South Gippsland Coastal areas - ithaca to victoria Australia. ithacagreece winter 2012 special

South Gippsland Coast

The Australian coastline can be very dramatic with rocky bluffs and long sandy beaches that seem to go on forever.

In the south, beaches can look beautiful, but beware, the water is freezing and the currents are dangerous!

Inverloch is a picturesque seaside town which is inundated with holiday makers each summer, especially surfers, windsurfers and fishers. An interesting details is that Australia’s first dinosaur bone, the Cape Paterson Claw, was discovered near Inverloch in 1903.

Australia is generally wheelchair friendly. Even the beaches cater for those who are not too steady on their feet. . A far cry from the pavements in Greece which are barely walkable by those without problems. Public toilets, all with 'disabled' selections. Still with all this convenience there is a price to pay. Rarely in any of the holiday locations will you be able to enjoy the natural and 'untouched by human hands' environment that you can still enjoy in Greece. Everything is paved, sign-posted and fenced. Walks are etched out in concrete to lead you in directions that will protect you from the nature you seek to find.

Above - Cape Liptrap

Bass Strait is known for it's cold waters and rough seas, and separates Australia from Tasmania.

Before Christmas, the South Gippsland seasides are still in hibernation, but after the 25th, they begin to explode with holidayers who have cottages in one of the seaside towns or with campers and caravaners escaping the cities with their families for their summer holidays.

Cape Liptrap Coastal Park stretches from the sand barrier of Point Smyth to the sheltered beaches of Waratah Bay. The coastal park can be gorgeous and calm under the sun or wild and furious with wind and storms.

The aboriginal people of the the Boon Wurrung, Bunurong and Gunaikurnai identify Cape Liptrap Coastal Park as their Traditional Country, but at Walkerville, it was a Lime mining industry that put this area on the map during the late 1800's. There are still signs of a time past here and there, as in the small cemetery, where a couple of graves have survived the ravages of time.

On the days I took to the coast, it was generally windy and cold. I hadn't quite acclimatized to the wind chill of the south gippsland coast and left the 'beach going' to those who could brave the elements better than I. Yep, I'm a whimp, give me the safe, calm and WARM waters of Ithaki... although had I not been ill, would probably have taken many, many photographs of the rugged and wild coastline of South Gippsland, which especially in its wild and furious state, was so dangerously beautiful.