The Gippsland lakes

28 May – 5 June – Gippsland Lakes

From Sale we drove the 100km or so to Paynesville, via Hwy 1 and Bairnsdale. Paynesville if a small waterside hamlet with more boats than houses and new canal developments beginning to have an impact on its quaint old world charm. The place reminded me of the Mandurah of my childhood, but then this is the low season and I can imagine just what a bun fight it is over the Australia Day Weekend or at Easter. One look at the front row of shops (actually the only row of shops) tells the story. There are more cafes here than anything else and every other shop finds an excuse to sell coffee.

Across the narrow McMillan Strait from the town lies Raymond Island, housing its cluster of houses owned by people chasing that little bit extra when it comes to privacy. The lifestyle comes at a cost, because the only way over is via vehicular ferry, running every 20 minutes. In peak periods, locals can wait for up to three ferries. They must really like the place.

 

The Raymond Island ferry

The Raymond Island ferry

We located the King St launching ramp and set the mast up, the first time since returning from our trip home in March. Then we launched and started the motor, the same motor that has given so much trouble so far on the trip. On the Murray River, it would run fast but refused to idle or run slowly. I’d stripped down the carby and cleaned the jets and all seemed good on land. Once underway, things were fine as we slowly motored away into McMillan Straits, until I increased speed. We went fine for five minutes then suddenly, the motor just stopped. I restarted, and set off, increased speed and ran for four minutes before the motor stopped. After repeating this a few times, the motor was down to running either at ultra low speed or not running at all. We crept back into town to tie up outside the pub and consider what to drown, our sorrows or the motor.

Christine rang around until she found a mechanic with time to help, a bonus being that he was across the road from the ramp and would take the boat on the trailer mast up. We spent the night on the jetty listening to small dogs yap. It seems the local habit is to walk the dog to the pub, tie it up outside, and forget it for a couple of hours. Some people should swap places with their dog.

The next day, the motor was even worse and getting past the car ferry was a bit nerve racking. We somehow managed to dock and began retrieving the boat. It was within half a metre of being totally on the trailer when the electric winch decided to jam. Christine suggested getting help from the people across the road but I said I could deal with it. After half an hour of frustrating efforts, I reluctantly agreed that she could seek help and she came back with a young man and his tractor, who promptly used the winch on the tractor to retrieve the yacht the last little bit and towed it over the road. Christine is starting to be proven right a bit too often lately. I’ll have to watch that trend.

The bikes out at Paynesville

The bikes out at Paynesville

With the boat in the hands of the medicos, we drove to the town centre, seeking solace at the bakery in the form of a hot chocolate and sausage roll. The calories finally gave us the guilts so we parked up and got the folding bicycles out of the car.  The ferry took us across to Raymond Island, the main attraction being a large colony of koalas. In all our travels, we have never managed to see an actual koala in the wild. All the ones we have seen have been resting upside down in the middle of the road. On Raymond Island, it doesn’t take long to find them. It is just a matter of looking for the gum trees that are missing lots of leaves. Some trees have been so badly hammered that the authorities have wrapped large plastic sheets around the trunks so the koalas can’t climb them. We rode around the island, racking up koala after koala. In fact, I think we have now ticked off that particular item. Mind you, we still haven’t seen a live wombat in the wild.

Two of the rarer type of koalas

Two of the rarer type of koalas

A real wild koala

A real wild koala

We rode away from town along the edge of Newlands Arm, an idyllic stretch of water with some lovely scenery. The weather was gorgeous; given that we were in the last few days of autumn and we spent time just sitting in the main street observing life. Any scene that is full of water, boats and greenery is a peaceful one.

On our return to the mechanics, we found a group of very frustrated workers. “We just get it right and it suddenly misbehaves again,” they complained. Tell me something I don’t know! The light was fading fast, as is does by 5pm here, and we agreed that we’d spend the night in the launching ramp car park and return the boat in the morning. Fortunately, the East Gippsland Shire recognises the importance of boaties to their economy and provides good free facilities in the form of good clean toilets and free hot showers so living in the car parks is possible.

