The Quality Inn lived up to its name – providing us a great place to sleep and even a free breakfast. What a treat! In saying that, we did have to hunt for it though. You see, they weren’t expecting anyone to ask, which is a rookie mistake in my opinion. But when it comes to free cocopops, I’m tenacious.
After our free brekkie, we left Traralgon just after 10:30 and headed for our first tourist stop of the day – the famous Swing Bridge, just outside the little hamlet of Sale. Fun fact of the day: this is the oldest fully functional swing bridge in Australia and is still in use today. It’s an amazing piece of engineering and extremely photogenic to boot!
Built in the 1800’s and powered by one man’s hand (or so they say), this bridge pivots in the middle, providing channels for boats to make their way up and down the river. Since then, some time has passed causing the bridge to be motorized, modernized and painted. Sadly, due to the maintenance schedule we didn’t actually get to see it swing. But there were enough pictures of it swinging about wildly for us to get the general gist of it.
After much bridge looking had been done, it was time to get a move on. Not least since the place was filling up with loud and annoying tourists. The gall! As we were making our way out of Sale, we caught a glimpse of more wetland areas but this one had what looked like a boardwalk across it. Our sense of adventure and curiosity overpowered us, and we decided to check it out. Firmly parking the car on the side of the country highway, we galloped across the road and jumped the fence. Because we’re in Australia, and Australians have a reputation for being hooligans.
Ok, so it may have been more like a barrier. But it did involve lifting our feet above knee height, so it totally counts as jumping a fence of some sort. Low and behold, we found our way onto the boardwalk!
The wetlands held a different kind of beauty – a huge lake of murky water, tons of mozzies and other miscellaneous flying creatures and birds abounded. Now, Australia knows how to do big things and this wetland area was no slouch. Getting halfway across the boardwalk and being attacked by things with wings, it was decided that was our cue to leave. Back across the road we ran, piled into the car. And we were off, to the next stop along the way..
The next (and last touristy) stop for today was Golden Beach. To look at a shipwreck. It’s not so much a shipwreck as it is hazardous metal poking up from the sand. But it’s still cool to look at, and we weren’t the only tourists who appeared, so it’s not like we got caught in a tourist trap. Before arriving at the beach called Golden Beach, we passed through the town of Golden Beach and decided it was time for lunch. In hunting for some food to quell the growing hunger, we found a fantastic Asian place. An Asian restaurant slash takeaway in Golden Beach, a stones throw from the real beach, doing Thai street food. The food had no right being as good as it was, but that still begs the question – what kind of country is this? Where’s my fush and chups? We’re at the beach after all!
The beach lived up to its name, being golden soft sand as far as the eye could see, and we took the opportunity to stick our feet into the Tasman Sea. Man, it was cold. Has no one gotten the memo that the beach should have warmish or even cool water? Clearly not here. Cold artic water convinced us that while this beach is good for Instagram, its nots one where anyone really goes swimming, and if they did, well then, we may need to have a conversation and ask them if everything is ok…
After looking at the remains of said shipwreck, with our chilly toes, and evening fast approaching, we decided it was time to head to our abode for the night – all the way in Orbost. Which was another two-and-a-half-hour drive away. Orbost is a small town, with not much in it. But it’s always good to get to a bed and have a nap after a long day of driving and looking at things.
I wish I had taken photos of Orbost, but in reality, there’s not much there…
The next day will see us travel across the Victoria-New South Wales border and off to Bega for the night.
