Cape Paterson - skirting Wilson’s Promontory

 

Travelling a few hours west from Port Albert to Cape Paterson, we saw glimpses of coastline that looked fantastic.  Given we are getting closer to Melbourne, we had a sense that there are lots of Melbournians escaping the city to coastal retreats, so we headed further west with the idea we would unhook the van and back track in the car over the next few days.

As luck would have it, on arrival at the chosen park, they had just received a cancellation which gave us a spot for a few nights.   The caravan park is relatively small but well presented and maintained.  We are surrounded by little pop tops and tents - people used to getting away from things.  The situation of the park is outstanding.  It sits atop a cliff - there are vans backed up to the edge that would have a 200 degree view of ocean (I’m not sure about the wind though.).    

Cape Paterson sits on the northern side of Bass Strait.  The water is a deep green/blue.  The weather is cool currently, I wonder what it would be like in the height of summer.  It feels exposed and raw - life needs to be strong and resilient to survive.  

The small town of 700 odd is a mix of older holiday cottages - obvious retirees and then there are the newly built houses - huge, double story in beach fronting streets, they dwarf the older cottages in not just height but scale.  

After set up and supply stocking I walked the beach - I think they are called surf beach and safety beach.  Beautiful rough sea scenery against rocks, large sweeping sand and magnificent cliff faces with extraordinary plants growing and swaying in the wind. 

Pink and Red seaweed smattered the beach - the pink in all shades from a deep cerise to a bright hot pink, while the red was from deep to a bright orange - I’ve never seen it before.  It was not just one or two, but little bright colourful blobs every few metres along the water edge.

Port Albert

There was a great free camp at the boat ramp of Port Albert - a very historic port dating back to the 1840s, it was the port that help cattle get from Sydney to Gippsland, Sale and Hobart until the rail from Melbourne.  It is supposedly one of the places in Victoria about to BOOM.    We saw a few larger dwellings being built right on the coast.  The marina was of a decent size and the channel out of the lakes to sea looked good.  

We were told the fish and chips in Victoria were available at the end of the port - we tried them for lunch and they were indeed very very good - flake, chips and potato cakes cooked to perfection.  Even the seagulls agreed!

The developed area of the port disappeared quickly in the landscape either side, giving way to swampy marshland mud flats where it would be difficult for much to survive - windswept, muddy, and quite desolate at times. 

Driving the miles to 90 Mile Beach

 We loved Cape Conrad - left it thinking we would find another like it, but alas we didn’t.  We continued travelling south down the coast to Lakes Entrance....it was not what we expected - it obviously caters for the tourist - reminding me of the English ‘seaside’ towns.  Mini golf, shell museums, lots of motels and caravan parks that looked like sardine cans....we kept driving.    

Taking a ‘tourist’ route, we drove along the lake foreshores - down off the main road to places like Nyerimilang and Metung.  The sign into Metung read ‘Drive carefully, enjoy the view”. As we wound down to the waters edge and saw the yachts and boats moored, it became obvious that is was like a ‘Palm Beach’ of the lakes - Mercedes, Audis and more lined the street car parks.  It looked gorgeous - a little gem off the beaten path.  We continued on to find accomodation in Johnsonville at the end of the day.    

We left in the morning to take the back road to Sale, driving through country that looked similar to the Central west.  It went from sheep to lush dairy cattle, to beef cattle within 30 minutes of each other.  

Visiting Sale for a few supplies, we continued down to the the sweetly names ‘Seaspray’.  It was past lunch time and we decided to visit the one shop for fish and chips.  The shop is the post office, the liquor store, the DVD Store, the takeaway, the bait store and essential supermarket supplies.    They cooked a couple of mean flathead tails and chips for us.    As we were waiting, a couple walked in...asking ‘Do you use chicken salt’.  The shop owner, in John Cleese style, answered “we have salt, chicken salt, garlic salt....”.   The man who asked the question then got shirty and said “I have a severe allergy to chicken salt, can you cook without it and without any contamination..”. V1 and I were listening to this...we expected a Seinfeld soup nazi response, but the owner pulled it in.  Within a heartbeat, the partner then of the chicken salt man, asked whether there were any vegan options. (The menu was burgers, fish, souvlaki...!).  We expected apoplexy...collecting our order and making a very fast exit before it all exploded.

We turned left...and made our way up the very narrow archipelago like strip of land...to Paradise beach.  Passing old fashioned fibro beach shacks...one of the few places they seem to still exist.  

90 Mile Beach really is 90 miles....and sparsely populated....lone footprints...

And the sea shanty’s are to die for...a blast from the past

And, I’m in my happy place...