Gippsland – Victoria

Our last night in NSW we planned to stay in a state forest in a little camp ground called “Nelson’s Crossing” – we pulled up to find a few fellows with psychedelic towels strung up setting up an extensive sound system and DJ set – apparently they were holding some kind of bogan rave, otherwise known as a “Doof”. As a result, we were promptly on our way and set up in a nearby rest area. At 8am we could still hear the distant Doof, so were quite happy we decided not to stay! We made an impulsive decision to cross the border and headed into Mallacoota Victoria. This was a momentous occasion as I drove over the border (which I’d never done before), driving a manual car – something that seemed like it would never happen!

We camped the night at Shipwreck Cove (located within Croajingalong NP). Just before bed Michael managed to spot a possum near our campfire. After many coos of how cute it was, a baby possum ran out from under The Hulk and joined the other possum- Beautiful! The next day we headed out on a 6km walk to Seal Creek, then drove to Mallacoota to stock up. Whilst in town we thought it was rather odd to see two giant roos right next to the shops, no-one else seemed to care – so apparently this was not an unusual occurrence.  After that we thought travelling a couple of 4WD tracks to the next camp would be good fun and rather easy – Simple right? WRONG! The first track was mostly simple, except for a couple of steep hills and a river crossing. On one occasion I hopped out to lock the hubs, the gravel slipped away and I ended up bashing my back on the steel step into the car – as a result I’m still a bit of a cripple. We couldn’t find the next track easily so decided to go down a track that sounded similar..big mistake, 2 hours later and after navigating some very difficult terrain, we were truly in the middle of nowhere! Luckily our GPS found us and showed us the way back to the highway. Less than 5kms away from civilisation we came across a Gum tree that was too big to go around or over. We had to tow it off the road. If ever doing this note: always make sure it is easy to get your expensive strap back off the tree once you have moved it, otherwise it may take twice as long, involve more towing, a bit of digging and quite a bit of profuse language to get it back! We ended up staying at a rest area that night – we slept very well that evening!!!

The next day we did a couple of rainforest walks (Drummer and McKenzie tracks), explored Cann River, saw an older lady pee, drove along the Snowy River Estuary and camped by the Snowy River. All in all a nice day!

In the morning we explored Orbost and headed to Lakes Entrance, then to Pa Bert’s. He entertained us with stories of old, took us to the local pub for beer and really good steak and then home for some very yummy red wine. My favourite conversation of the evening being –

Michael – Dad sends his love and wanted me to give you a hug from him.

Bert – Well we can’t do that! We all know hugging is for poofs!!!

Good times.

The next day we were off to 90 Mile Beach. Along the way we created a new trend  (Pajumpers - a really good investment) and saw our first emus of the trip. We camped at Paradise Beach. We were both keen to go for a swim, but after touching the freezing cold water and finding a fellow who had just caught a shark, we decided that wine and cheese was a far better idea – Huzzah!

The next night we spent at Shallow Inlet, near Yanakie. It was lakeside accommodation, but the lake looked not so inviting, with mud and weed everywhere. However, come 5 o’clock the tide had risen, the sun was setting and black swans were everywhere. It was a magnificent sunset and we walked along the now full not muddy nor weedy lake – moral being don’t judge a book by its cover!

The next day we were heading to The Prom, but that’s another story.

Lesson of the week: If a sign sounds like the one you want, but does not say the exact track you are looking for DO NOT TAKE IT!