A collective of artists, nature lovers and tourism operators in East Gippsland, have banded together to create a seven day pilot eco / arts / history package tour from Lakes Entrance to Cape Conran called the ‘Far East Flaneur.’
Inspired by the 2024 film Salt Path, the seven day flaneur (French for meandering or strolling without purpose) will be hosting 12 to16 eco/arts travellers, looking for a community designed East Gippsland experience, delivered by our most expert local operators, among likeminded travellers.
The itinerary will explore Lake Tyers to Mingling Waters by kayak, Nowa Nowa
to Orbost by bicycle, then down the
Snowy River to Corringle for basket weaving, across to Marlo and West Cape before concluding with a Sailor’s Grave wrap party at Dunetown.
“We have been working on the plan for a year or two now and have a team of Far East Gippsland-lovers working on the logistics and the curation of the experiences that draw on the local knowledge that you only get to know when you stop and look, and listen and sleep under the stars or in a comfy cabin at times,” Andrea Lane said.
“We are thrilled to be working with local eco-tour operators Skipper Pete from Lakes Explorer, Venture Out, Snowy River Cycling, Mingling Waters, Emerald Link, Gippsland Recreation Outdoors, Corringle Creators and the Snowy River Leadership Campus to deliver this pilot venture with Up the Creek as our mentors. We are also very glad to be showcasing Sailor’s Grave @ Dunetown as our destination for a night of storytelling under the stars.”
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The entire route is long but dawdling and supported by expertise and beautiful sleepovers. Our intention for the pilot is to showcase the different experiences that participants might like to do more slowly, or in shorter sections, in future said organiser Andrea Lane. Our ambition is to be inclusive of varied fitness levels, with support vehicles and boats that accompany/ chauffeur participants through legs of the journey.
Catering, equipment, tents, kayaks, electric and non-electric bikes are provided among a mix of rustic, beautiful, tent and cabin style accommodation.
Our goal is to create a social enterprise model around the tour and future customisable tours; Andrea is exploring ways of keeping $1800-2200 per person cost of the trip affordable for a cross generational mix of travellers. For example, a ‘voluntourist’ concession for artists willing to provide activities for the tours is being explored.
“We want to share the benefits throughout the whole community, and particularly to the small communities in East Gippsland, drawing upon the knowledge of legendary locals like Skipper Pete who has operated a customised land and boat tour service on the Gippsland Lakes for the past 15 years,” Andrea said.
Skipper Pete agrees.
“We do have a lot of attractions down here, but unfortunately there’s not many tour operators actually based in East Gippsland. Once the word gets out, I think the Far East Flaneur will become quite a significant activity for visitors, with a mix of art but also getting to learn a bit more about the nature along the way,” he said.
