113 Millie’s Adventures – South Gippy Girl

South GippyGirl Photos & Words by Ken Roberts

MILLIE AND I WERE INVITED ON A MYSTERY ADVENTURE! WE LOVE FINDING NEW PLACES IN GIPPSLAND, ESPECIALLY THOSE HIDDEN AWAY THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF OR VISITED. THE DIRECTION OF OUR TRAVEL WAS TOWARDS SOUTH GIPPSLAND.

The start of our journey wasn’t very promising as misty rain began to fall when we drove out of the driveway. We carried on and slowly as we rolled along the South Gippsland Highway the weather started to clear. The sky remained cloudy and there was a breeze but when we stopped at our first destination, Port Welshpool, it was fine.

The Long Jetty at Port Welshpool is a fantastic structure with an interesting history. It was built in 1930 and utilised in World War 2 by minesweepers and vessels. In the 1960’s it was used by ships and barges for oil exploration in Bass Strait. The jetty was closed to the public in 2010 due to fire damage and a public battle was fought to save it. At a cost of 11 million dollars the jetty was restored and reopened in 2018 and has been a popular attraction ever since. I had been there before on a sunny calm day and it was great to see people enjoying the almost one kilometre stroll to the end of the jetty where ample facilities are set up for fishermen and sightseers. Many people and children were taking advantage of the safe, shallow water and beach at the entrance to the jetty. On this visit with Millie the moody sky and fresh breeze made me decide to take only a short walk.

Toora was our next destination and though it was a quiet weekday when most of the shops were closed I was amazed at the feeling of resurgence that was evident there. Buildings were being refurbished with several galleries and interesting shops to visit. The town has such a quaint appeal with some beautiful old buildings both restored and in original condition. It’s definitely worth a stop!

Millie and I drove up the hill above the town to a scenic lookout that has a majestic view over corner inlet towards Wilsons Promontory. Though rain clouds were covering most of the “Prom” the view was still stunning. Clouds hung like fairy floss over what appeared to be a toy town below. I could only imagine the sight on a clear sky day. I vowed to return on a weekend and experience the delights of Toora and hopefully experience a further than the eye could see view of the beautiful region.

Into the car and we drove further up the hill until we came to a viewing area of the towering wind turbines of the Toora wind farm. Standing beneath them we were dwarfed by the massive size. The 12 turbines built on 5 farms in 2001 supply enough electricity to power 6600 homes. They stand out at the top of the rolling South Gippsland hills and are definitely worth a look to experience their massive size close up.

Millie and I drove back down the hill towards Foster where we were eager to join our friend for a trip into the unknown. I had no idea where we were going just that it was somewhere “special”. I road shotgun as we drove up the back of Foster and after a few turns I lost track of where we were. The road narrowed and turned to gravel with the views of the hills, deep gullies and thickening bush really beautiful. The change of scenery was gradual but soon we were in a place that seemed lost in time. Towering trees and more tree ferns than I had ever seen before totally enveloped us. At a bend we stopped to admire the most glorious surroundings.

There was total silence apart from the breeze softly rustling the vegetation and I stood in awe of such a magnificent place. It was easy to see that at one time this is what the whole of the area had been like before civilisation. I almost expected some ancient creature to emerge through the fronds. I’ve been to other places similar but the fact that this seemed almost forgotten about and able to remain in its natural state was just brilliant. I could have stayed there for hours. The magical scenery continued as we went on, it was delightful. Slowly we began to travel forward through time from the Jurassic age as the touch of humans became evident. The fern fill gullies sadly emptied until slightly cleared sections of the hillsides emerged. These eventually became pine forests and farmland. It was an eye opening trip that illustrated the journey of man and nature.

I thought this had been our destination, it was more than enough, but it wasn’t. We soon stopped at a small parking area as we came to Turton Creek Falls. A place I had never heard of and, by the look of it, many others hadn’t either. It was only a small series of a couple of little waterfalls but it was a lovely secluded place and had obviously been cared for once but now parts of the area were overgrown and the infrastructure had been allowed to decay. Looking past this, the place itself was surrounded by bush, tree ferns and large trees. I was kind of glad that it was forgotten about as it was so nice having this beautiful haven all to ourselves. According to the information board there was a walking track but it was well and truly overgrown. We sat for a while enjoying the serenity before we moved on again.

As we drove on pockets of bush remained but the cleared rolling hills of the region became evident. Even these vistas were beautiful in their own way. I was unsure where we were heading until we came across the “township” of Mirboo and the original public hall. It is a once grand building, now on private property but still a fascinating sight and worth a look.

Luckily our driver knew where they were going as I was totally bamboozled by the myriad of tracks and roads but eventually we arrived back on the South Gippy Highway and headed back to Foster.

It had been a very satisfying and interesting day. It always fascinates me that there are so many places to see and things to do within a few hours drive from home.

Millie and I wandered home slowly with a couple of stops at towns along the way and soon our day out was over.

Gippsland always has more adventures, more stories and more beauty ready for anybody willing to seek them out.

We love this place!