The next day, the boat was returned to the workshop and we drove into Bairnsdale, a surprisingly large regional city of around 12,000 people. It is pretty, with wide streets and some attractive vistas of the Nicholson River. It is possible to access the Gippsland lakes from Bairnsdale and so there are a number of river cruisers and houseboats tied up. We walked and window shopped, stopping for a few odd bits and pieces. When I came across a Dick Smith store, I relented and replaced the Android Tablet I’d left on the bus back from Melbourne. It hurt, but it was time to move on. I have promised myself to actually look after this one but that it a poor promise, given that it is my forth in two years.

We drove another 30 odd kms out to Lakes Entrance, where the lakes enter the Tasman Sea. Originally, access to the sea only occurred in times of flood, but artificial channels now guarantee tidal flow. This was done in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century to allow maritime traffic to reach the inland towns of Bairnsdale and Sale. The town was rather quiet, but the numerous motels and cafes were testimony to the crowds that flock there in season. The front waterside walk was freezing, despite the clear skies and warming sun. We sought solace in a pub and had fish and chips, fresh Lakes Entrance gummy shark with an excellent salad for a senior’s special of $10. Can’t complain.  On the way out of town, we stopped at a lookout that afforded amazing views of the lakes system. It is hard to gain a full appreciation of the sheer size of the Gippsland Lakes. Hopefully, a week of cruising will do the job.

Back at Paynesville, things were looking up but it still took the better part of the afternoon to finish up, get the boat back in the water and get underway. As promised, the motor performed perfectly but then it’s done that before. With the hour late, we decided to just motor over to Raymond Island and park up on a public jetty for the night.

The next morning, the cold kept us in bed until the hour was acceptable. We tested the outboard by motoring back to where the car was parked and retrieved some extra warm clothing, scarves and beanies and then on a short distance to the refuelling jetty.

With everything finally in place, we set off to motor the length of Lake Victoria, a trip of around 19 nautical miles. It was peaceful (despite the drone of the motor) and the scenery, if not spectacular, was at least restful and pleasant. The sun warmed us and at one point we were both actually in shirts and shorts. We stopped for lunch near Pelican Point and I waded along the shore in icy waters to collect a few crabs for bream bait later. Then it was on past the little town of Loch Sport to Holland’s Landing, where we decided to ease around into the lovely little cove at Blonde Bay, a perfect anchorage for the night. I tried fishing but didn’t even manage a bite. However, the spectacular sunset almost made up for the lack of action. It is so good to be back on the water and away from the crowds. The next step is to get the sails up again. They haven’t been used since Port Lincoln, way back in March.

Sunset at Blonde Bay

Sunset at Blonde Bay

It was a very peaceful night, with only the honking of swans and the occasional cry of a plover to remind us we were on the water. However, it was cold, well down in the single figures somewhere and we didn’t bother attempting to rise until after 8am. When I did, I stuck my head outside and found that I could barely see the stern of the boat and certainly no sign of land, which I knew to be less than 100m away. What a pea-souper. We settled down to breakfast, noting that there was a very light NW breeze blowing that, hopefully, would blow the fog away. Alas, it seemed to bring more fog.

About 25m visibility

About 25m visibility

A movie on the laptop took up some time, along with doing dishes and other minor bits of housework, until the visibility reached the point that it was safe to proceed, around 11am. All hint of a breeze had gone and we motored in to Holland’s Landing in glassy conditions. There were a number of people perched along the wharf fishing but no one seemed to be catching anything. We chatted to one couple from Moe who were on a bit of a fishing holiday with little success. The shop at the caravan park was closed up and no one had seen the manager for some time so we abandoned hopes of getting a hot shower and cast off again to navigate the length of McClennans Strait to Lake Wellington. After only a mile or so, we stopped to fish and have some soup for lunch, to try and warm us up. It was getting colder by the minute and the wind was starting to pick up. It is the first wind we’ve seen on the Lakes but it was from the East and blowing around 15knots so any thought of sailing back through Lake Victoria to Loch Sport was squashed and we continued to motor the length of McClennans Strait to put our nose into Lake Wellington.

