Our last few trips to the boat have been hard work…  But our most recent visit to the Gippsland Lakes was to finish off the last little bits on Take It Easy and at last after the Anzac Day long weekend, we can actually say the boat is as good as can be. We had time to relax, take long walks, enjoy the wildlife, the seascapes and the night skies at Rotamah Island, which is a river island in the Lakes National Park.

One of the lovely aspects of mooring at the Rotamah Jetty for a few nights is the access to a bushland that is only reachable by boat. The island has a grand history stretching back to the 1870s  when it was a sheep farm.  Nowadays it is a heaven for wildlife, especially birdlife.  There is a homestead which was once a bird observatory but has been neglected for years.  The rainbow lorikeets have taken a particular liking to its gutters after rains, where they bathe in the late afternoon.  Their antics are fun to watch as they splash about and surface, clean but very soggy. And couples don’t take too kindly to interlopers trying to muscle in on their bath action, as shown here!

At bath time two is company, three is a crowd!

Two soggy Rainbow Lorikeets chasing off a third!

He finally flies off

Rotamah is one of our favourite spots in the Lakes. The views from the jetty are for ever changing depending on the weather. A network of tracks criss crosses the island,  with one of them leading across a causeway to the ocean. If you feel fit a paddle on the kayaks can take you right around the island. And on clear nights, the night sky is mesmerising.

Here are a few images from our last stay.

Serene views from Rotamah Island, looking towards Spermwhale Head

Wade’s favorite: welcome swallow otherwise know as “those little poop machines”

Noisy Minah feeding on banksia

At bath time two is company, three is a crowd!

Beautiful skies at sunset

Sunset at Rotamah

Milky Way at Rotamah

The homestead under a disappearing Milky Way

Sky now overcast, but still impressive

Eerie red light… the place might be haunted

Blubler jelly fish

Lots of Blubber Jellies drift by in the Lakes this year

Next morning, return to Paynesville in heavy fog. We got some practice at using the radar!

Bad weather coming!