Today we would be turning the corner: instead of South we were now heading West on the Australian continent as we made our way towards Melbourne going from Eden to Bairnesdale.

Also about half an hour into driving we would be crossing the State line between New South Wales and Victoria.

We drove along the Great Alpine Road (B500) were the landscape did indeed resemble the Bavarian prealp regions.

Instead of heading for the hotel we passed Bairnesdale and drove directly to Paynesville where we boarded the ferry to hop over to Raymond Island. The island is known for its Koala population.

It is small enough that you don‘t need a car and as the fare is free for passengers without vehicles we left our rental behind.

We set off on the two kilometer Koala hike. It was quite windy and thus not too hot and we had a wonderful time walking around the island making it a game who would spot the Koalas first. As Koalas are very lazy animals you walk with your head up scanning the Eucalyptus trees that provide the little creatures‘ food and shelter. In total we spotted nine of the cute animals.

For the night we drove back to Bairnesdale were we strolled along the Mitchell River to work up an appetite for dinner and then turned in early as all the walking had made us tired.