If there is a Paradise By Nalin Sharda

“Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast, Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast. If there is a paradise on the face of the earth, it is this, it is this, it is this”: The 13th century Indian poet Amir Khusrow said this of Kashmir. However, today this sentiment applies to Australia and its many natural wonders. One such natural wonder is Lakes Entrance. I love adventure travelling and camping. During my student days at IIT Delhi, I made many cycle trips from Delhi to places like Hardware and Chandigarh. A hiking tour in 1973 of snow clad Hemkun Sahib (at 4200m elevation) was the pinnacle of my adventures then.  When we came to Australia in 1984, one of my aims was to do more of adventure touring. But alas, life’s daily machinations (e.g. Roti, Kapra aur Makaan) did not provide enough opportunity. After doing but one camping venture near Lake Eildon with my family in 1994, the camping gear got relegated to the storage space under the stairs. While, as a family, we had taken many trips to the Great Ocean Road over the years, I had not seen the Lakes Entrance area, despite being in Melbourne for over 20 years. With my family members travelling overseas and interstate, I decided to create a Sangam of my two desires: to see Lakes Entrance, and to go camping. The result was a visit to Paradise on earth. The trip began a week before the day I left. How come? You ask. Putting up the tent in the backyard and testing all the bits to select what to take and what to leave out is important. Last year I had bought a new tent and other paraphernalia, and had gone for a trip to the Grampians and the Great Ocean Road; so most of my stuff was well packed. But when I tried to put up the tent, I did some things not quite right the first time, taking me twice as long to put it up. However, this saved me time when I got to the real camp site.  On 25th December 2009, a pleasant four hour drive from Melbourne, with suitable coffee breaks, led me straight to the Eastern Beach Tourist Park. As I was late in applying, I had only two nights’ booking: for 25th and 26th, and that too at $50 per night for a powered site, which is almost twice the normal charge. However the facilities were really 5-star: the toilet block was very clean and the common cooking area had BBQ, electric cook-tops, microwave ovens, fridges, and big wash basins.  But I cooked my meal in my tent’s front annex, on a small electric pan. After a hot shower I visited the beach, which was just five minus form my tent. But the water was too cold for a swim, so I left it for the next day. And the next morning I did have a good swim slicing the waves coming all the way from Tasmania. Aah! The joy of a glass of red wine under the canopy of your tent, as your new neighbours and their kids frolick around, is but one of the many joys of camping in Australia. Some people are regulars, and go to the same camping ground year after year. The things they carry with them to make their camping experince enjoyable are amazing. The next day (26th) after a swim in the ocean, I took a boat cruise from the main Lakes Entrance port near the Post Office. There were some short cruises too, but I chose the four hour 70 Km cruise, as it visited the inlet to the Great Lakes, and passed by the various small islands within the lakes system, including Lake Victoria. It went close to many costal towns such as Metung and Paynesville, making the people sitting in restaurants, or their waterfront homes, wave to us. As I had only 2 nights booking at this holiday park, the next day (27th) I went towards another one at Eagle Point, near Paynesville, with a panoramic vie of Lake Victoria. As I reached there the first things that came out of my car were a table, a chair and beer. As the sun was up, I took my time to pitch the tent, each tenting step interspaced with sips from the cold beer, kept cool in the battery operated cool box. Finally, I had a clear view of the lake as I sat under the front canopy of my tent. That evening I just relaxed by the beach, walking bare-feet in the sand, meandering down the board-walk into the lake, and my heart sang: “Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast ...”. The next morning (28th) I took a leisurely dip in the lake: sooo refreshing. This beach is shallow and safe for 7 to 70 years olds; it’s like swimming in a saltwater pool. My neighbour, Paul, invited me for a ride on his Catamaran –in short it’s called a Cat. He told me that Cats were invented in Tamil Nadu many centuries ago. A search of the Web confirmed that in Tamil kattu means to tie, and maram means wood or tree. The original Cats were made by tying together two tree logs, and such boats were used by Polynesians as well. Me and Paul’s other neighbour, Andy, gave him a hand to rig up the Cat, and then I hopped on with Paul for some adrenaline filled fun as the Cat zoomed up and down the lake, salt water lapping my face.   Three more days (29th – 31st) at the Eagle Point Caravan Park included going for horse riding at the Coonawarra Resort, and exploring Buchan caves with fantastically shaped stalactites (these are the cone shaped formations hanging from the roof of the cave - as they have to hold tight - got it?) and stalagmites (the formations rising up from the floor of the cave - as if built up by mites - now its easy to remembers, right?). A real thrill came with a trip on a recreated boat called P.S. Curlip II, a sort of replica of a 150 year old paddle steamer that was used to transport goods on the Snowy River.  All occupants of the holiday park celebrated the dawn of the New Year 2010, by watching the fireworks from Paynesville. Early next morning (1st Jan 2010) I packed my tent and took the winding roads through the undulating hills of the South Gippsland. I returned home fully refreshed, having bathed in the tranquil waters of the heavenly Gippsland Lakes and its pristine environment. (For photos See Nalin's Blog1 Photos tab) However, soon after my return from this Paradise, on 5th Jan 2010, the sad news of an Indian migrant Nitin Garg’s senseless murder made me think: Will this paradise one day be lost?  What can we do to keep it? By Nalin Sharda, January 2010