NB Aqualife: 1 October - 5 October 2025 Gabo Island, Victoria

Organised by our friends from Mallacoota, another 'lighthouse' stay; this time at Gabo Island, about 8km down the coast from the eastern most point of Victoria.

We arrived at our overnight accommodation in Mallacoota late Tuesday afternoon to find KT&GT already in residence. After unpacking the eski into the fridge and freezer we caught up over a cup of tea. Just as were finishing our cuppas P arrived to make sure we had settled in before walking us around to his house where G and her sister M were busy preparing dinner for us all.

Following greetings and introductions some serious discussion ensued between the women to ensure we had, between us, catered adequately for our stay on Gabo. G then informed us that the charter boat was departing at 10.00am from Bastion Point and due to the local rats love of gnawing on wiring no cars should be left at Bastion Point for the 4 nights we would be away. The men then joined the discussion to figure logistics and thence a departure time from our houses. Provisions and logistics sorted we then relaxed and a most convivial evening followed.

The next morning there were some unforseen delays - in G's case a walk back home to retrieve her jacket which had been left in the car. Luckily our logistics had allowed some leeway and after some grunt work to get our mountain of gear down the dock and onto the boat we cast off only 5 minutes late.

On our way

It was a smooth and enjoyable approx 12km boat ride up the beautiful coastline, passing close to Tullaberga Island and

we arrived at the little Gabo Island wharf at 10.30am to find Sandy, the Ranger, waiting for us with a Polaris and trailer ready to take all the luggage. GT and M, the keenest hikers in our group elected to walk to our island accommodation and as the fancy Polaris (which L and GT had, a little enviously, been drooling over) took 5 passengers, the rest of us elected to travel in style.

Upon reaching the cottage Sandy left us to unpack the trailer and buggy. Once we had everything inside we had a quick explore and discovered that the two original Assistant Lighthouse keepers cottages had been knocked into one and now comprised 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living & dining rooms, kitchen, covered in verandah on the northern side and open verandahs on the eastern and southern sides - very spacious indeed. Then it was time to unpack and prepare lunch.

After a spot of whale watching we did the first of many walks, this one only short as we spent so much time oohing and aahing and watching young New Zealand fur seals.

The lighthouse, at 47m is Australia's 2nd tallest

Looking north across to the mainland

Looking back toward the Lighthouse and our cottage.

This young NZ Fur Seal slid of the rocks across the way and swam over

to check us out.

Returning to the cottage for

some arvo tea whilst whale watching. The time passed quickly and all too soon it was time for dinner followed by teaching Euno to the unintiated.

Following a good nights sleep in surprisingly comfortable beds we arose to find a lavish table set for breakfast - a large bowl of fresh fruit salad (courtesy of GT and as far as L&I are concerned,his signature dish), yoghurt, muesli, weetbix, and courtesy of G and KT a variety of homemade jams and marmalades ready to slather on toast made from G's wonderful homemade bread. And this was how we started every day - bliss.

Then it was more whale watching until everyone was ready for a walk:

to Boulder Bay

and onward, on a path freshly whippersnipped through the kikuyu by Sandy the previous afternoon.

Remains of an old hut. At one stage there were more than 90 people living and working on the island.

After lunch it was time for a tour of the Lightstation with Sandy.

Looking south toward the mainland

The slot in the rocks marked by the blue arrow is where the yacht Gypsy Moth V ran aground. The Gypsy Moth V was the last boat built and sailed by Sir Francis Chichester before his death in 1972. In 1982 she was chartered by lone sailer Desmond Hampton for the first Around Alone race. Failing to wake from a nap on 18 December 1982 Desmond was rudely awakened when the boat ran aground, luckily for Desmond, up the slot. A little after 6.00pm one of the lighthouse keepers was amazed to receive a May-Day signal coming less than 200ms from the lighthouse. Upon venturing out to find the source of the signal he was further amazed to meet Desmond strolling toward him with a cat under his arm.

The boat, stuck fast and having received substantial damage to its hull was doomed. Desmond, along with locals and the lighthouse keepers salvaged everything except the masts and engine.

On 15 May 1853 the steamship SS Monumental wrecked on Tullaberga Island with the loss of 37 lives, 35 of whom were passengers. This disaster led to the building of the Gabo Island Lighthouse. A temporary stumpy wooden lighthouse was erected on the highest point of the island until the construction of the present lighthouse and three residences, in pink granite quaried on the island, was completed in 1862.