Cold, wet through McClennans Strait to Lake Wellington

Cold, wet through McClennans Strait to Lake Wellington

Lake Wellington really has little to interest us, unless we wanted to navigate some of the rivers on the far side and the sky had turned very black, with a lot of rain coming soon so we motored back to Seacombe Landing and tied up at the launching ramp. With only one car-trailer in the car park and the weather worsening all the time, we figured we wouldn’t be a nuisance tied up to one of the two landing jetties. A short while later, a couple of young guys in a Swiftcraft came roaring along the Straits and proceeded to try and “park” the boat alongside as though it was a sports car. Every manoeuvre was made with full throttle of the 140HP outboard and they made a complete hash of things. It was really quite entertaining watching their antics, all of which could have been avoided if they had just backed off the throttle and eased alongside.

The next morning was once again foggy but with around 200 metres visibility we motored through McClennans Strait and across Lake Victoria to the small town of Loch Sport. There is a choice of accommodation here, because there is a marina with hotel or a new town jetty, with affording secure berths for all directions. In our case, we were the only ones at the jetty so we could choose our berth according to the wind direction. Good use has been made of baffle boarding so the wave motion from the 10-15 knot westerly was negated and we enjoyed a nice calm berth.

Gippsland Lakes 2

The day had set in for solid rain, with 20-40mm forecast and flood warnings out for the Gippsland lakes. We went and saw the caravan park owners (just new) and organised a shower and gas bottle refill so we could keep running the heater. The ablutions are wonderful; clean and hot, so we immediately felt revitalised. After a Facetime linkup with the grandchildren back home, we walked under umbrellas down to the Loch Sport Supermarket to pick up a few odds and ends. They had a range of ex-rental DVDs for $3 each so we grabbed three and settled in for an afternoon of movie watching. The generator was set up because it has been several days since we saw any sun for the solar panels and the batteries were starting to suffer. I tried a little more fishing but it was cold and miserable outside and I didn’t get a bite so I gave up. I have seen one small bream caught on the lakes and had one bite myself so I’m not a fan of the place as a fishing location. We in the West are used to better than that.

The night was a noisy one, but comfortable enough. The noise was caused by the slapping of the waves on the baffle boards on the jetty. They did their job well, creating a lovely calm enclosure despite the freshening North West wind. The morning showed little improvement on the previous day and the weather reports suggested that another 10 to 15 mm of rain could be expected on top of the 25 mm so far. Obviously, other parts of the Gippsland received a lot more, with flood warnings out for most of the local rivers.

Christine can cook anything in her Coleman Oven on a metho stove.

Christine can cook anything in her Coleman Oven on a metho stove.

By 10am, the sky at least showed some signs of breaking in patches so we set off and put up the headsail, our first sail raising since Port Lincoln. We ran before a 10-15 knot westerly eastwards along Lake Victoria and pulled in to Duck Arm in idyllic conditions. Duck Arm is a narrow inlet about a mile in length and Picnic Arm is a tiny inlet running off that. We hitched up to a mooring in Picnic Arm to make lunch and noted that the day was definitely looking up. Both Duck Arm and Picnic Arm are quite delightful, with beautiful little stands of picturesque bushlands and some gorgeous green farmlands.

The pleasant weather was short lived and the rain set in again as we sailed on main and a half jib across Lake Victoria to pick up the markers for the winding channel into Bunga Arm, a long narrow inlet formed by a series of sand dunes cutting off the low lying river flood plains that eventually formed the lakes system. It rained the whole length of the channel to the Steamer Landing, where we tied up to seek some relief from the cold. There was a charter power boat tied up as well, with the occupants huddled inside. The continuing rain ruled out any idea of walking across the sand dunes to look at the Ninety Mile Beach, so that was postponed for tomorrow. It is getting quite hard to put up with the weather. It is frustrating that the time we spent getting the trailer and motor fixed was unseasonably warm yet as soon as we launched, things turned for the worse. It is now officially Winter and it really is pushing things a bit to be trying to sail Victoria in Winter. It might be time to head North.

