With ancient forests and waterfalls, rocky cliffs and lake views, stunning beaches and a varied fauna and abundant, the Gippsland in the beautiful state of Victoria in Australia, is a real paradise the lovers of nature and is a territory still largely preserved.
The region extends from the limits of the Victorian Alps to the southern tip of Australia, the Wilsons Promontory National Park. But it is also the strip of land east of Melbourne, the city where you live better in the world, running from Phillip Island up to the border with the state of New South Wales is therefore the land which you cross compulsorily traveling by car along the coast, from Melbourne towards Sydney.
Along the way the wild nature is to discover, from the peninsula of Wilsons Promontory National Park with wonderful beaches, granite rocks and a rainforest with over 700 species of plants, crossed by trails that wind for whole kilometers. The Wilsons Promontory is rich in an extraordinary wildlife and offers the possibility of walking and hiking for every level. Walking in the park you can see the many varieties of birds and meet, with a little luck, as well as emus and kangaroos, wombats, rare among Australia’s most elusive animals. One of the most famous beaches is called Squeaky Beach, which owes its name to the sand so fine by creak when you walk over.
Proceeding further east, the Gippsland becomes an aquatic region: on one side the sea, the other the Gippsland Lakes, the largest lake landscape uninterrupted throughout Australia. This is a huge ecological reserve with many islands. On the beautiful Ninety Mile Beach, the lake and the sea coming almost touching. Lakes Entrance is the main center of the region to enjoy seafood: this town of 5,000 inhabitants, in fact, boasts numerous restaurants serving fish from the lake.
The Croajingolong National Park, in the far east of the State of Victoria, won the recognition of a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The rain forest, the eucalyptus trees and the landscape dotted with dunes characterize the coastal strip that stretches for about 100 kilometers, and which owes its name to the first inhabitants of the region. Here live many species of animals as well as wallabies, kangaroos, koalas and many smaller marsupials, you can meet the Australian water dragon, the wombat and the echidna. Do not miss a visit to the giant sand dunes on Thurra River. The best view of this natural paradise you will enjoy the highest lighthouse in the whole of Australia: 162 steps lead to the observation point on top of Point Hicks Lighthouse.
Moving further inland, well worth a visit to the Walhalla city, located in the Great Dividing Range, the largest mountain range in Australia. The tiny Walhalla is in fact one of the most attractive historic and best preserved of the state of Victoria. Here time has stopped 150 years ago, nothing has changed since the days of its glory, that of the gold rush, when Walhalla was one of the richest municipalities in Australia, but now has only 20 inhabitants. They are the ones who keep alive the history of these places, making them a must-see: they have restored the houses of the past, and seem to live in an open-air museum.