Paradise Boat

A few years ago we spent one week in East Gippsland, three-four hours East of Melbourne. We stayed in Metung, but explored parks and beaches around Lakes Entrance and the Ninety Mile Beach (marine miles, which makes the beach 94 miles or 154 km long). Rivers coming towards the sea dump the water in enormous lakes (King, Victoria and Wellington) that eventually make way through quite a narrow opening into the Bass Strait at the properly named place, Lakes Entrance. A thin strip of land consisting mostly of bush and beaches creates this really fragile border between the lakes and the ocean. Just looking at the map of the area you get the feeling about the uniqueness and beauty of this place. The white sand is often covered with birds that nest or live in the area. People cannot reach the Ninety Mile Beach in most part due to lack of access, unless they own or hire a boat to navigate that way. We took a boat tour to visit some of the lakes and were enchanted by the birds, landscape and in some instances (see picture) by the places were people live or camp. After the large congregations of Australian pelicans and a few dolphins that greeted us unexpectedly from the middle of the lake, I thought this boat moored onto a shady area was the most beautiful thing I encountered in that tour. It inspired me to think of a very simple life in the middle of nature, halfway between water and land, paradise and earth…