, so we went into town and did some shopping for the things Mick would need. He spent the afternoon completing the job while I off-sided for him.

On Thursday we joined Ruth and Boyd for a lovely lunch at the local Bowls Club and had a bit more of a wander around town. We weren’t sure where our next stop would be so we spent some time consulting the maps and considering a few options. In the end, the weather forecast convinced us to stay inland so we decided on Nowa Nowa for the next couple of nights.

On our way home - Victoria

1 February 2016

We were to leave Tasmania on 31 January, but a check of the weather forecast for Bass Strait indicated a rough crossing was almost certain. The forecast for 1 February was much more benign so we changed our booking. We didn't mind having an extra day with family and friends.

Some pics of sea birds mid crossing showing how calm it was.

You can see why they are called Shearwaters.

Probably a Short-tailed Shearwater.

As predicted the day crossing was very calm and we arrived in Melbourne ready to tackle the traffic on the way to our motel in Brunswick. I hate driving in traffic, and Melbourne has the added bonus of trams and funny hook turns - you certainly have to keep your wits about you, but at least we didn't get lost! Our motel was around the corner from a number of eateries, and we chose the pub for a hearty meal and a drink.

Healesville

2 - 3 February 2016

In the morning we headed off along Sydney Road towards Craigieburn and beyond to pick up the camper trailer. Again we had to contend with the trams, but managed to get out of the city without too much trouble. We collected the camper trailer and set off for Healesville. We arrived just on lunchtime so had lunch in town before making our way to the caravan park which was in a nice location on a creek a few kilometres away.

We managed to get the camper set up without too much difficulty - even after seven weeks away. We drove back into town to collect supplies. After a quite hot day the inevitable happened - it rained overnight and was still raining in the morning when it was time to pack up. We made use of the raincoats we had been carrying around with us for months and broke camp in the wet. 

Our aim was to get to Lakes Entrance, but the forecast suggested there was more rain to come.

Marlo (East Gippsland)

3 - 5 February 2016

As we thought, the rain persisted all throughout the day. We just kept on driving, stopping to eat sandwiches in the car along the way. We reached Lakes Entrance and decided we could keep going a little further - perhaps Orbost or Marlo. Driving into Orbost we decided we could get to Marlo - and we were glad we did. Marlo is on the Snowy River Estuary and is a lovely little spot.

Pilotbirds were surprisingly common in the thick coastal heath.

After more overnight rain, we spent the day exploring the area after stocking up  (and visiting Op-shops) in Orbost. Under blue skies, we visited Salmon Rocks, West Cape and East Cape, Frenches Narrows as well as a couple of other spots on the Snowy River Estuary Walk.

Red Wattlebirds fed in the caravan park trees along with Purple-crowned Lorikeets and Little Wattlebirds.

A Black-shouldered Kite on the way to Marlo.

We headed off early next morning, bound for New South Wales.

Croajingalong National Park

13 – 14 April 2015

Mick was keen to spend a night in the Lakes Entrance area and we chose Croajingalong NP. On the recommendation of the staff at the visitor information centre in Lakes Entrance, we chose MuellerRiver. The first part of the road from Cann River is sealed, and the unsealed section in the national park is reasonably well maintained (compared to some) but it was slow going and quite narrow in some parts.

Eastern Whipbird was a surprise early morning visitor .

Little Wattlebirds go for gold in the early morning light.

Coast Banksia (Banksia integrifolia)

Our tent was only two metres from the calm water of  Mueller Inlet.

There are only 8 sites at this campground and two long drop toilets. Tank water is available for hand washing but there are no other facilities – but the location is beautiful. The 4 drive in campsites are all a good size and along the edge of the river with views out beyond the mouth of the river to the waves crashing onto the beach beyond. It’s quite disconcerting to be camped on a river and hearing crashing waves. If we hadn't had a commitment in Sydney on Wednesday night we might have stayed longer than one night.

I'm happy with this close encounter with a Brown Thornbill but I missed a great shot of an Eastern Whipbird. Mick.

There were lots of birds around the camp ground so Mick spent some quality time with the camera before we finally left mid-morning, heading towards Nowra.