Today was a fairly long drive, roughly following the coast around the south-eastern corner of Australia, to arrive at Phillip Island! We want to acknowledge that the traditional owners of this land are the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, and to them, this island is known as Millowl. We pay our respects to the elders of the Kulin Nation; past, present and emerging.
We got going close to 8:30 this morning, and headed for the Victorian border, which was only about half an hour away. Of course, we stopped and got a photo!
Back in the car, and pushed on. We had a rough plan to just head straight for Lakes Entrance for an early lunch (at about 11:30am). But as we hit Orbost, we decided it was time for a morning tea stop. We wandered down the main street, looking through a few of the shops. They had quite a few signs around town explaining the history, which was fun to read. The kids enjoyed trying to find the 5 old bank buildings along the main street, with a few clues from one of the signs as well. I found East Gippsland Coffee Roasters, much to my delight, and also got a tip from the barista about heading 10 minutes down the road to Marlo…
Marlo is the place “where the Snowy meats the sea” – it’s where the mouth of the Snowy River meets the ocean! And seeing as we’d just spent a bunch of time at the top of Mt Kosciuszko where the Snowy River commences, it only felt right to go and see where it goes out to sea. Eliza decided she wanted to paddle a little bit, which was a bit cute.
We jumped back in the car and headed for Lakes Entrance for lunch. It felt like that classic coastal holiday spot – a bit like Foster is to us in NSW. We eventually found a parking spot and took our little food box over to the grass beside the water – another round of holiday sandwiches, although just made at a picnic table this time rather than the back of the car. But handy, and cost saving, nonetheless. The kids kicked the footy around for a little while, and played on the gym equipment in the park, and then it was back on the road – essentially 4 hours from Lakes Entrance to Phillip Island.
Debbie and I swapped driving for a bit during the afternoon, and we pulled into Foster for a short break and to stretch our legs. Eventually, the bridge onto Phillip Island at San Remo arrived on the horizon at about 5:30!
We’ve arrived into a really nice place in Cowes. Plenty of backyard space, which the kids were very excited about. Looking forward to some great adventures here tomorrow and Sunday.
Awesome! Enjoy guys ❣️