Life in the Country

Drouin is in the Latrobe Valley to the east of Melbourne. It is ideally placed for mountain scenery, rivers, greenery, seascapes. All are just within an hours drive of where I'm living now. I have been able to discover the beauty of Gippsland with Caroline and this has only been the start.


This Saturday we took a drive to Wonthaggi which is to the south of us near the sea. The hilly countryside we drove through was truly spectacular. We stopped half way at Loch, a scenic little town with some great cafes, and then took a slow drive through the country on the first sunny day in a while.

Striated green hills dominate the Gippsland landscape

Rolling green hills of Gippsland

Rustic beauty of Gippsland

Westernport Bay in the distance from Krowera

First Day Out in Gippsland

Today was the 28th December which is my Mother in Law's birthday. She is still in England so celebrates half a day after us. While she was asleep, Caroline and I took to the road for our first day out in our new Gippsland home. Actually, we only drove for about an hour north into the foothills of Mt Baw Baw, to Noojee. Noojee is an aboriginal word meaning 'place of rest' and the tranquility of the area is noticeable.

Serene Latrobe River at Noojee

It was a gentle drive through rolling green countryside. We passed through towns we hadn't heard of such as Jindivick and Neerim and stopped on the road to view the fresh scenery.

Rolling hills of Baw Baw Shire

Tarago Reservoir from Little Charli's Lookout in Neerim

The main attraction was going to be the old trestle bridge at Noojee. We did stop in to have a look and walk around, though some parts were restricted due to fire damage.I guess that's a sobering thought one has to keep in mind wherever you are in Australia.

Noojee Trestle Bridge

Rain Forest Canopy from the Trestle Bridge

However, as is often the case when Caroline and I go off on a drive, the main attraction often gets overshadowed when we decide to check out something else. This can be a random path we decide to follow, or an attraction that we never meant to visit, but on a whim, go off to explore. So it was we went to Toorongo Falls after a spot of lunch in Noojee. Probably due to the heavy rain we had last week, the falls were flowing freely, and we were treated to some great views. The sub tropical rain forest area was lush with growth and the Little Toorongo River was gushing through the trees and ferns.

Flowing River

The Little Toorongo River cuts through the forest

Toorongo Falls flowing freely.

It was a beautiful drive through Baw Baw hills, into Noojee State Forest and back. It amounted to about 2 hours driving total though we were out for 6 or 7 hours. This bodes well for future outings from our new home.

I'll leave you with some less spectacular, but no less beautiful things that I saw today, a couple of flowers, and in the last picture, a butterfly (there were hundreds) amongst the flowers.

A New Start

I have recently been busy with a move to the country and a change of lifestyle, but it is time to restart blogging. I'll be back to my favourite subjects of chess, travel, and coffee but with a distinctly country Victorian feel to it.

A couple of weeks ago Caroline and I moved to Drouin in West Gippsland. This will leave me with an hour long commute to and from work when things pick up again in January. Funnily enough I was born in a commuter town in England, Basingstoke which lies about an hour west of London. I wonder how coincidental this is? I'm not a keen driver, but I don't mind driving. And being born and raised in a town, rather than a city followed by spells in small cities around the UK (my short time in London wasn't particularly happy) probably leads to a tendency towards a smaller home town.

Don't get me wrong, I love Melbourne and my time in Melbourne, and will be working within the metropolitan boundaries (mostly). As cities go, I could not think of a better one to live in. But maybe I'm not really cut out to be a 'city person' in the long run, and even better, Caroline felt the same way.

Anyway, Drouin is a small town (about 12,000 population) next to a slightly bigger town, Warragul (30,000 ish population). They are set at the bottom of the ski resort of Mt Baw Baw and just to the north of the Strzelecki Ranges. This gives some great areas to explore, and lesser known places in Victoria. I know next to nothing about the area, and will be blogging about my discoveries.

I do know there are some chess enthusiasts in the region, and maybe with my help, we can build a little club. More updates to come soon :)

Caroline Gorka's beautiful view of Gippsland