5 stunning natural wonders around Gippsland

With wild oceans teeming with fish for dinner, stunning rainforests filled with native flora, jaw-dropping views and endless spots for bushland camping, the untamed Gippsland seriously serves.

Secluded beaches which are only accessible to those willing to hike there. Cycle routes along old train lines. The feeling of rubbing your toes on beaches that are so clean that the sand squeaks. If you consider yourself the best friend of Mother Nature, the prospect of visiting the Gippsland wonders in south-eastern Victoria should have you jiggling your feet with excitement.

So turn your phone onto aeroplane mode, and grab the walking boots. Here are the best natural wonders in Gippsland.

1. Wilsons Promontory National Park

Wilsons Promontory is one of Victoria’s most stunning national parks, and there is a heck of a lot to do here. Take Squeaky Beach, recently named by Tourism Australia as the country’s number-one beach for 2024. Find granite boulders covered in orange bookending the squeaky-clean sand and chilly, silky blue waters will stun first-timers.

Be on the lookout for whales at Wilsons Promontory. (Image: Connor Vaughan)

There’s a new day cruise in Wilsons Prom. Set sail on an amphibious boat to reach super secluded parts of the coast, admire Wilsons Promontory Lightstation and rest in the remote Refuge and Sealers Cove, usually only accessible on an overnight hike. Get close to local wildlife like resident seal colonies and the hollowed-out cavern of Skull Rock, and rest in the remote Refuge and Sealers Cove. It’s a five-and-a-half-hour cruise that operates every Wednesday and Saturday, and you can book here.

The Mount Oberon Summit Walk also has obvious rewards: a 360-degree view of the Australian mainland’s southernmost point. You can see as far as the tea tree-stained Tidal River, scattered bays, and islands off the coast. Put the final touches on this experience by coming here for sunrise or sunset. Just don’t forget a torch.

Explore the rugged coastline at Wilsons Promontory National Park. (Image: Connor Vaughan)

2. Gippsland Lakes

Alpine rivers rush into the Southern Ocean at this enormous lake system. With 400 square sparkling kilometres to discover, start at the Lakes Entrance, where you can buy fish and summer prawns off the moored trawlers to take home for a feast at one of the seaside camping spots nearby.

Experience a healthy helping of local life at the waterside village of Paynesville. Surrounded by canals and inlets, it is from here you will mingle with locals and visitors alike setting out to fish, jet ski and windsurf.

Animal lovers, keep your eyes out for dolphins. Or take the ferry across to Raymond Island (free for foot passengers or from $14 per car) to spot the fluffy ears and black noses of the resident koalas that hang out in the trees along the Raymond Island Koala Trail.

Need a short break from all this adventure? Book in for clifftop views, long soaks in mineral-rich water and echidna-spotting at the Metung Hot Springs and Day Spa, close to the village of Metung.

Swoon over swirling shades of turquoise waters of Gippsland Lakes.

3. Ninety Mile Beach

The bustling holiday town of Lakes Entrance sits at the end of one of the world’s longest beaches, aptly named Ninety Mile Beach. There are several villages to base yourself to enjoy this wild and beautiful stretch of sandy beach.

Lake Reeve stretches along the back of the sand dunes, creating a thin slip of land between the lake and the beach which is home to the popular seaside towns of Loch Sport, Golden Beach and Seaspray. This idyllic setting creates a mecca for families or boating and fishing enthusiasts.

Further west, you can get away from it all at the tiny coastal hamlet of Woodside Beach, which is patrolled in the summer months.

Enjoy the beautiful Ninety Mile Beach to yourself.

4. Tarra-Bulga National Park

Did you know there were rainforests in Victoria? The Tarra Bulga National Park is home to a cool temperate rainforest on Brataualung Country in the Strzelecki Ranges. It is complete with giant ferns, Mountain Ash and myrtle beeches.

Prepare to feel ever so tiny as you walk and look up at the golden light piercing through the thick and ancient boughs. The Corrigan Suspension Bridge is a real highlight, crossing a vast gully and looking down at a sea of tree ferns below.

Next, hike to waterfalls, like the (very) short walk to the pretty Tarra Falls and the 30-minute loop path that passes along mossy trails to the Cyathea Falls.

Be surrounded by lush greenery at Tarra-Bulga National Park.

5. Walhalla

Victoria as it is today was forged in its dramatic gold-mining past. Get insight into this 19th-century wealth when you spend an afternoon at Walhalla, a restored heritage town that was a centre for gold-hungry miners looking to make their fortune.

Today, you can take a stroll down its uniquely photogenic streets, complete with an old-fashioned corner store, post office and museum, brass band rotunda and fire station. Next, descend underground for a tour of Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine to see quartz reefs and hear more about the history of the town.

Plan to be in Walhalla on days that the Walhalla Goldfields Railway is running. Passengers will pass by sheer cliffs faces, traverse creeks, cross over six bridges and hop off at Thomson Station for a look around before the train’s return.

The Walhalla Fire Station dates back to 1901.

For more information head to visitgippsland.com.au.