MONDAY OCTOBER 16     LAKES ENTRANCE

The day began sunny and pleasant. I took my breakfast outside and enjoyed the sun whilst having it. Mid-morning, a thick sea mist rolled in and it became cooler.

There are lots of banksia trees planted in the park and these are the haunts of wattle birds.

Native vegetation at the caravan park

I took Couey for a walk around the park perimeter. She promptly became a target for the wattle birds, who kept swooping at he, making clack-clack beak clashing noises. She tried valiantly to pretend they didn’t exist, but was very keen to keep moving.

John got up about the time the fog came in. After his late breakfast, we drove to the central shops. I browsed a quilting fabric shop and indulged in a modest purchase.

The main street town – the Esplanade – is most picturesque, running parallel to Cunninghame Arm, which acts as a marina along here. Lots of very good looking boats were moored, boat trips were on offer – both in the lakes system and out in the ocean. It is a great place to wander, watch boats and people, and take photos.

At the floating fish restaurant and sales outlet that we have patronized on previous stops here,  I bought some flathead strips, a piece of duckfish and half a dozen oysters that John wanted. The fish here is fresh of the trawlers each day, and what is available varies, depending on what has been caught.

Can’t get much fresher than this…

Lunched back at camp and took Couey for a walk, over the bridge and down to the little park. This time, as well as some more swooping wattle birds, a magpie got into the mix too. Saw some interesting looking houses across from the park, with frontage to Cunninghame Arm.

Drove back to town again and onto the area called Bullock Island, opposite the entrance to the lakes system. Down a dirt road from the marine businesses and fish co-op was a lookout  area that was walled to protect from erosion and where there were more boat moorings. A refuelling point for boats was a bit further around. This was an interesting vantage point. We could watch a few people fishing from the top of the wall. Any boat traffic going from Lakes Entrance to other parts of the Lakes system has to come past here, so there were various small craft to watch. It is below the main highway that comes down the steep hill into town, so we could also see the traffic.

Looking east from Bullock Island

There looked to be a big trawler working just outside the Entrance. John was hoping to see it come in through the channel, so we hung around for a while. But it seemed to be working in a pattern that took it back and forth outside.

Big boat working outside the entrance to the Gippsland Lakes system

The entrance can be tricky to negotiate. It is not very wide and the currents can be an issue. There have been boats capsize there in bad weather. It has required ongoing dredging to keep the entrance open and make it safer for shipping.

We were just about to go, when we realized it was actually coming in, so stayed to watch it negotiate the narrow channel.

Ship coming through The Entrance

 Nearby, a man in official work clothes was taking photos of the vessel and told us it was in fact a new sixty metre long dredge, to be based permanently here. It had been built in China specifically for this job, costing the Victorian Government $23 million. It arrived here last month, for trials and final handover from the builders, and started its dredging work less than two weeks ago.

It was called the Tommy Norton. The original boat of that name was a paddle steamer that used to operate on the Lakes over 150 years ago and towed other vessels through the dangerous Entrance, back in the days before dredging.

We watched it make its slow way through the little cut from the Entrance. A catamaran was too impatient to wait for it and proceeded to motor across the path of the big boat, earning a very angry blast of the horn. A small Coastguard boat, though, waited back then passed around the back of the dredge. I wondered if it was following the catamaran – maybe it would get “booked” for failure to give way?

Big boat offended by the catamaran

The dredge’s berth was just along from where we were standing so we watched it berth.

Turning right…

Obviously it had the modern engines that enable easy sideways movement as well as front and backwards.

Turning around…

The crew parked it more precisely and easily than I can park my car!  Quite fascinating to watch. There seemed to be four crew members.

Parallel parking

Good to see this government investment in the ongoing port and fishing operations of the Lakes.

Thence to the very attractive Visitor Information Centre. I did not pick up much material there, as we were not really intending to go touring about. I did buy a beautiful art card by a local artist, featuring a rainbow bee-eater bird.

Back at the Bus, I changed the leg dressing, whilst John took Couey for yet another walk.

Chatted with our neighbours for a while. They were off to Merimbula tomorrow. Had done the three hour cruise on the Lakes this morning – said it was great and well worth doing. They had seen dolphins. Unfortunately, because of dog, not an activity open to us, though I would really have liked to do it. John thought he might like to do the five hour fishing trip, out at sea, which costs $160. He would think about it.

Our tea was later than usual, because I stayed talking. Salt and pepper flathead strips – very yummy.

Both in bed by 10pm. Must be the sea air.