Tarwin Lower Market - Mon 5th November

The Tarwin Lower market will be held in River Drive tomorrow morning, Monday 5th November.

Tarwin Lower pub reopens

The Riverview Hotel at Tarwin Lower reopened last night.

They did pretty well to get back up and running for the Melbourne Cup (unofficial) long weekend.

The town with no pub

The Tarwin Lower pub has been closed for a couple of weeks. It was reported in The Star that the owners had no choice but to evict the licensee. It's a shame for all involved, the owners, the licensee, the locals, the tourists and the musical acts that were booked to appear there.

Here's hoping that they can find a new licensee to take over soon.

Update on the whale

Parks Victoria buried the whale on Venus Bay Beach some time in late September or early October. It was subsequently exumed and washed out to sea by a king tide.

Whale washed up on Venus Bay Beach

A 15.5 metre male sperm whale was washed up on Venus Bay Beach No. 4 on Saturday 1st September.

These pictures were taken on Monday 3rd September, so if you plan to go for a look, take my advice and stand upwind from the carcass.

Click on the pictures for the full size.

Lady of the Swamp

I found this interesting blog entry about "The Lady of the Swamp".

I'd like to get my hands on a copy of this book - both to read and for a friend who had one and lost it. It had sentimental value and I'm sure a replacement would be almost as good.

I'd heard the story before but always imagined it to be fictional - not realising that it was based on a true mystery.

http://highriser.blogspot.com/2007/05/lady-of-swamp.html

Tarwin River Bank

As I was driving along the river today, I noticed that it was higher than usual. It mustn't take much to cut the road.

These pictures were taken near the rock wall and along the Inverloch Road.

Need a mechanic in Venus Bay?

Go and see Ben at Tarwin Mechanical Services at 49 River Drive in Tarwin Lower. Call on (03) 5663-5353.

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Venus Bay

• Property Type: House
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 2
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12 Doyles Road

FABULOUS WATERFRONT RETREAT

Contact: Fletchers Canterbury

Request more information info

Property details

Property Type:

House

Suburb:

Venus Bay

Region:

South Eastern Victoria

Land Area:

15 Acres

Bedrooms:

4

Bathrooms:

2

FABULOUS WATERFRONT RETREAT

Vicinity $1.8 million

STUNNING COASTAL VIEWS 300 Metres of BEACH FRONTAGE, 2hrs from MELBOURNE RARE OPPORTUNITY HERE! Set high on its private 15acres (approx) of natural bush abutting State Forrest, this large residence captures panoramic coastal views forever. Architect designed renovations include 2 levels of functional casual living with state of the art fixtures and fittings. FULLY AIR CONDITIONED on the upper level and the downstairs kitchen and dining areas, the home offers: * 4 bedrooms, all with stunning views, 2 with private balcony * Main bedroom & ensuite with spectacular 270 Degree Views * Retreat-study * Imported Italian marble bench top, slide away pantry and Miele appliances in the kitchen * Imported mosaic glass tiles in kitchen and both bathrooms * Powder room (3rd toilet) * Kitchen-family-meals area with slab heating and opening to covered outdoor entertainment area * Living room with double sided open fire place * Separate rumpus room * 300 metres of absolute water frontage * Grove of 88 irrigated olive trees * Native fauna including kangaroos

Tarwin Lower Market - Mon 11th of June

The Tarwin Lower Market will be open on the Queen's Birthday holiday Monday in River Drive.

It's probably best to go in the morning as it normally closes around lunch time.

Bingo's gone to the dogs...

It's not often that Venus Bay gets a mention in a major metro newspaper, but the fuss over at the community centre over whether local bingo players can take their best friends with them made into the Herald Sun today.

In what seems to be yet another case of council and council officers exercising their propensity to remove more joy from people's lives by banning another seemingly harmless act by members of the public, South Gippsland Shire Council has elevated petty bureaucracy to new heights.

In a small country town with little by way of services and activities for the residents, why would the council want to interfere with one of the small joys that enrich people's lives?

In the picture: Kathy Pettingill with Trixie, Violet Holloway with Jamie, and Maria Wilson with Princess and Mosci (obscured). Picture: Aaron Francis

Read the story below and make up your own mind.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21876991-2862,00.html

Adrian Tame

June 10, 2007 12:00am

A BINGO war has broken out - destroying the tranquillity of a sleepy Victorian town - over a group of ladies who take their dogs when having a flutter.

