Metung Getaway

My wife and I are currently enjoying the AFL Grand Final long weekend in Metung, Gippsland.  My wife's sister has also joined us for the getaway.  We travel to Metung annually this weekend for a break and it takes around 4 hours to drive from Melbourne via the Princes Highway.

On our way yesterday we stopped at Bairnsdale Bookshop but unfortunately as it was a public holiday it was closed, but I managed to grab these snaps.

However this morning we returned and fortunately it was open this time.  They had a couple of Bond novels but sadly I had them all.

Next we drove to Lakes Entrance where we played some mini-golf (a must in Lakes) and also checked out Just Books.  I've been visiting Just Books for around 35 years so it's a favourite of mine.  No books for me today though.

Here's a couple of quick photos of Lakes Entrance:

And here's some photos from Metung:

And just as an addendum, on our way home from Metung we visited The Cog in Traralgon.  This coffee shop also sells secondhand books.  Unfortunately it doesn't open on Sundays so we'll have to visit again later.

Annual Metung Getaway 2017

It's the AFL Grand Final on Saturday so as usual my wife and I, along with my sister-in-law this year, have ventured to Metung in Gippsland to stay at a B&B for the long weekend.  The drive takes just on four hours but as there are lots of towns with secondhand book stores along the way it takes us a little longer.  The good thing is, when you're on holiday, time doesn't matter.

First stop was Maffra where we visited Pingvin Books.  Unfortunately despite the sign on the nature strip the book store didn't appear to be open.  It was a public holiday though.

Next we stopped in Sale and visited Carousel Books but again because of the public holiday it was closed.  I did to grab a photo of the books through the glass window shop front but I always find doing that a little scary in case I see a Bond novel inside the store that I'm after.

Third stop was Bairnsdale Books.  They only had an Ian Fleming - James Bond omnibus hardback and I didn't take a photo.  The same book was there when we visited back in 2015.

And after we'd arrived and checked into our Metung accommodation, the following morning we visited Just Books in Lakes Entrance.  They had four John Gardner - James Bond novels published by Coronet, three from what I call the "Sniper Series" which was pretty amazing considering I haven't seen this many of the one set in one book store for ages.  I already have this set but I still purchased an extra copy of "For Special Services" as it was in such good condition.  I also like putting money into the local economy when I'm away, especially book stores.  The full series of these covers can be found here.  In my opinion they are a really nice set.

While in Lakes we visited the Griffith's Sea Shell Museum and I purchased some creatures made out of shells for my work mates.

 

Here's a sign we saw on another shop front while walking along the shops.

We also played a game of mini-golf.  Here's my sister-in-law trying to get a hole-in-one on the final hole.

 A photo from the hill looking down Myers Street toward the Lakes shops.

And here's a couple of photos of Metung including the view from our bedroom window over the water.

AFL Grand Final Day - Book Hunt

Just a quick blog entry as the AFL Grand Final is starting in less than an hour.  My wife and I have just returned to our accomodation in Metung having spent the morning walking the shops in Lakes Entrance.

There's one second hand book store in Lakes and several op shops.  As kids we used to holiday there every Winter with our families, and Just Books existed back then so it's certainly been around for a while.  Selling both new and second hand books this is another one of those stores where there could be a gem on the shelf just waiting to be bought.  I remember purchasing a couple of Pan Still Life books from here.  Unfortunately today there were none.

And finally here's a couple more photos from Metung.  What a great place for a break.