We enjoyed visiting Greg’s daughter Kerry in Paynesville, Victoria. Paynesville was our base for ten days, as we explored what the East Gippsland area has to offer.With Kerry’s local knowledge we enjoyed a variety of wonderful experiences.
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Food experiences topped our list during our visit to the East Gippsland area in Victoria. Kerry hadn’t been to some of the eateries. But she sourced recommendations from her friends and they came up trumps.
Here our our recommendations if you come to the area:
Bullant Brewery & Restaurant at Bruthen
If you are keen for great food than we recommend a visit to the Bullant Brewery & Restaurant at Bruthen. It took us less than half an hour to drive out from Bairnsdale. And we thought it was well worth the drive.
We decided to order a share plate for lunch. We couldn’t go past the Seafood Platter. And we were not disappointed. The seafood platter included:
- Grilled Dory Fillets
- Spanish style mussels
- Singapore chilli prawns
- Squid salad
- potato spun prawns
- Rustic potato chips
- Lemon wedges and dipping sauce
It was a huge meal and great value at only $42.00. We shared the platter between three adults for lunch. It is advertised for two. We also ordered bread, but really we didn’t need it.
Apart from the wonderful food there is the novelty of being able to sample the range of onsite brewed beers. So, all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
The Riversleigh – Bairnsdale
We chose this venue for a belated celebration for Kerry’s birthday.
This was a quality venue we didn’t expect in a regional town.
Friday night is Tapas night. All three of us always enjoy Tapas. And this night was no exception. We enjoyed:
soft shelled crab
spanish prawns
seared scallops with chorizo
duck spring rolls
calamari
meat balls
Yum.This was a fabulous meal.
As we left we saw an array of chocolates.We bought one each and took them home for a cuppa. Oh… They were soooo good. Lucky there was only one each.
Blue Gables Vineyard
This is a boutique vineyard that we totally recommend. We enjoyed wine tasting at the cellar door. Our favourite wine was a Sparkling Shiraz.
Then we enjoyed a couple of wood fired pizzas. Our favourite pizza was the Blue Vein cheese with prosciutto and roasted capsicum. It was so yummy. The next time Greg cooks pizzas he plans to try cooking one.
All in all, this was our favourite eatery in the East Gippsland area. Everything was simple but GOOD.
Kerry knows we enjoy outdoor activities. She came up with the lots of great suggestions, and we did far more than is listed in this blog. But here are our four other suggestions of things to do in the East Gippsland area:
Kayaking at Paynesville
While we are relatively new to kayaking, we just love it. We have even discussed buying a kayak to take with us on our trip around Australia. But, we have agreed carting a kayak around Australia would be cumbersome. So, we have decided to hire a kayak whenever we want to enjoy time on the water.
Paynesville is renowned as the boating capital of the Gippsland’s waterways. And it was easy for us to see why. There are just so many boats of all shapes and sizes. On the edges of the waterways there are jetties and boats everywhere.
We decided to hire kayaks from Bull’s Cruises in Paynesville to explore the waterways. We enjoyed kayaking up the canals, past all the huge boats moored outside the mansions.
We found it easy to kayak around the canals. Even rowing in the lake seemed easy. But once we started rowing back up the straight of the main canal we found it a little tougher. Maybe that was because we were beginning to tire?
To enjoy a swim we were needed to row to a sandy area where we could berth the kayaks easily. Therefore the swim was a mixed blessing as we had to row further than we expected. But, the swim was a great way to refresh and rejuvenate. In the end we agreed it was worth the extra rowing.
All in all we were out with the kayaks for two and a half hours.
We were pleased with our level of fitness. We found rowing easy enough, even if a bit tiring at the end. The greatest difficulty for us as retirees was getting out of the kayaks. Standing from a seated position, in a kayak, on water, is not that easy when you are getting older. So we are keen to continue rejuvenating our leg muscles, as we are keen to continue kayaking. As they say, use it or loose it.
Suggestions:
- Book ahead. We didn’t book ahead, and we were lucky there was a kayak available.
- Wear thongs, or shoes you can wear in the water. There were barnacles on the pontoon we launched off.
- Wear swimmers. You will get wet.
- Take towels in a plastic bag – if you want to swim and later dry off
- To reduce risk of sunburn remember sunscreen, hat and sunglasses
- Take bottled water. We became quite thirsty. Rowing is hard work.
- Know your physical limitations. Rowing over one hour can be tiring. Also, getting out of a kayak can be a challenge. So check out who will be around to help you get out of the kayak when you return.
Enjoy a visit to Lakes Entrance
A visit to Lakes Entrance is a must. We went twice to Lakes Entrance in the time we were in The East Gippsland area, plus we have previously visited the area.
