Driving around – Anembo Cottage

There is no shortage of things to do if you have a car. Here are some suggestions:

Wilson’s Promontory is 80km, or approximately one hour’s drive from Anembo and is an easy day trip. It is one of Australia’s best loved National Parks and something you should definitely visit. There are many lovely walks available there. Mount Oberon is a sensational climb with magnificent views from the top. The Streaky Beach walk and Lilli Pilly Gully walks are also excellent. The Lighthouse walk requires several days camping. The best time to visit “the Prom” is outside summer when it is less packed with campers.

Tarra-Bulga National Park. (120 km from Inverloch). One of the last remaining stands of Victoria’s original rainforests. The park abounds with native birds and wildlife. From the suspension bridge at the park there is a panoramic view of some of the most perfect tree ferns in Victoria, sheltered by the original rainforest of 300 ft mountain ash and sassafras. Brilliant.
A road worth taking that cuts through the Tarra-Bulga National Part is the Grand Ridge Road. This covers some spectacular country but it is poorly signposted.
Leongatha. Leongatha is a middle-sized town in the hills (27km from Inverloch). Nothing much there but the drive through the undulating farmland is nice. The usual shops exist there including KFC and McDonalds. There are some good bakeries and cafés. There is a largish cinema complex and a indoor heated pool which is impressive. Leongatha also has a very pleasant Golf Course.
Korrumburra. This is a substantial sized town in the district (27km from Inverloch). It is the location of the Coal Creek Village (see below). It has a lot of good shops and eateries. It has fast food outlets if you are looking for that sort of thing.
Wonthaggi. Wonthaggi (13.5km from Inverloch) is the nearest town that is growing fast and is quickly becoming the main regional centre. It has a large Big W, Safeway, Aldi, Bunnings, Target, Liqourland, Michel’s Patisserie, KFC and McDonalds. There is a new Bass Coast Plaza, recently built, that contains are large Coles, and various other outlets. There are many small cafés and shops in the main town. One of the nicer cafés has an art gallery attached. There is a small, but very good, bakery opposite Safeway. The main attraction is the State Coal Mine where you can go underground and experience life as a miner. This gets good reviews on TripAdvisor. There is a large kid’s playground at the Melbourne end of the town. There is a good library in the rapidly expanding central business area opposite Safeway. You can join the library for free. Inverloch has a library too but it is quite small.
Consider a drive to the Victorian Desalination Plant. Beautifully designed, and hunkered down into the dunes with a green roof, has to be the most elegant desal plant in the country. They do tours, and there are wonderful walks through the national park. Nearby Williamson’s Beach is worth a visit too: take the short walk from the car park and enjoy the pristine beach and the crashing Bass Strait rollers. Watch your kids! There are freak waves.
Koonwarra. This is a very small place and an easy drive (22km from Inverloch). Take the Leongatha road and turn off. The “town” consists of two cafés which have excellent ambience and great gardens, pottery and crafts. They have an organic food outlet here which opens sporadically.
At Mirboo North, a very pleasant and historic town (51km from Inverloch), there is the famous Grand Ridge Brewery. It claims to make the “most awarded if little known” beer in Australia. The beer is certainly good, but the ambience is fairly uninspiring–or it was when we visited.
Tarwin Lower, Venus Bay, Smythe’s Point (various distances 26km+) You can see Smythe’s Point from Inverloch beach near Anembo. It is the other end of Anderson’s Inlet that forms the bay. It is the location of the Smythe’s Point Nature Trail. The Point is a wild and empty location and well worth a visit for the empty vistas along the coast, and onwards to the windswept 90 Mile Beach. The latter (which is actually 94 Miles) is described as ‘one of the most natural and unspoilt beaches in the world’. It is indeed unspoilt, and you can walk for many miles and not see anyone. You can drive to Smythe’s Point via Tarwin Lower. Whilst at Tarwin Lower, visit the quirky Riverview Hotel and see the Long Table – a 35 metre table made from a single length of wood. It claims to be the longest in the world. Take your fishing rod and drop a line into the Tarwin River! Some mad individuals have swum to Smythe’s Point from Inverloch beach, but the current is very strong and this is definitely not recommended. Several people have drowned at the beach in attempting to swim across. Watch your kids. Again, the beach is very changeable and moody and can be treacherous at times.
Powlett River Mouth. There’s nothing there except a camping ground, but the fishing and canoeing opportunities are second-to-none. Great sand dunes for the kids to play on, and good estuary for swimming. Just up the road from Inverloch.

Coal Creek This is a living historical museum in the tradition of Sovereign Hill, Ballarat. You get to Coal Creek by travelling to Korumburra. Coal Creek Heritage Village is an outdoor Museum illustrating the region’s heritage from 1870-1920. It tells the story through coal mining, timber, dairy farming industries and the settlement involved. It is a working village with volunteers and traders in period costume acting out the historical narrative. The village is set on forty acres of bushland valley, with just over fifty farm and town buildings. Take a picnic or eat at their cafe. A cheap and relaxing outing for the whole family.
Kongwak. A sleepy town in the hills (14.6km from Inverloch). The have a small Saturday flea market once a month and it is worth a visit for nothing else than the great Indian food and coffee.
Philip Island. (54km from Inverloch). Well known for its Motorcycle Gran Prix and Motor Museum and the famous Fairy Penguins’ Parade. There are only three places in the world where these cute animals walk up the beach to nest. It is expensive but something that you must see. The Nobbies are also worth a visit for the blow holes and seal watching on the small island nearby. The township of Cowes is worth a visit, as is Newhaven and St Remo. There is also at Amaze n’ Things, the Koala Sanctuary, the Wildlife Park, the Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm, Churchill Island Farm (excellent), the Philip Island Chocolate Factory and the National Vietnam Veterans’ Museum, plus the numerous places to dine, picnic and enjoy the scenery.

