Lakes Entrance – a foodie's delight, but forget about the sex

By Darren Stones

Lakes Entrance in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia is one of those places that should not be bypassed. As a regular visitor to the Sapphire Coast region in New South Wales, more often than not I travel from Melbourne and stay overnight at Lakes Entrance en route to Eden or Merimbula. It’s possible to bypass this popular coastal resort town by leaving Highway No. 1 at Bairnsdale and journeying via Bruthen.

My recent visit to Lakes, as it’s affectionately known, was an eye-opener. The town’s iconic timber footbridge, that crosses the Cunningham Arm to the Southern Ocean, is being demolished and replaced with a brand spanking new concrete structure. It’s an exciting development and one which is sure to change the look of the gorgeous Lakes Entrance landscape.

Paddleboats open for business
Photo: Darren Stones

Paddle boats can be hired at Lakes, and recently I witnessed some not so savvy tourists hiring recreational water craft. One bloke, dressed in very swish trousers and shirt, jumped into a paddle ski which was half-filled with water. To say the onlookers were pissing their pants with laughter would be an understatement. Alas, the smartly dressed bloke soldiered on like a trooper and paddled his way out to the never never after figuring out how to use the implements he’d hired.

What’s so bloody funny huh?
Photo: Darren Stones

Bronwyn and I meandered over the sand hill to discover a bloke searching for lost stuff in the trampled sand. Using a rather sophisticated metal detector, he seemed intent on finding a gold nugget the size of a small car. Suffice to say, I hung around for a while in case he needed a hand to carry it back to his hatchback. Bronwyn, being a keen fossicker herself, decided to stick around, too, and sweet talk the bloke. Not that we were wanting in on the action in case he found something out of the norm, but all bases were being covered in case he passed out with shock. Anyway, we bombed out – as you’d expect.

Paddle boats for hire
Photo: Darren Stones

From there we ventured off for some grub. The Lakes Entrance Bowls Club puts on a fair spread for those seeking more than 64 meal options, so we went the whole hog and dined in style. Prawns, booze and bread rolls – just for starters. After all that we got to the mains. We scoffed them off and then waddled our way to the lounge to let our stomachs recover – which they eventually did about an hour or so later.

After a delightful chat about this, that, and the other, we headed back to the Sand Bar Motel and did you know what. Yep, we watched TV until the wee hours.

Recreation:
Lakes Entrance Paddleboats
Phone: 03 5155 2753
Mobile: 0419 552 753
http://lakes-entrance.com/paddleboats/index.htm

Dining:
Lakes Entrance Bowls Club
Cnr Rowe & Bulmer Street
Lakes Entrance, Victoria 3909
Phone: 03 5155 3578.
http://www.lakesbowls.com.au/

Accommodation:
Sand Bar Motel
637 Esplanade
Lakes Entrance, Victoria 3909
Phone: 03 5155 2567
http://www.sandbarmotel.com/

© Darren Stones 2009
All Rights Reserved