Archive for November, 2009

Mallacoota to Gisborne, Victoria

Leaving Mallacoota, eastern Victoria

Leaving Mallacoota, eastern Victoria

We reluctantly left Mallacoota in eastern Victoria after only about 15 hours stay overnight. In the little time we had available we had become enchanted by this small coastal town and vowed we’d return again in the near future for more than just a few hours. A week or more is needed to fully explore this beautiful area. In fact, I could easily spend several months exploring the south eastern coast of Victoria and the adjacent south coast of New South Wales. The photo above was taken through the car windscreen as we left the town.

After about twenty minutes of driving we returned to the main highway and headed west towards Melbourne. We were due to arrive at our friends’ place that evening for dinner, so we had a long day in the car ahead of us. After several hours of driving through beautiful forests on both sides of the road we all agreed that we had seen enough tall trees for a while.

We stopped briefly at the lovely town of Orbost to have morning tea. We found a lovely park on the banks of the Snowy River (see photo below). As we journeyed on the day became hotter. We had lunch in the small town of Stratford and by then it was quite warm. Travelling was okay because of the good air conditioning in the car. After a very long and tiring day in the car we reached Melbourne and had a very quick passage along the freeway, through the tunnel and on over the bridges, tollway and freeways heading north. We arrived at our friends’ home in Gisborne a little late but pleased to stop driving.

Orbost, south eastern Victoria

Orbost, south eastern Victoria

The harbour at Mallacoota

Estuary at Mallacoota, Victoria

Estuary at Mallacoota, Victoria

Our evening walk at Mallacoota, eastern Victoria, was right on and after sunset.

The setting sun showed up the beauty of the setting, especially the harbour and estuary.

Estuary at Mallacoota, Victoria

Estuary at Mallacoota, Victoria

Pelicans at Mallacoota

Australian Pelican, Mallacoota, Victoria

Australian Pelican, Mallacoota, Victoria

On our evening walk around Mallacoota we saw several Australian Pelicans cruising around near the jetty. They seemed to be quite unafraid of humans.

Several fishermen were cleaning their catch nearby, so I guess they have become used to having leftovers thrown at them from the fishermen and so they hang around for a free handout.

It was just on sunset, and the last soft rays of the setting sun lit up these beautiful birds to show off their lovely markings.

Australian Pelican, Mallacoota, Victoria

Australian Pelican, Mallacoota, Victoria