Summer in Australia - Day 18: Walhalla and Koala

On this day, we began in the very off-the-beaten-track Gold town of Walhalla which, with no electricity until the late 1990s, has retained it's 19th century look and feel with absolutely no growth and new development. From there, we drove back to the coast to Paynesville from where a very short ferry trip took us to Raymond Island. We went there in search of koalas and we found plenty of them in the eucalyptus trees just outside the village. I was able to climb a tree and get within a few feet of the bears -- needless to say, an incredible experience! We finished the day with a long, long.... long walk on the beach, accessing Ninety Mile Beach from Lakes Entrance and walking at least half its length.