Mallacoota



The Inlet meets the sea at Mallacoota.

 Well here we are at beautiful, pristine, Mallacoota in Victoria's East Gippsland. This is a remote setting along the shores of the huge Mallacoota Inlet, just below the NSW border. It is so peaceful, and scenically magnificent, though the Inlet is showing the effects of all the recent flooding rains, and it has also affected the fishing. That's my excuse anyway!

You come to Mallacoota for one of two reasons. Fishing or fishing.



The Inlet side of the park.

 Accommodation is provided by the Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park, which at 65 acres and some 730 sites, is one of the largest caravan parks in Australia. It winds around the headland, with hundreds of sites facing the Inlet and hundreds more facing the sea. The Inlet side is quite steep and hilly with smaller sites, and is home to the regular fishermen, who come in small caravans and tents, with trailer boats, for the sole purpose of fishing. Here the air is full of the smell of campfires, fried fish, beer and tobacco, and the men outnumber the rest by ten to one. Needless to say, we are on the ocean side, where the sites are bigger, flatter and more family friendly, which, with the Victorian school holidays having started, is very obvious.


Large grassy site at Mallacoota.


There are lots of beautiful walks along the beaches and headlands, and we have had some good weather to be able to do a little exploring. Our precious little April is showing her age these days, so the walks are a little slower and not as long, but we just can't bring ourselves to leave her behind. After all, she is travelling Australia as well.

I have tried my hand at fishing a few times, but it is obvious that a boat is the key to real success. I have had a lot of fun and drowned a lot of bait, but so far it has only been one small flathead and two small bream, all undersize, so saved to swim another day.


Waiting for the boats to come home.



Down town, everything seems to come in pairs. Two supermarkets, two service stations that are also Bait & Tackle shops, two cafes, two gift shops, two real estate agents, a butcher, a restaurant, the obligatory bakery, and a pub. Almost everyone of them is currently for sale! Good luck! They've probably been for sale for years! Bustling is not a word that comes to mind. This is one laid back town. Needless to say, the food scene (ha!ha!ho!ho!) is nouveau bush. The big restaurant opposite the caravan park has a great location, is for sale, and so far we haven't seen more than four customers inside. There is no menu to read, only a sign that says Specials from $19.95 and Senoirs' Discounts. We aren't encouraged to try.



Tomorrow, we head on to our next stop at Bairnsdale. We will be there for two weeks, sitting out the school holidays and Easter, when it becomes very difficult to get accommodation. This will give us a great chance to exlore the Gippsland Lake district.

We have really enjoyed our few days here at Mallacoota. It has been lazy and very relaxing, and apart from today, the weather has been good.