After two brilliant days in Wilsons Promontory the time had come to start our slow ascent up the east coast of Australia, firstly crawling along the coastline of Victoria (our home state for the past 6 months) and eventually making our way into New South Wales. As most travellers or visitors to this huge country will know, the victorian coastline falls way behind on the to do list of most people and the northern parts of the coast get all the hype and attention. This is for good reason we must point out. However, none the less we were keen to see what Victoria had to offer us and began in earnest.

Our first point of call after a few hours driving was the area known as the Gippsland Lakes. This coastal region is famed for, you guessed it, its lakes. The coastline is split several times by the sea creating some large and some not so large inlets. The most famous port of call is known as Lakes Entrance and this is where we decided to head for. Due to a morning hike in Wilsons Promontory that turned into a mid afternoon departure we were late arriving so had to find somewhere close by to spend the night before exploring the next day. Luckily, after a small panic took hold as all campsites were closed (by this time it was around 6pm) we searched the internet and found a gem of a place. A free campsite known as Log Crossing appeared on google and we headed there, only 10km from Lakes Entrance. Turning off the highway and into a forest we felt like we were driving into the set of the Blair Witch Project as we passed endless gigantic trees and drove further into the darkness. When we eventually turned off the gravel track towards the campsite we were greeted by 7 or so smiling faces of other backpackers who were also spending the night here. We chatted, ate dinner together and then made a camp fire while staring up at the stars to pass the night away. One of the other campers informed us of a brilliant app by the name of ‘WikiCamps’ and we advise ALL travellers who are planning on camping whether in a tent, camper van or motorhome to download this, it has saved us many times since.

The next morning we proceeded to Lakes Entrance, took advantage of the local supermarkets for breakfast, enjoyed the free showers by the jetty and took a pleasant stroll in between the many boats moored here. We made our way over the bridge which takes you up and beyond the inlet of the sea and to the beach waiting on the other side. The beach was huge, its in fact part of the ‘Ninety-Mile Beach’ that spreads along Victorias coastline. Unfortunately the weather was not good enough for a sunbathe and the wind was up at high speeds so we took a short walk, some pictures and made for the sanctuary of the car again. This was to be our last stop in the state and next up we headed into New South Wales a few short hours north.

Eden was our first stop in the new state and it definitely surpassed Lakes Entrance on our list of favourite stops so far (albeit we had only made four). Eden boasts some truly amazing coastline views and has a headland that protrudes into the sea between two bays. It is a famous and very well visited whale watching haven but the time of year alluded us. We stopped for photos at the lookouts and then found a brilliant spot to make dinner. Perched on the park beneath the lighthouse, looking out over the bay and out into the open sea beyond, struggling against the wind, we rustled up some leftovers true traveller style in the one of the most picturesque places we have eaten so far anywhere in the world.

To finish off the day we explored more of Eden driving around the small town before we began the hunt for our nights camping spot. We had decided to cut inland to Canberra for our next stop over and because we both felt good, awake and determined we put our driving heads on and drove a further two and a half hours towards the Australian capital city. Our drive eventually bought us to a small town called ‘Bredo’. The town apparently has a population of no more than 200 people, a bakery, a coffee shop and a pub which all seem to merge into one. The pub offers free camping in its back yard so we took advantage for a change of scenery from the inside of a tent or the car, to the inside of the pub. We chatted to the 15 locals inside who were all very welcoming and surprised to see two english backpackers stroll in at around 8.30 at night. It was a strange but welcomed experience and a cool story to tell in the future and although we slept next to the loud highway we felt good about having cut our next days drive down to less than one hour.

Canberra called the next day and you can see how we faired in Australian Capital Territory as well as the next few stops back in New South Wales in the next post coming soon.

Jonny & Hayley 🙂

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