In 1886-1888 a telegraph operator's residence was constructed in mass concrete to the design of NSW colonial architect James Barnet - the white house in the back ground that looks the same as the Greencape cottages. Currently unused I think there are plans to renovate it for further accommodation.

As well as activity connected with navigation, other human activity Gabo has endured is as a sealing and whaling site, a couple of quarries extracting the fabulous pink granite for buildings in Melbourne and Sydney and it housed a WWII radar station.

Whilst descending from the top of the lighthouse a hailstorm struck and the seal pups lying on the rocks set up a wail and many of them took to the water.

Unusual propeller illegally salvaged (the salvagers were nabbed) from a sunken fishing boat

After the tour it was back to the cottage for variously more whale watching, reading, snoozing, talking, and jigsawing. Then after dinner Euno and the newbies were starting to get the hang of the game.

Starting off Friday morning with another luxe breakfast followed by a bit of whale watching,

we decided another walk before the predicted gale force winds kicked in.

Having inspected the cemetary G, KT and I headed back by another track to start getting lunch ready,

whilst the others kept going, passed the remains of the WWII radar installion which

was beside the last remainder of the original temporary wooden lighthouse

and onwards,

for the hardy GT and M to the tip of the island,

whilst P and L braved the wind while watching the seas pick up.

Upon the intrepid walkers return they warmed their innards with a bowl of hot soup and then it was time for more whale watching. The wind was strong and the seas were heaving and the whales obligingly kicked off.

Once again the afternoon passed quickly by and some progress was made on the jigsaw, situated as it was, in the sunny and warm covered in verandah, a good place to thaw out between stints of whale watching.

After dinner more Euno and now the newbies were holding their own having learned how to play this viscious little card game.

Saturday dawned and the gale force winds had abated and the skies were blue.

Another luxe breakfast and I have to say that GT's fresh fruit salad followed by toast made from G's bread spread with KT's marmalade beats eggs and bacon by a mile. Again the whales put on a show for us.

With P and L, both keen boaters in earlier life, we walked down to inspect the slot up which the Gypsy Moth V sailed to her doom and then strolled back to inpsect the stone work of the light house and wall more closely.

These buttresses were added after this section of the wall was partially destroyed by huge seas in, I think, September 1895. You can see where, in our cottage, they cut holes in the floor for the water to flow out.

The perfect curving stone work at the base of the lighthouse is in stark contrast to the construction of the wall.

Gabo Island Lightstation is architecturally significant for the high standard of its building design attributed to Charles Maplestone. The tower itself is a remarkably well proportioned structure whose finely crafted pink granite is without parallel in Australia. The profile of the ltower was replicated at all subsequent manned lighthouses in Victoria.

Beautiful

After lunch 4 of our party went for one last walk on the island and three of us stayed behind to float between whale watching and jigsawing.

Sandy joined us for dinner and he told us more fascinating stories of the island and how he came to be there, a little of which can be read in this ABC article.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-26/gabo-island-lighthouse-keeper-leaves-after-25-years/104490236

After Sandy left (he has to get up at 3.00am every night to take the weather reading) there was just time for a few more rounds of cutthroat and hilarious Euno before we too retired for we had to be up early to get packed up and ready for Sandy at 9.15am. As Daylight Saving time was kicking in at 2.00am (which Sandy warned us about) we lost an hours sleep. Sandy has also cautioned us that Reinhardt was insistent that the boat was to leave at 10.00am

GT, bless him, arose even earlier than the rest of us to make the fruit salad and we made time to have our last scrummy breakfast on the island. Then we scurried to pack up, clean up and get everything outside ready to load into the trailer. When Sandy arrived he told us he had just heard from Reinhardt - who'd forgotten about daylight saving time so he wouldn't get to the little wharf until about 10.45am.

So we had time to relax, sit in the sun, watch a few more whales go by, watch the seals on the rocks and watch the terns fly by.

A pair of Sooty Oyster Catchers

Seal pup on the rocks below the cottage

Then there was just time for a group pic,

before heading down to the wharf.

for another smooth ride back to Bastion Point.

Another delightful Lighthouse stay sadly over. KT and GT had to leave straight away for their home in South Gippsland, L&I staying to enjoy our friends company for another night and to drop M off at the Merimbula airport the next day.

Here is some crappy footage of whale activity.