On the one side are six women who take their companion dogs to bingo, weight watchers and art classes in Venus Bay in South Gippsland.

Lined up against them are the local council and a member of the community centre's management committee, who want to ban the dogs from the building.

The dog lovers have a formidable champion in former underworld matriarch Kathy Pettingill who, for several years, has called the bingo and organised weight watchers at the centre.

Mrs Pettingill, 72, said if the dogs ban was enforced it could mean the end of her Saturday afternoon bingo sessions.

"I doubt we'd have enough ladies to keep the bingo going, because if they ban the dogs, a lot of them won't come," Mrs Pettingill said.

"It's not as if they're great big wolfhounds running around the place. They're all little lap dogs and their owners like to have them with them all the time."

Bev Walker, a member of the management committee, begs to differ: "I have tolerated it for years, but it's out of control. I am sick of dogs running under my legs."

Another management committee member, Anita Booth, has always taken her dog with her to the centre and is opposed to the ban.

South Gippsland Shire Council by-laws allow only guide dogs for the blind inside municipal buildings.

A council spokeswoman said the council was meeting with both sides later this month to thrash out a solution agreeable to all.

Christmas in July aboard the South Gippsland Tourist Railway

Looking for something to do nearby in the middle of winter?

How about this?

When: Saturday 21 July 2007
Where: Train boarding at Loch Station

Join the Christmas Express for a unique Christmas dinner. Starting at Loch station, the train departs to Lamont House in Leongatha where passengers will be treated to a sumptuous main course and complimentary glass of wine, beer or soft drink. Then it's 'all aboard' and back to Korumburra to sample Diva's Restaurant's famous White Chocolate Sponge Tower with tea and coffee.

Phone: (03) 5658 1111 or email: info@sgr.org.au. Bookings are limited.

Visit Victoria's latest Gippsland Newsletter

Here's the link to the latest Visit Victoria Gippsland newsletter.

It's a visually appealing site with lots of information about Gippsland's diverse range of places and things to do when you're taking a break from it all.

This issue features articles about visiting the Gippsland Lakes, Walhalla, Croajingalong National Park, Metung and Wilsons Promontory.

There are some great deals on accomodation and activities as well a free entry to win a Gippsland holiday worth $1,500.

Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

Venus Bay Store For Sale

There's a great opportunity for someone who's after a seachange. The Venus Bay General Store is for sale for $700,000 +SAV.

This is the only general store in Venus Bay and sells groceries and liquor, newspapers, has a sandwich bar and video and DVD rentals.

If you're looking to move to the coast and enjoy the quiet life, this could be the business you're looking for.

Venus Bay has great beach and estuary fishing, a thriving tourist trade in the summer and other times throughout the year. We have a 22km long beach and are close to Inverloch, Leongatha, Wonthaggi and Wilsons Prom.

Call Chris on 03 5663 7585 for more information.

UPDATE: 1st March 2008
Chris & Carmen have sold the store, so it's no longer up for sale. Looking forward to welcoming the new owners. I hope that Chris and Carmen enjoy all their free time now.

Playing Tourist

Last week, my parents came to stay for a visit. It was great to see them and spend some family time together here for a change instead of me going to Sydney for the usual Christmas thing. I think they had a nice, relaxing time too... I hope.

They drove down from Sydney with their dog, Tess. My dog, Venus loved having a friend (cousin?) to play with. The dogs both loved their ball chase on the beach at Venus Bay.

We did a few touristy things, went fishing at the rock wall on the Tarwin River and on the inlet at Inverloch. The weather was very nice the whole time and the afternoon at Inverloch was especially nice, standing in the cool water in the sun feeding the fish with our bait. We didn't actually catch anything, not even a cold.

