Victoria (Eastern Region)
Gippsland

GIPPSLAND stretches southeast of Melbourne from Western Port Bay to the New South Wales border, between the Great Dividing Range and Bass Strait. Green and well watered, it’s been the centre of Victoria’s dairy industry since the 1880s.You find here the magnificent Lakes in the east and to the extraordinary Wilsons Promontory in the south east.
 
It is riddled with masses of green forests and gardens, stunning mountains, rocky rivers, picturesque towns and, to a large degree, is defined by its long sandy beaches. It was the Polish explorer Count Paul Edmond de Strzelecki who named the region after Governor Gipps. The Princes, South Gippsland and Bass Highways provide the major access to its destinations.

South Gippsland is also, in contrast, the site of vast brown-coal deposits between Moe and Traralgon in the Latrobe Valley, where power stations generate most of the state’s electricity, while offshore, Bass Strait wells exploit natural gas and crude oil reserves, with several gas-processing and oil-stabilizing plants disfiguring the coastline.

South Gippsland also has Victoria’s most popular national park, Wilsons Promontory. “The Prom” is a hook-shaped landmass jutting out into the strait, with some superb scenery and fascinating bushwalks. In the east, around the Gippsland Lakes and Ninety Mile Beach, the region is less industrialized; and just beyond Orbost–Marlo the unspoilt coastline of the Croajingolong National Park – with its rocky capes, high sand dunes and endless sandy beaches – stretches to the New South Wales border.

Getting there and around
V/Line trains run from Melbourne to Sale, basically following the Princes Highway through South Gippsland. From Sale, buses leave for Orbost, stopping at Lakes Entrance. The Sapphire Coast Link is a daily train–bus connection between Melbourne and Narooma on the south coast of New South Wales: take the train to Sale, then a connecting bus along the Princes Highway via Lakes Entrance, Orbost, Cann River and Genoa. The Capital Link connects Melbourne with Canberra: take the train to Sale, then a bus via Lakes Entrance, Orbost and Cann River (Mon, Thurs & Sat). 

There’s a daily Greyhound Pioneer service along the coast from Melbourne to Sydney, but it’s not very convenient if you want to get off at stops in East Gippsland: the bus leaves Melbourne at 10pm and gets to Lakes Entrance and Cann River in the wee hours of the morning. 

Having your own car is vastly preferable, as you need to get off the highway to really experience the region’s diverse highlights and to get to the unspoilt bush campsites on the coast. The Princes Highway itself is a very boring drive, particularly the stretch from the Latrobe Valley to Bairnsdale, but after Orbost the highway becomes more scenic as it goes through the tall, dense eucalypt forests of Far East Gippsland. 

If you don’t have a car, or don’t want to spend much money, you might want to consider travelling on Oz Experience, the backpacker bus line that covers the Sydney–Melbourne route via the very scenic high country and Gippsland, or else take a one-way tour with Wayward Bus.

Climate
Gippsland enjoys a temperate climate of mild temperatures with four distinct seasons free of extremes. Summer temperatures often reach the 30oC mark, while winter averages 15oC

For more regional information on Gippsland, go to:

Maps
wpe17F.jpg (271994 bytes) Victoria