Lakes entrance is a waterfront town and holiday destination. Tourists are well catered for with lots of choices for accommodation, eating and shopping.
The natural beauty of the area is it’s real draw card. Check out the panoramic views over Lakes Entrance and surrounds. This view is from the lookout on the Princes Highway.
We enjoyed walking along the Esplanade, along the marina, and over the footbridge at Cunninghame Arm Inlet to Main Beach; on the coastline of Bass Strait.
As we have said before we are beach lovers. On the second visit we went to Lakes Tyers, ten km from Lakes Entrance. We enjoyed walking along the Ninety Mile Beach. Lake Tyers also offer still water. A lovely area, wellworth a visit.
Enjoy a visit to Metung
Metung is a little gem in the East Gippsland area. It is a small, stylish little village, sitting on the edge of the Gippsland Lakes, located between Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance. Metung is a popular holiday destination for those who love water sports, and particularly sailing.
Walking tracks:
We are keen walkers. You see and enjoy so much as you walk along. We recommend the following walks:
Sunset Cove Walk, Paynesville
This is very a picturesque walk along the shoreline of the lake. An added bonus is the sun sets over the water, as the name suggests.
We walked to the Craft Centre on the Esplanade at Paynesville and then followed the edge of the lake around into Sunset Cove. We walked for an hour before returning via the road. It was an easy walk. We could have walked further along the shoreline if we had wished.
All along the shore line we enjoyed seeing all the boats moored at the numerous jetties all along the way. We also enjoyed the many beautiful homes with waterfront views
Mitchell River Walk in Bairnsdale.
This walk also took about an hour. It was an easy flat walk, with lots of lovely river gums along the river banks.
We parked our car in the Howitt Park and went across the walking bridge. We walked along the walking track beside the Mitchell River,crossed the first bridge we came to, and returned to our car by walking along the other side of the river.
We found picnic and barbeque areas, as well as a jetties for fishing and boating.
We also found a large number of flying foxes in the trees on the town side of the river bank. As we approached them we were uncertain what the noise was. They live high in the big trees and did not bother us.
Raymond Island Walk
A favourite of ours is to walk around Raymond Island. The island is relatively small and it is an easy walk. But this walk has some very interesting features:
Firstly, you have to catch a ferry across to the island, which is rather a fun, novel thing to do. The ferry runs every 15 – 20 minutes during the day, takes only a few minutes, and is FREE for pedestrians.
Secondly, the island is the home for a colony of Koalas. We had fun walking around the island counting how many Koalas we could see. Greg and Kerry were very good at spotting Koalas high up in the trees. Me, somehow I couldn’t spot them. Well, not until they were pointed out to me. Then it was like … How did I not see them? Anyway, we counted 14 Koalas as we went around the island.
Thirdly, we enjoyed walking on the walking tracks along the shoreline and taking in the many great views of the lake.
Den of Nargun Walk – Mitchell River National Park.
Kerry recommended we go to the Den of Nargun. We are so glad we did.
We drove approximately 45 minutes from Bairnsdale, on the Dargo Road to begin with. The Den of Nargun is well signposted all along the route. There was a few kilometres of dirt, but the road was very good on the day we went.
The Den of Nargun is situated on the Woolshed Creek, a tributary of the Mitchell River, in the Mitchell River National Park.
The Den of Nargun is a place of great cultural significance to the Gunaikurnai people, especially the women.
The walk to the Den is steep, with the path very often covered in rocks. Some sections we had to clamber over large rocks.
But the bush walk is well worth the beauty.
We were so glad we didn’t just return up the hill after seeing the Den of Nargun. We walked along the edge of the creek. At times we couldn’t find a path for all the rocks. But the scenery was again definitely worth the effort.
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We walked on until we came to the Mitchell River.
Click on the video to view the rapids on the Mitchell River. img_5580
It took us about 2 hours to complete the walk. We returned by a different path. Fortunately this path did not have rocks to contend with. But the incline was very steep. Fortunately the path on the steep areas was tarred, so it wasn’t slippery. We needed to stop several times to catch our breathe.
We were so pleased to see the butterflies we saw at the beginning of the walk. The steep walk was over. Yet we wouldn’t hesitate to do the walk again.
There are so many more wonderful places to go and activities to enjoy in the East Gippsland area. For us, this was a wonderful part of Australia. We had no difficulty filling in ten days. So, put the East Gippsland area on your list of places to visit. Be kind to yourself and stay at least a week. We are certain you won’t be disappointed
Enjoy you travels Estelle & Greg
S