The Philip Island Jazz Festival (est 2003) held from 16-18^th November is another local festival that is an easy 54km drive from Inverloch.
Wineries There are dozens of wineries in and around Inverloch and the Gippsland area. Many offer intriguing cellar door architecture, wonderful ambience and great booze. Sometimes you can watch opera as you dine! You can find more information about them at the Visitors’ Information Centre in town. (See also Wineries and boutique brewers).
The Gippsland Food and Wine Trail . This is well worth doing, and it showcases the region’s fine produce. See also the South Gippsland Food and Wine Trails
Latrobe Valley (75 km from Inverloch via Leongatha and Mirboo North). This is the powerhouse of Victoria, with electricity generating facilities at Morwell, Yallourn, Hazelwood (now closed) and Loy Yang. Seeing the old power stations pumping out their effluent (most of which is actually just water vapour) is strangely beautiful, especially with the winter fog curling around their imposing edifices. If you like industrial chic you will like this. The Darnum Musical Village in Darnum (77km from Inverloch) is worth a visit for its eccentric collection of instruments, some of which they will play for you. Federation University campus at Churchill (84.6km from Inverloch) is worth visiting too. No-one will mind if you park and walk around the splendid gardens or go to Switchback Art Gallery. The drive from Inverloch to Morwell via Mirboo North is a very beautiful drive especially via Mirboo (not to be confused with Mirboo North) and Yinnar where the road is very windy. The Yinnar Hotel has a knees-up local folk group–called the Strzelecki String Busters–that plays each month on a Wednesday night. Well worth seeing, but book ahead. Old Gippstown is worth a visit.

Sandy Point (57km from Inverloch) This area provides a pathway for migrating birds passing down to Wilson’s Promontory and across Bass Strait to Tasmania.
Port Welshpool (69 km). This deep sea port is open to coastal shipping and is a terminal for supply boats to oil rigs operating in Bass Strait. This is the terminating point of the Great Southern Rail Trail (see below). Port Welshpool is a small place with a nice pub and a long jetty.
Port Albert (93 km) This is the most historically important town in South Gippsland. Port Albert is one of the earliest settlements in Victoria. It has an excellent fish and chip shop on the wharf—a must if you are in the area.
Yarram, Walkerville and Fish Creek. These townships are an easy day trip from Anembo on the way to Wilson’s Promontory. Fish Creek, in particular, has some great galleries and touristy shops.
Rail Trails – The area has three major rail trails that you should try to do if you have a bicycle. You can walk them too, but doing them with a bike is best. Two of them are short and end with a pub!
- Bass Coast Rail Trail (23km one way)runs from Wonthaggi (13.3km from Inverloch) beginning at the old station (opposite Big W) and goes to Anderson, just past Kilcunda near the Philip Island turnoff. It is mostly flat, and climaxes with a slight ascent to the old wooden Kilcunda trestle bridge close to the beach. The old pub at Kilcunda looks out to the crashing surf. While you are there do the George Bass Coastal Walk \which is terrific.
- The Grand Ridge Rail Trail (13km one way) starts at Mirboo North (52.2km from Inverloch). The start of the track is clearly signposted. It starts near where the main road bisects a park. The trail runs downhill all the way through the impossibly beautiful Strzelecki Forest between Mirboo North and Morwell. It ends at quiet and charming Boolarra where there is a fine old pub with a blazing fire in winter. The pub would not look out of place in the UK. Cycling back up the hill after a few drinks might be a problem!
- The Great Southern Rail Trail and Tarra Trail (68km one way + 5.6km one way) begins at Leongatha (26.6km from Inverloch). Recently this trail was extended from Nyora and it is now 107km.)This is a serious bike-riding proposition owing to its length but it can be done in stages, or in one attempt by using a car shuffle. The trail starts at a small park near the main road some way to East of the town. The entire length of the trail is now continuous thanks to the re-construction of three original wooden trestle bridges, some quite long. The trail is hilly in parts, but there is a great uninterrupted decent to Foster and then it flattens out for the remainder terminating at wild and windswept Port Welshpool. The trail receives rave reviews on www.railtrails.org.au and we can confirm it is worth doing. There are plenty of delightful towns en route including Meehiyan, Fish Creek, Foster, Toora, Welshpool and Port Welshpool. There are plenty of places to eat and have coffee or something stronger. It is possible to ride another 25km or so from Welshpool to Port Albert, one of Victoria’s first settlements. If you do that, don’t miss the fish and chip shop on the wharf. The Tarra Trail (5.6km one way) extends from Alberton to the delightful and historic village of Yarram. There are plans to eventually join the two trails.

You can find more information about all this and other attractions of the region at the Inverloch Tourist Information Office in Inverloch’s main thoroughfare, A’Beckett Street.