We left Eden and drive onto to Marlo, a little town situated at the estuary of the Snowy River. We were only here for one night to break the otherwise long drive to Paynesville. The main accomodation here is the Marlo Hotel which is a typical Aussie pub full of very Aussie blokes. However, the room we booked was lovely, with a large bathroom and separate sitting room. We had our own verandah and resident magpie.

The southern coast of Victoria called Gippsland has a long sand bar with inlets that open into enormous saltwater lakes. Paynesville is just one of many towns that have developed on the edge of one of these lakes which link up by narrower channels. Boating and especially sailing is very popular here. We stayed in an apartment overlooking a marina and opposite Raymond's island, a 4 km by 2 km area completed separated from the town by a 100m channel. The only way to access the island is by a ferry that operates for about 18 hours everyday and is always busy taking foot passengers or vehicles to and fro. Many people live or have holiday homes on the island which is shared with a colony of koalas.