Gippsland rocks!
I am embarrassed to admit that, before I visited Australia, I had never heard of Gippsland, let alone Baw Baw Shire. Despite a massive chunk of my Lonely Planet covering Victoria, there isn’t even a footnote on Warragul, the ‘wild dog’ town that I came to love after just a few days. My cousin Richard and his wife Leanne emigrated from the United Kingdom – where I live – to Gippsland in 2005 and, eager to see them after several years, I planned my first trip to Australia for March this year. After a few days in Sydney over Mardi Gras, I flew to Adelaide for the Fringe before making my way along the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne and then on to Warragul. Ticking off some of Australia’s most iconic sights en-route, I was now excited at the prospect of tasting real life Down Under with my family. Arriving in darkness, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I woke the next day to see lush, rolling hills all around me; the autumnal vegetation evoking the mustards, apricots and golden-browns of the Tuscan countryside.
Nature at its best
This was just a tantalising taste of some of the natural beauty I was treated to during my time in Gippsland, from the calm of Uralla Nature Reserve to the wide expanse of Blue Rock Lake in Willow Grove. When driving around, every turn seemed to offer another vista to make my Instagram followers green with envy, whether that be looking out over Latrobe Valley, across Tarago Reservoir or down upon Trafalgar with a stunning panorama of Mt Baw Baw from the Shanham Lookout Tower. The exotic wildlife also had me gasping every time I saw a flicker of colour in the trees, and, alongside up-close kookaburra and parrot sightings, I’ll never forget the kangaroo ‘safari’ Richard and Leanne took me on along Stuhrs Road. Every time we came across a mob, I would squeal like a child before switching tone to quietly leave the car and carefully edge towards them with my zoom lens, eager for a good shot of creatures I’d only ever seen in a zoo before. However, I am thankful I never got to meet the huntsman that lives in my cousin’s garage.
Local life
Nature aside, there was plenty to do in Gippsland’s urban areas and I embraced the local life very quickly; an outdoor swim at Warragul Leisure Centre followed by the most incredible cappuccino at Frankie’s is perhaps the perfect start to the day. Elsewhere in Warragul, I had one of the best haircuts I can remember at Sharkey’s Barber Shop and The Blue Dolphin rivals some of the finest fish and chips I’ve tasted at a British seaside resort, plus, I even bought a new pair of socks in Target! The town centre was a bit of a jumble due to road works, but it showed investment in a settlement that is clearly on the up, and everywhere else remained spotless. I even tried yoga for the first time in Warragul, being the first overseas customer of Naj Yoga in the Old Shire Hall. Being referred to as a ‘goddess’ by effervescent yogi Jan was a real holiday highlight. My fitness was also benefited by me taking on my first ever five kilometre run as part of Warragul Parkrun at Brooker Park. The friendly runners down there made me feel more than welcome – I got a round of applause for simply being from the UK – and the sense of achievement afterwards was profound.
Warm welcome
What impressed me most though were the people I met; friendly, upbeat and proud. Everywhere I went, I was met with a smile. Plus, there was a kindness and consideration for others that seems to be rarer elsewhere in the world these days. This was epitomised during our walk around Blue Rock Lake when I came across two beautifully-decorated stones; one depicting a snowman, the other taking the form of a seagull. Both had the Facebook logo and ‘GIPPS ROCKS’ written across their rears and, searching online, I immediately found this incredible community of thousands of Gippslanders who were decorating and hiding stones for families to take part in a regionwide game of hide-and-seek. Based on the countless posts of found rocks, the success of this project has been down to the diverse group of artists who are producing mini masterpieces for the community for free, and it was very heart-warming to see such a simple idea bringing such delight to people on a grand scale.
Out and about
There were so many other places and experiences that I will cherish from my time in Gippsland including the winding journey along the narrow-gauge Walhalla Goldfields Railway to see the preserved town and fantastic mine tour. I also thoroughly enjoyed walking the Noojee Trestle Bridge Rail Trail before tucking in to my first parma at The Toolshed Bar and then heading to an evening of live music at the Noojee Hotel, overlooked by Russell, the pub’s resident cockatoo. Of course, living in paradise comes at a cost and the bushfires in nearby Seaview loomed over my trip, and the prospect that creatures in the garden have the potential to kill you isn’t something we tend to worry about in the UK. Yet, as I returned home to Birmingham – via a Storm game in Melbourne and with my luggage stuffed with $100 worth of Tim Tams (seriously, they are so good) – I knew that this was a place I would want to return to soon and also encourage others to follow suit. Gippsland may not feature in any of the mainstream guidebooks and that is a real shame. But, from my experience, it is only a matter of time before the crowds descend across this hidden gem, so let’s agree to keep it a secret a little longer, yes? Oh, and as for the rocks I found, I rehid one at the Darnum Musical Village and the seagull returned home with me to help spread some Gippsland magic throughout the UK.