Bass Strait Tour

A few weeks ago, I travelled around Bass Strait. This trip required me to travel through the hills between where I live in Rosedale and the coast. Lots of fog was hiding in the mountains.

Monash University, Churchill in Gippsland covered in fog

Of course there was not a straight road anywhere to be seen, and street signs with directions left me lost.

The road winding around the hills past the university

the hills with their farms

Philip Island was the first destination I visited. It is an island famous for having the motorcycle grand prix each year. I felt excited to see the track and you could feel that the electricity of the park. I went into the gift shop and saw that they would let you ride in the car around the track. I inquired about the price and found out that it was about $200 for 9 minutes. Now that does not sound like value for money, yet an exciting proposition all the same. When I have some spare money I might just give it a try.

Phillip Island racetrack

From there I went to a place called pyramid rocks. Here I saw some whales breach out at sea, rabbits, and some wallabies. From here I moved along the coast pretty much going all the way to Wilson’s Prom, the most southern part of the main land.

I heard that the road pretty much ended beyond the gates and a 4WD (SUV) was needed to reach the exact point. As I looked at the map I had accomplished something by reaching the most southern sealed road on the mainland. With that I started to go home by the coast road past the lifeless wind farm on the cliffs and through some back streets to Rosedale.

The scenery on the way back

Two weeks later I wanted to complete the trip so I visited Lakes Entrance. It was recently under water from the floods (just before I arrived) however you could not tell when I was there. I noticed that the wind and rain made it a bitterly cold place. For all the hype I had heard about this place I thought it was pretty average. It was quiet, wet, and cold. On the way back though as we climbed the hills that separate this town from the main road to Melbourne and Sydney we stopped at some of the outlooks and got to see why it was called the lakes district. It was quite breathtaking yet the rain was forcing us on our way.

didn't get this photo just right, the street is actually straight

Why they call them the lakes

The way back we stopped at the last town on the rail line passing through Rosedale, Bairnsdale. Bairnsdale is a bigish country town, with wide streets and enough modern entertainment to keep everyone happy. From there I returned to Rosedale and was relieved to have seen the Gippsland’s Bass Coast. My next journey I was hoping would be the mountain region, maybe next year, since the snow seems to have finished for this year.