My final word on South Gippsland

This is my last rave about South Gippsland.  I know I am repeating myself but it has much to offer.....we will definitely be going back there when we return to the mainland.  

Here are some random photo’s…thanks heavens for the digital age because I have taken heaps of photos.  




Our first camp at Franklin River Reserve outside of Toora. Liked it so much that we double backed and returned there for a further five days.









The reserve was lovely and grassy...it had also been raining and the council guy got bogged twice...His mate pulled him out once and Nick and John pulled him out the second time.  










The Franklin River meandering through the reserve.  

One of our favourite things........

Coal Creek Community Park and Museum is a Heritage Village on 15 hectares.  It was a small town in its own right but it is now a suburb of Korumburra.  The coal mine operated there from the 1880's to 1958.

Entry is free, there is a bush tramway to ride, the Pig and Whistle Cafe, General store and more that 26 other buildings, each has a story to tell.  Once a month, a farmers market is held there.  

A view of the town ... there are so many interesting buildings there

One of those lovely old shops that sold everything

Do you remember Cod Liver Oil.....yuk

Wattle and Daub Cottage.  

Welshpool Marina

Swans....so graceful... there must have been more than 50 of them

The roses at the Morwell Centenary Rose Garden - and guess what....they mostly smell like roses.  

The rose garden is a community project that has more that 3000 roses in manicured beds, edged with paving stone.  

Squeaky Beach, Wilsons Promontory

Yes, it was somewhat windy

On the way back to Melbourne to board the Spirit of Tasmania, we called into Phillip Island for 3 days.... staying at Cowes.    

Phillip Island was a delightful surprise and not at all what I pictured it to be....an Island with a race track. 

Yes, the race track is there and we did visit it.  There was a track day being held...very interesting.

Did the normal stuff....toured around the Island, some very big houses there, went to a cafe for lunch as well as going out to The Nobbies on the western tip of Phillip Island.  We didn't go to the penguin parade but took a walk on the board walk to see all the penguin nesting boxes....it was incredibility windy with roaring rough seas.  Quite an experience. 

Nick and John on the Boardwalk at The Nobbies.  

Can you feel the cold and the wind?  

Look carefully..... to the right of the photo and you can see little boxes...those are the nesting boxes for the penguins.  They come up from that rough sea and spend the night in them before heading off to the sea in the morning .

Nicks Birthday was celebrated in the Camp Kitchen, it was cold and windy but the company was warm....had to dash back to the van though...not pleasant outside at all.    

Next stop....The Spirit of Tasmania...see you there.

Walhalla - South Gippsland continued....

On the 25 March 2015 we went for a drive up to the historic township of Walhalla which is located in the steep Stringers Creek Valley of the Great Dividing Range near the Baw Baw National Park.

One the drive up to Walhalla

Those gold miners were a hardy lot.  In 1859 they found gold on the Jordan River, far east of Melbourne which made them follow the nearby Thomson River in their never ending search for gold. And, they were right in doing so because in January 1863 a claim was registered by Edward “Ned” Stringer.  Ned received 100 pound for his discovery, but unfortunately he died in September 1863, never being able to profit from his discovery.   Alluvial deposits of gold were quickly depleted which meant looking for underground veins of gold by tunnelling into the steep valley walls.

Originally called Stringers Creek, the settlement was renamed Walhalla in 1866 after one of the most prosperous mines but the creek running though the town still bears his name.

View Walhalla, Victoria ca1910 showing the bandstand, hotel etc.
Source: W Lee Wikimedia.or

Clinging to the hillsides, the township is built entirely on one long road due to the steep terrain.  It is a picturesque township with lovely old buildings and the residents houses are well maintained.

A home with a quirky twist....

One of the beautiful homes in the valley

Spetts Cottage today

Spetts Cottage circa 1970

Spetts Cottage is about one of a dozen original gold era cottages left in Walhalla.  It was built in the early 1870's by Swedish born Charles Spetts and his English bride Eleanor.  It was extended over the years to accommodate their family of seven surviving children.  The cottage has one of the finest gardens in the valley.  An apple, pear and mulberry tree still remain today and continue to bear fruit.  Members of the Spetts family owned the residence until 1943 when it was sold to another old Walhalla mining family.  Under the terms of sale, daughter Caroline Spetts remained in the house until her death in June 1944.

Electricity only came to Walhalla in December 1998.  Up until then each property had to have their own generator and it was actually illegal to supply electricity to your neighbour without permission from the State Electricity Commissioner of Victoria.  Go figure,  even though they couldn't provide you with electricity,  they still wanted to have control over the electricity that you generated yourself with the generator that you bought.   Nothing changes much as government entities are concerned.

See the building on the right with the people standing in front...













This is Nick, John and Deb standing in front of the same building.
Amazing huh...













There is a one hour train ride that is operated by volunteers - the Walhalla Goldfields Railway which travels through Stringers Creek Gorge across six large trestle bridges, winding its way down the hill to the Thomson Station.  Unfortunately, it was not operating on the day that we where there but we will definitely do that the next time - it looks like a great trip.

A branch of the Bank of Victoria was opened around June 1865 with the other bank, The Bank of Australasia right across the road.  The Bank of Victoria was destroyed by the major fire of 1888 and business was conducted in premises adjoining The Grand Junction Hotel until new premises were built.  The bank finally closed in 1915 .....  only thing left standing today is the vault which stored around 74 tonnes of gold.

After the gold rush Walhalla was all but deserted…at one time there was only one person living there. In its heyday (1880-1910) there were more than 3500 people living and working in the gold mines and supporting businesses. Currently it has about 20 permanent residents.





It is such a pretty place .... a 'must do' in the South Gippsland area of Victoria.

The bandstand...you can see the building in both of the black and white photos above.