The Penguin Parade at Phillip Island was a pleasant surprise too. I was expecting a distant glimpse of a few birds on the beach, and that's what it was at the start, then the little penguins came marching up the hill in between the viewing stands and you could get a real up close and personal look at these cute little creatures. The visitor centre was interesting too. I was amazed at the number of people there, given that it wasn't a particularly warm night and it wasn't in a holiday period. The "Great Wall of China" was an amusing distraction when a busload of tourists thought they should all stand up at the same time and block the view of everyone behind them until they got the hint from the "Sit Down!", "Oi!" calls from behind. The only thing I thought was absolutely stupid about the Penguin Parage was the ban on photography. I'm assuming it is to stop people using a flash and blinding/scaring the penguins, but I don't see how taking a non-flash photo or making a video without a flash would upset the penguins any more than having thousands of people lined up on their beach would be. Just another example of over-zealous regulation I guess. I suspect it's more a case of protecting the revenue from the postcard and "buy a photo" business they run from the visitor centre.

We also had a short day-trip down to Cape Liptrap to see the view from the lighthouse. Unfortunately, we went in the morning when it was a bit cloudy, so the view to The Prom wasn't as good as it can be. Still nice though. Coming back to Venus Bay via Walkerville and Fish Creek for fish and chips made for a nice, relaxing day out.

The week they were here went by all too fast, but now they've been here, they may make the 1,000km+ trip again.

Chainsaw Dilema

Now that it's getting cold at night, thoughts turn to cutting firewood.

After spending the good part of a week agonising what to do about a loose chain on the chainsaw, wondering... do I need to spend the $90 to get 2 new chains airfreighted from Sydney, like the place I bought it from on eBay said I needed to do, or buying the 2 cheaper ones on eBay for $50 plus $10 postage, I decided to take it to the chainsaw shop in Wonthaggi to ask them what to do.

The young guy behind the counter grabbed it out of my hands and took it out the back to emerge a few moments later, chain tightened thanks to a few links removed. The cost? A whole $3! Now I know.

I'd read all the DIY forums, all saying things like turn the adjusting screw.... even though it was already fully extended, get a new chain, make sure the bar is tilited upwards... none of them suggested removing a few links from the chain.

So, if you ever have the same problem, don't wait around or look for a complicated or expensive answer, take it to a chainsaw repair place and get them to do it.

FYI, the one in Wonthaggi is John McCalls Mowers at 7 Murray St.

Venus Bay Sunset

The haze yesterday made for a pretty amazing sunset taken from the front verandah in Venus Bay with different exposure settings.

Venus Bay Easter Festival

As part of the Venus Bay Easter Festival, there will be an outdoor market run in conjunction with the Mind, Body & Spirit Festival at the Venus Bay Community Centre at 27 Canterbury Rd, Venus Bay on Easter Sunday, 8th April. It will run from 9am to 5pm.

Aerial Photos of Venus Bay and nearby towns

Foons Photographics has some amazing aerial photos of Venus Bay, Andersons Inlet, Cape Patterson, Inverloch, Wonthaggi, Wilsons Prom, Dalyston and Kilcunda.

The latest are all taken on a blue-sky day in September 2006.

http://www.foons.com.au/aerial/aerial.htm

Tarwin Lower Market - Mon 9th April

The Tarwin Lower Market will be held on the morning of Monday 9th of April for the Easter holidays. Most of the stalls are in River Drive just next to the hall.

Venus Bay Real Estate Agents

The Venus Bay Real Estate agents handle sales and rentals in Venus Bay, Tarwin Lower and as far away as Walkerville.

Here is a list of the three local agents who can find you a place to buy or rent as well as having long lists of holiday accomodation rentals.

Alex Scott
03 5663 7111

PBE Real Estate
03 5663 7771

Realestate.com.au

How scream was my valley

It's amazing how far noise travels in a quiet valley. When I lived in Melbourne, with the hum of the traffic and everything else, the idea of hearing your neighbours only entered your head if they got a drum kit for Christmas.

Here in Venus Bay it's a different matter entirely. If someone's having a party across the road until 2 in the morning, you hear it like it's in your own house. Voices travel a long way in the still night air. Luckily it doesn't happen all that often and the place will return to it's usual quietness soon enough, but geez... it's hard to sleep with the yelling and screaming and the loud conversations - no matter if they're just having fun or not - going on all night.

In the words of Darryl Kerrigan from The Castle: "How's the serenity?"

Tarwin Lower Market

The Tarwin Lower Market will be held on Monday 12th March next to the hall in River Drive in the morning.

I've never been before, so I don't know what kind of stalls they have there.