Black swans and pelicans abound

Black swans and pelicans abound

The weather responded to our threats by turning on a absolutely lovely day, with the temperature reaching a warming 19 degrees and the sky being more blue than grey. Best of all, there was no rain and not a hint of wind. While the wind is good for sailing, it also produces a chill factor.

In these glorious conditions, we first took a short walk across the dunes that separate the Bunga Arm from the Tasman Sea to gaze down on the huge expanse of the Ninety Mile Beach. The sea was dead calm, but a large swell was producing a heavy surf break. Some wonderful fishy looking gutters made me wish I had packed some surf fishing gear.

The Ninety Mile Beach

The Ninety Mile Beach

Over the dunes from Bunga Arm to Ninety Mile Beach

Over the dunes from Bunga Arm to Ninety Mile Beach

Then it was off to negotiate the intricate winding channels back out into Lake Victoria to motor east to Metung. Sailing was certainly not an option, with the sea producing perfect mirror images of the sky and far off mountains. Along the way, we were entertained by the sight of a seal cavorting on the surface and a pod of four dolphins feeding on something. It couldn’t have been fish because I am convinced that there are no fish in the lakes system. We checked out the eastern side of Raymond Island and noted some lovely looking beaches and a public jetty, a great looking spot for an overnight stop.

Gippsland Lakes 2

Metung struck us as a quaint village that has been bought by the bored and idle rich, to be turned into a toy fishing hamlet with bling. The upside is that it is very well done and the perfect place to land, stroll, sit and drink coffee or even fish and chips with a beer. We elected for the latter, and enjoyed a very nice feed at the Gallery Fish and Chips. While strolling around the town, we were thrilled by the gorgeous crimson rosellas that were in abundance. The bird life on and around the lakes is quite amazing. Our favourites are the huge sea eagles, that work in pairs and seem to delight in flying over a flock of floating ducks. The ducks scatter in extreme panic and the eagles flap away well satisfied to hunt something within their reach.

The public jetty at Metung

The public jetty at Metung

Fish and Chips with a beer at Metung

Fish and Chips with a beer at Metung

It was tempting to stay the night in Metung and indulge ourselves further, but the waist line saw sense and we motored off again to return to the eastern end of Raymond Island, where we had identified a good overnight stop. It proved a good choice, except for the fact that the jetty seemed to be a major tern roost and so took on a decidedly fishy smell. We avoided this by pulling Sandpiper along the jetty into the shallows. The surrounding bush is very beautiful. To us westerners, all the plants are familiar, yet not. That is, there are banksias, but not our species. None of the eucalypts look familiar and even the ground covers, weeds and grasses are somehow different in appearance. The combined effect is quite charming.

With our intention being to pull out in the morning, we spent some time organising sails, lines and fishing gear. It was a pleasure to be outside working in the warmth of the sunshine, but the forecasts were all for a return to the cold and wet weather so it is time to leave Gippsland. We had some light rain during the night and early morning but remained dry for the short trip back to the car and trailer in Paynesville. We retrieved the boat without drama but were a bit horrified at the terrible staining on the hull below the water line. Locals say that a week in the water can result in barnacles growing and we were thankful to avoid them, but the brown stain will need attention. We scrubbed down the worst of it and intended stopping at the pressure wash bays just out of town but we proved to have a mere 20cm too much head room to get in, so we headed off to find a caravan park in Bairnsdale.

We did not experience the Gippsland Lakes at their best from a weather point of view. It is simply too cold to be on the water. There are endless tracts of wetlands that would be worth exploring in the porta bote but we didn’t even feel motivated to launch it because the thought of putting through heavy fog, drizzle or, at times, driving rain, was not the least enticing. The bird life is certainly amazing but we had to leave the cabin to see it. The fishing for certainly species is legendary, but for us is might as well have been a legend because we failed to catch a single fish, despite quite a few hours trying. Never the less, we are glad we came and experienced this part of the country.  It is fascinating and warrants further attention.

For the next three weeks, Sandpiper will play the role of caravan as we head off to Canberra and the NSW South coast.