Where will you keep your boat?

Although the Whitsundays is often the immediate response, there are other places which provide sailing that is as good as, or in some cases better, than that region.

The Gippsland Lakes are one of the great boating destinations in Australia and a very special part of Victoria. They offer the enviable combination of an unspoilt natural environment and easy access to port-side towns with cafés and shops. 

The Lakes are vast: about ten times that of Sydney Harbour. Along the southern border is the Ninety Mile Beach separating the waterway from Bass Strait. To the north there is a backdrop of the hills of the Great Dividing Range.   

The waters are sheltered and the overnight moorings are plentiful, in beautiful places.  Choose from free jetties adjoining national parks, tree-lined river banks, bustling little towns and villages, or totally protected backwaters surrounded by bird life.   

The jetties and mooring buoys are free and on the very rare occasions when these are all taken by other boats, you can put the bow of your boat on the beach and tie up to a pole or tree.  We’ve almost no tides and the bottom is almost rock free – so kind on your boat. 

The Lakes abound with bird life, native wildlife, and pods of dolphins and resident seals. There is fishing all year round and excellent prawning in the summer months. 

All this and it is only three-and-a-bit hours from Melbourne!  You would think it would be crowded all the time but for most of the year you will feel that you own the place.

If you live in Melbourne or anywhere in Victoria, you don’t need to make great plans to travel to your boat. So instead of just one or two trips per year as most Whitsunday boat owners are restricted to, you can space your use throughout the year. Enjoy all the seasons of the Lake, and relax and renew your energy as your need to.

On the Riviera Nautic website we have photographed and plotted over two dozen spots around the lakes to show you how inspiring this region is to sail in. Have a look for yourself.