Dog and Cat Boarding near Venus Bay

If you need to have somewhere to leave your pets while you're in the Venus Bay area - maybe you're staying at Venus Bay but want to take a day or two down at Wilsons Prom - you can leave your pets at the South Gippsland Boarding Kennels and Cattery at Glendalough Park on the Bass Hwy, Leongatha South.

Kevin and Deborah Scott have a lovely sunlight filled cattery with a pot-belly stove to keep the pusses warm in winter, and a secure, shady garden dog compound for your best friend to take a break. 24 hour vet services are on hand and your dog will be excersised twice a day and get lots of pats in a tranquil environment.

To book, call Kevin or Deborah on (03)5674-2256.

Hope for a Venus Bay & Tarwin Lower Bus Service

Article from the Star News Leongatha:

"Buses to ease isolation"

Buses were the main focus when South Gippslanders brainstormed transport solutions for the region at a meeting in Memorial Hall, Leongatha,on Thursday evening.

About 80 people attended and rose to the challenge with ideas ranging from making it easier for residents of outlying towns to visit Melbourne, to helping isolated elderly people get to a doctor's appointment.

The ideas will be collated and form part of an application to the State Government for funding under the transport connections program.

This program attempts to help communities create "bottom-up" solutions to their transport problems using negligible new resources rather than big budget infrastructure or commuter services.

South Gippsland shire has already submitted an expression of interest for the program, which was positively received by the department of Victorian communities.

If the application is successful a transport connections coordinator will be appointed for three years and a steering committee formed, which will look at ways to use existing transport resources to increase "social transit" in the shire.

An announcement on the application's success is expected in April.

Issues relating to trains returning to South Gippsland did not form part of the discussion except for a momentary verbal lapse by a state government bureaucrat, which drew laughs from the audience.

"People expected more about the rail but it was always about the transport connections program," Cr Nigel Hutchinson-Brooks said.

"There would need to be another meeting to discuss that issue."

The meeting was attended by Member for Gippsland South: Peter Ryan, councillors, South Gippsland shire staff, bus operators, transport lobbyists and residents.

It included a presentation by John Sanderson who steered the Bass Coast transport connections program, which began three years ago, followed by the brainstorming session.

Suggestions at the meeting included:

• V/Line bus services stopping in Bena.

• Irregular services to take people to special events like the Mossvale park music festival and water sports.

• Community buses for outlying areas like Hallston, Allambee, Venus Bay, Fish Creek and Tarwin Lower.

• A summer bus that stops at the Poowong pool.

• Feeder transport to and from towns such as Sandy Point, Tarwin Lower, Venus Bay to the V/Line buses.

• A link between Foster and Tidal River. Foster bus operator, Alex Moon said he has seen young adult tourists attempting to hitchhike to the Prom because they expected a bus from Foster to the Prom.

• Seniors transport from Dumbalk to Leongatha, and the bus travelling from Wonthaggi to Morwell to stop in Dumbalk.

• School buses bringing adults into major towns to connect with other buses.

• Fixing the public transport black holes of Toora and Welshpool.

• Business groups supporting transport, to attract customers to their shops.

Other discussion points included the likelihood that transporting people to medical services in the Latrobe Valley would become more important with an aging population. Also, an increasing social dislocation caused by many scattered small and medium sized towns, needs to be addressed; and thought should be given to the need for inter-regional transport services rather than Melbourne-centric transport.

Link http://www.dcsi.net.au/localnews.php?itemid=2

Awesome Water

Is your tank water undrinkable?

I can highly recommend Awesome Water filters as a cheaper and easier alternative to buying bottled water.

Awesome Water - Bench Top Water Cooler, Purifier, Filtered Water, Hot or Cold.

Venus Bay by Night

Venus Bay by night.

Local Vet Services

If you need veterinary services around Venus Bay or Tarwin Lower, the nearest vets are in Inverloch, about 20 minutes away.

Pets:

• Companion Animal Vet Clinic at 23 A'Beckett St. Inverloch (03) 5674-3822.
• Inverloch Veterinary Clinic at 16B Williams St. Inverloch (03) 5674-2408.

Horses:

• Catherine Unkenstein at 525 Inverloch-Venus Bay Rd Pound Creek (0417) 545-969.

Back to normal

It's like turning off a light switch. The end of the school holidays has seen Venus Bay return to normal. Gone are all the extra visitors, the queues at the shops and the throngs at the beach. Venus Bay has returned to it's normal state of being a quiet, seaside town.

