Labour Day Weekend in Metung

We are nearly finished the first term of the 2024 school year, and what a whirlwind it has been! Ollie started prep and my parents were here for a visit, arriving just after we went back to school. Thankfully the Labour Day long weekend is in March, perfectly timed to coincide with my birthday falling on the Saturday this year. We decided to head east of the city to Gippsland, settling on the boating town of Metung for some much needed rest and relaxation.

Our adventure began on Friday afternoon when my parents picked up the kids from school at lunchtime so they could get ahead of the long weekend traffic. Andy and I followed a few hours later once we'd finished work. It was a long four hour drive, though I'm sure it was longer for my parents with the kids to entertain! But by all accounts my parents survived the drive with the kids, and Andy and I enjoyed four hours of peace in the car, a real novelty for us.

Our accommodation was a charming three bedroom apartment at The Moorings of Metung, and it was a fabulous location and facility. Positioned right on the waterfront, overlooking Bancroft Bay and the marina, the view was sublime. The feeling of calm that you get from gazing out upon the water enveloped us from the moment we arrived and stayed until we departed the following Monday.

My parents and the kids arrived just before 6pm, and after a quick dinner made a beeline for the hotel pool, where they stayed until it closed at 8:30pm. The amenities at The Moorings were almost perfect for us. A hot tub, indoor pool and outdoor pool, plus tennis courts. (I only say "almost" perfect as the icing on the cake would have been a sauna, but this was a minor omission.) 

Andy and I arrived close to 9pm, just in time to tuck our very excited children into bed. We went for a quick walk once they were asleep, taking in the quaint village and reminiscing about a visit we'd had to the Metung Hotel way back in 2015 when we visited Lakes Entrance with our friends (and a four-month old Ella!)

Saturday was my birthday, and what a morning to wake up to. The sun rising over the water was just spectacular! After a quick coffee I went for a morning run, savouring the morning quiet along the bay. 

Returning home, I was greeted by a delightful birthday celebration complete with balloons, decorations, and a spread of cake and presents.

After morning coffees and showers we headed over to the Metung Village Market, set up a short walk from our accommodation in the main village square. I usually love a market but I've realised that a) I spend the whole time telling the kids they can't have things they want and b) Andy hates them so he usually ends up wandering off. It was a nice market but the idea of wandering around a market I have in my head rarely lines up with reality!

Across the street was a lovely playground area though, so that saved our sanity a little bit. There was a nature play structure, lots of wood and rope for the kids to climb on, along with a splash pad and water play area. The kids played there for a bit and then we got a sausage sizzle from the market, along with some scones and homemade rhubarb and strawberry jam to have back at our apartment.

By then the temperature was starting to climb - the weather forecast for the weekend was hot and sunny with temperatures above 30 degrees every day. We were lucky to escape from the city for this weekend, where the temps were 38/39 degrees everyday, yuck! We had our scones and then headed down to the pool for a few hours. 

The pool area was great. There was a hot tub, indoor pool and outdoor pool. There was a glass partition separating the indoor and outdoor pool, however it was left open all weekend as the weather was so nice. The kids loved jumping from pool to pool and were entertained for hours throughout the weekend while the adults watched on from the hot tub. The temperature of the outdoor pool was quite cool, but very refreshing in the hot weather and after a stint in the hot tub.

While my mom and I were at the pool with the kids, Andy and my dad went to investigate hiring a small boat for the afternoon. They were all booked up but we were able to get one for the next day. Andy also came back with fishing rods for the kids, which I initially thought was a ridiculous purchase. However I was proved wrong as Ella absolutely loved it and wanted to fish all weekend! We had some lunch and birthday cake and then Andy and Ella headed down to the marina to fish off the docks. While there Andy ran into a student he teaches and the boy and his father taught Andy and Ella the basics of fishing. Amazingly they actually caught a fish!

Next we headed down to the section of the waterfront that was a designated swimming area. Poor Ollie got stung by a bee, so had to be placated with an ice cream, while Ella and Andy took the paddleboard out in the water.

The following morning, I traded my morning run for a blissful moment of solitude on our balcony, accompanied by the sunrise and a good book. I read "Grown Ups" by Miriam Keyes that weekend, managing to finish almost all 629 pages in the three days we were away. It was the perfect holiday read for me.

Ella went down to the docks in the morning to fish, by herself. This was very exciting to witness as she normally wants us to accompany her; she seldom does things like this on her own. She looked so peaceful sitting peacefully on the docks, watching the water, waiting for fish. 

After our chilled out morning we headed to the pool for a few hours, the temperature rising quickly throughout the morning.

After lunch, we headed to Riviera Nautic to pick up our boat for the afternoon. It was hot by this point, and I wondered how we were going to last all afternoon on the water. Our little lake boat had a small canvas cover, which provided shade but was very hot and stuffy underneath it. Once we got moving the breeze provided a refreshing relief from the heat, although the sun was still beating down on us.

We made one quick stop so that we could just in the water and cool off, before heading towards Lakes Entrance. Once there we parked the boat up on the beach (hoping we'd be ok to push it out again!) and then walked to the other side of the land to see the ocean.

What a gorgeous part of the world this is! Miles and miles of sand and waves; this is part of Ninety Mile beach, which is an uninterrupted stretch of sand along the east coast of Victoria, and the fourth longest beach in the world. We spent about an hour splashing in the waves and swimming in a shallow part of the beach - which was not patrolled, so we were pretty cautious about where we swam. We had a fantastic time and only left because we needed time to get the boat back before our four hour rental period was up.

On the way back we were all feeling refreshed and cooled off and enjoyed the boat ride, stopping for a short while so Ella could do some fishing (did I mention she's obsessed!).

That evening, after returning to land, we got some take-away and headed to the side of Metung where you could watch the sunset. 

The next morning was our last one. I managed to get in another morning run, and Ella did some fishing before we packed up the apartment. Not wanting to rush back to Melbourne (where the temperature would stay at 38 degrees until the evening) we spent a few hours at the pool, squeezing out the last few hours of our long weekend. It was a wonderful weekend together and a nice way to spend the last weekend with my parents before they headed back to Canada a week later (sob!)