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Wednesday 21st June
It took 2 coach bus rides to reach Lake Entrance. Three road works slowed us down. Bairnsdale train station is the mecca for regional coach transfers. Decent toilet facility. The road into Lake Entrance is hilly and curvy. I’m amazed how the bus driver was able to drive down this road with such gusto.
Everything was closed by the time we got here. The main road of Lake Entrance was wide. The footpath was wide. Probably to accomodate summer crowds. There were only a few people here and there. Sis found Woolies. We got some basic supplies. We checked in quickly and went to a pub to have dinner. At the Central motel we had scallop with bacon crisps & pea purée entree. It was delicious. Sis had entree fried calamari. I had a brick Gippsland brisket. Then we shared a sticky date. For a winter night it warmed our bellies alright.
We set the heated blankets on and warmed our room to ease our sleep shivers. I put my Daiso cat portable humidifier to the test. It worked a treat. You can hear the waves crash against the shores as walked home from dinner.
Thursday 22nd June
We went and did the Entrance Walk 3km. Lovely weather. We saw finches. Fur seals. An old signal station. Historic houses. An old relic stone mason ship. Broken colourful scallop sea shells. Strut birds. The path itself was windy, filled with twisted tree roots and logs. Quite the hike. 5.5km in total.
The mini golf places were closed except for 1. Even so, Sis wanted lunch as it was getting late in the afternoon. Polar bear donuts has the best looking dessert in town. Sis ordered the rainbow one with gold dust on the menagerie clouds with sour rainbow band. I had a lemon curd one. For lunch we had fish n chips it was good.
Then we went to check out the shell museum. Wow the amount of shark jaws there was incredible. We saw glow in the dark rocks from the abyss. The shells from Thailand were most colourful and spike stuck from its body. We managed to find a button hole shape abalone shell and two purple dotted shells for mom. Sis got a dream catcher. While I bought two nice brown swirly looking shells. None of them had the weight of the one sis I found in the fossil route though.
Dropped off the shells and went to Zephyr cafe at Lake Entrance Bowls for dinner. For entree we had yellow tin tuna tartare with avocado. They make yummy parmas. Also, The Debortolli rose drink was a nice blush pink and dry.
The locals come here to gamble, listen to live music, and gain points for food. Neat.
Friday 23rd June
Metung Hot Springs is completely outdoors. It is made up of several tiny pools. Most of very warm. Only three had views of the Gippsland river. The barrel bath was in another area and on a hill top. You had to ask staff to drive up with their golf buggy. We felt awkward going past private residence in a robe and swim wear. I enjoyed floating in the medium barrel and stare into the sky.
The hot springs had 1 sauna to warm you up. It was hard to keep the towel dry. We had some sunshine. Not enough to keep us from shivering. After a good 2 hrs. Sis got hungry.
We walked to The Clubhouse, Metung Country Club for a late lunch. We ordered vegan lasagna, local Maffra cheese board, and molten lava cake for dessert. We just sat there sipping our mocktails looking over the golf course.
By the late noon we felt full and sleepy. After a nice nap. We had KFC for dinner and watched some music video clip from the 80s. Sure made us laugh.
Saturday 24th June
11am Boat cruise with lunch and wine tasting.
Wayne our skipper on Stormbird drove us to see the fur seals up close. They are chonky and cute. A few went into the waters and synchronised their fin flaps for us. Giggles. No need. You are cute as you are. Ah. Watching them interact is interesting as can be.
We continued our way up North Arm and saw many beautiful hill top homes. Some had jetty connect to their yards. One had a dome rooftop garden. Talk about posh.
The jetty we parked at had bird pool towards the right had side. At the bottom of the hill a mini van came to pick us up. The cosy cottage was welcoming. A bar next to a small fire place. Our group table was in the upper terrace courtyard. The blazing sun beamed down at us.
We tasted several whites and reds. The warm bread with the cheeseboard was the star. The butter a bit frozen. The jam was nice. The hard cheese was good but not delicious. The rose wine had a good colour and dry. The frozen muscat was syrupy nice. For mains I had gummy shark with chips and sis had lamb shank with mash. Sis wanted cola and fried waffle with de Luce sauce vanilla ice cream which was an extra cost.
By far the most tastiest wine tasting session yet. Back on the boat Wayne drove us past the fishing industry packing office by the pier. They are extending their cafe and got a new trawler called Tommy Norton. Then we were back in the main area of the town.
Sis and I went home for a nap. Then caught a taxi to Medieval Winter Fire Festival behind Bruthen Mechanics Hall.
Upon arrival we were greeted with a metal sculpture of a dragon head! Kapow! I couldn’t help but pose with it. I had a cup of warm quince and apple spice non-alcoholic. Pulled pork with slaw sandwich. Fresh fried gluten free donut. Ah, the big bonfire was able to warm my hands and face from a far. We watch troupe do some English dance. A medieval interest group perform sword fight with flame blades. The last act was an outdoor juggler using fiery objects. Very skilled individuals. We missed the 3-6pm acts as we were sleepy but we managed to watch 3 acts. That’s not bad.
Sunday 25th June
We went to Boat Shed for brekkie. Then went over the river by the rental boats area to take snap shots of pelicans. Oh my they are huge! They have a blue line that runs across their beak. Nearby was the Lakes Entrance Visitor information centre. There was a small gallery upstairs.
We went to play mini golf at three different outlets on the main street. Woo Hoo!
Mini Golf
This one felt like welcome to Hollywood. Lots of sculptures. One or two moving objects.
Esplanade mini golf
Pirate themed mini golf. Great to see families play together. Including grandpa.
Footbridge mini golf
Sis won twice on the laughing clown skill board. My golf ball kept getting stuck at various spots. Plenty of candy inside the store.
6:30pm Dinner: Sodafish
The dishes were moorish and dessert was a highlight for Sis. Interesting use of a floating building.
Monday 26th June
We took the coach and a train back to Melbourne safely.
There was guy trying to catch a coach to Sydney from Lake Entrance. Sadly, there are no official looking stands or staff to assist. Just a local post office and you just have to ticket office ring for assistance.