Hopefully the local businesses made enough hay while the sun of tourism shone to sustain them until the next expected influx over Easter.

It was good to have a bit of life in town, but it will be even nicer to be able ot go to the beach again without hundreds of other people. Not that it was ever really that crowded... it's all relative.

Need the Doctor in Venus Bay or Tarwin Lower?

Venus Bay and Tarwin Lower are serviced once a week on Thursdays by visiting doctors at the Tarwin Lower & District Community Health Centre on Walkerville Rd, Tarwin Lower.

You do need to make an appointment, and it's best if you can do this a week in advance as demand for appointments sometimes outstrips the appointments available.

The doctors there are very nice and do a great job looking after their patients. Their main practice is in Foster.

Call (03) 5667-5680 to book an appointment. The centre is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

If you can't get an appointment, or can't wait until the Thursday, there are doctors in Inverloch, Wonthaggi, Leongatha and Foster. The Leongatha Hospital and Wonthaggi Hospital are the main hospitals in the area.

Venus Bay Sunsets

Here are some more Venus Bay sunset photos I took earlier this week at the beach. Sometimes the colours are amazing. I really went to see if I could see the comet, but the clouds were obscuring it I think. Maybe tonight will be better in an hour or so.

Australia Day free breakfast in Tarwin Lower

There is going to be a free breakfast at Fisher Reserve on Walkerville Road, Tarwin Lower starting at 8am on Friday, Australia Day, January 26. It's Free. I don't know who's putting it on, but it's a nice thing for them to do.

Is this it for the drought?

We've had over 40mm of rain over the last few days in the rain-gauge in the backyard in Venus Bay. It's been so long since we've had sustained rain for more than half a day, I'd forgotten what it was like. Here's hoping we get some more - enough to fill the tanks and dams, water the ground and put out the fires in the high country. Everything was looking so dry. After only a few days of rain, you can see green returning to the landscape. The dry, brown farms around here are starting to grow grass again. The cows will be happy!

I know it hasn't been as dry here as other parts of Australia. On a recent trip to NSW, the country between Bathurst and Forbes was desolate. Our brown fields were lush by comparison. None the less, it's illuminating to see the rainfall readings to the Tarwin Lower supermarket for the past few years. In many of the months of the last year, we've had very little rain compared to even 2 years ago, and they were drought years too.

nice photo montage

I found this on YouTube. Very nice photo montage of Venus Bay Beach.

what a relief!

Wow! The afternoon storm coupled with the widespread blackout was amazing. Seeing all that heavy rain come down so fast was fantastic... good tank-filling rain. We got about 12 mm in half an hour. Luckily we left the beach just before it started.

The power went off about 5.45pm and came back on at 8.20, just as I was about to light some candles.

It only cooled down to about 25 degrees, not ideal sleeping weather, but it was a relief all the same. Today was supposed to be hot again, but the seabreeze seems to be keeping a lid on the temperature for now. I notice that it's already 31 degrees in Melbourne at 11.30am and it's still only 26 here. Here's hoping it stays that way. I realise that I'm no good in the heat.

hot as hell

Right now in Venus Bay, it's about 37 degrees and as hot as hell. I just noticed on the Bureau of Meteorology site that it's only 18 degrees down at Wilsons Prom. Maybe I should drive down there to cool off for a while. How can there be such a difference in temperature between here and somewhere just 40km away?

The beach would be a good option and it would be nice and cool in the water, but by the time I got back to the car it would be worse than before. Maybe go down after 6 when the anti-dog rules finish so I can take the pup.

Venus Bay Twilight Market

The Venus Bay Twilight Market is on tonight, Sunday January 14th at the Venus Bay Community Centre on Canterbury Road from 4pm.

almost like a real town

I'm loving the holidays. The local shop, the Venus Bay General Store is open until 9pm! Such convenience :)

They normally close around 6.30, so if you don't get there early enough, the Tarwin Lower supermarket is normally open until 7 or 8pm, and maybe later at this time of year.

Luckily, I'm easily pleased....

I read something earlier about a proposal in 2004 to build a new estate of 2,000 homes in Venus Bay. The locals at the time were against it it seems. They saw it as a threat to Venus Bay's splendid isolation. I have to say I'm glad it didn't go ahead. How many people can you put on a giant sandbar anyway? It might have led to better local services, such as garbage collection or street mail delivery, but the dirt roads and lack of facilities are part of the charm. Turning Venus Bay into something like any other coastal town would be a shame. As the world gets faster and more connected, it's good to know that there are still some places where you can escape from it all.

Public internet access in Venus Bay

If you don't have internet access at your place, or where you are staying, public internet access is available at the Venus Bay Caravan Park in their internet cafe.

See their website for more information.

crowded...

When I came to Venus Bay in the middle of winter, it was very quiet. People said it gets really busy in the summer. Well, it's the middle of summer and most of the houses have people staying in them for a change, but it still doesn't seem busy. I guess it's all relative. I used to live on a main road in Melbourne... That was busy! Granted though, it is a lot busier than usual. Sometimes there are more than two cars on the road at the same time.... amazing!

It's really nice here at this time of year. We had a hot week, but it's turned cooler again now, which I like much more. There has even been a small amount of rain, which is good. The grass is developing a green tinge instead of the summer brown. What's the old saying? The grass is always greener over the septic tank. I hope it rains some more though. I don't fancy the idea of having to have water trucked in if the tank doesn't fill itself. I have no idea how much it costs, I assume a lot.

Venus Bay Tip Times

There is no garbage collection service in Venus Bay, so residents and visitors need to take their rubbish and recycling to the local tip.

Venus Bay tip is located just north of the First Estate. Drive along Canterbury Road to the turn-off to No. 3 Beach.

There is a $3.00 minimum charge for general rubbish and recycling & green waste is free.

Opening hours are as follows:

Mon: 9am - 12pm
Tue - Thu: 9am - 12pm (Dec 26 - Jan 31 only)
Fri: 9am - 12pm
Sat - Sun: 9.30am - 3.30pm
Pub Hol: 9am - 5pm (except Christmas Day)

Venus Bay from space

Google Maps

Amazing view of Venus Bay and Andersons Inlet from space.

at the lighthouse

Here are some pictures I took on a trip to Cape Liptrap Lighthouse. There are some views of the cliffs and Wilsons Prom. I don't know what kind of wallaby it is...

Venus Bay Sunsets

rossp.org - Gallery: Venus Bay Sunsets

Here is a link to Ross Poulton's blog with some great Venus Bay Sunset photos.

on the beach...

Went down to the beach last night to cool off. It was about 32C most of the day and it was lovely and cool in the water. The dog loves the beach.... unfortunately we need to wait until 6PM to take her there though due to the restrictions in the summer months.

Even on hot days there aren't very many people on Venus Bay's Beaches, it's nothing like Bondi! On Bondi Beach on a day like today, there would be 3cm between the towels... at Venus Bay, you can still find a quiet spot on the sand all your own.

The beaches at Venus Bay are numbered - Beach No. 1 is the southern-most beach and the only one that is patrolled by the local SLSC. It is also the most accessible as the walk from the carpark is the least steep. Then Beach No 2, about 500m north of No. 1 is probably the hardest to get to by car, but an easy walk down the shore from one of the others. No. 3 is accessed up past the rubbish tip and offers a good view from the carpark, as do No's 4 and 5. Beach No. 5 is the northern-most entry and has steep stairs down to the beach. The carpark there is the best spot for a high-up view of Cape Liptrap to the south and the expanse of coast and sea. Public toilet facilites are available at Beach No's 1 and 5.

About Venus Bay

Venus Bay is located in South Gippsland, Victoria. It's a pleasant 2 hour drive from Melbourne and has a lot to offer holiday-makers.

There's the beautiful 22km long beach, Anderson's Inlet, the Tarwin River, Point Smythe and the rest of Cape Liptrap Coastal Park. There are lots of flora and fauna, including kangaroos, wombats, heaps of birdlife and of course fishing. You can pull some salmon from the beach and take it home for dinner.

Venus Bay is a sleepy hollow for most of the year, with a permanent population of about 250 people which swells to up to 1,800 in the summer holidays with many families heading down to make the most of their holiday houses or the hundreds of holiday rentals, the caravan park or one of the comfy B&B's.

Wilson's Promontory is less than an hour away by car, with walking tracks and fabulous beaches and camping.